It’s nearly that time of the year again where you need to trick-or-treat proof your home and transform it into a spooky masterpiece. With Halloween, you can go as small or as grand with your ideas as you like, so to help you in your quest, we’ve compiled some keys tips to ensure your house remains scary yet stylish at the same time.

Choose a colour scheme

When you think about Halloween, the first thoughts that come to mind are the scary black bats, crows and witches, creepy white cobwebs and sculpted orange pumpkins. If you are feeling that you want to go dark and wicked this year, then introduce as much black and white as possible throughout the house with equally scary designs on your pumpkins, positioned perfectly for those trick-or-treaters outside your front door. If you want to accentuate the beautiful colours of autumn, then work more with the orange of the pumpkin and introduce browns, and yellow hues in your fireplace display, kitchen work surfaces and front door wreath.

Dress your windows 

At Halloween, it’s very easy to elaborate that bit too far with your window decorations so that your home starts looking rather messy instead of scary, so you will want to avoid this at all costs. When it comes to any seasonal occasion such as Christmas or Halloween, your windows are a key component to achieving the look and feel you want to deliver to outside viewers. If your goal is to create a frightening feel, then decorate your living room windows with scary silhouettes of giant creepy crawlies, zombies or witches with a touch of candlelight to help accentuate those dark shadows. Couple this with a scattering of ghostly white cobwebs to finish off the haunted look and you will be sure to give your neighbours a big fright.

The front door

The front door plays a pivotal role at Halloween and will set the tone for your ghoul-some guests when they enter. Pumpkins have the unique ability to transform into a cute, welcoming face or equally a frightening, scary design that will make your neighbours think twice about knocking on your door. If you want to create a more festive and inviting welcome, then light a pair of friendly-faced pumpkins by your front door with tea lights, and embrace the colours of autumn with some draping garlands using dried fruit and flowers. Alternatively, if you want to get your neighbours jumping out of their skin, then darken up your door with a jet-black wreath of burnt leaves and litter your porch with fake spiders and an unwelcoming spooky skeleton holding up a sign stating ‘Enter at your own risk.’

Experiment with lighting 

Being creative with your lighting allows you to create an alluring ambience in your home during Halloween and will help to send shivers up the spines of those brave enough to come and visit you. If you have a dark path leading up to your front door, then position a long row of old-fashioned candlesticks with tall, glowing candles, all the way to your front door, as if leading to a haunted house. Once inside, turn your dimmer switch to the lowest level, and again use candlelight throughout the house to add to the atmosphere. Contrast large lanterns with tiny tea lights for an eclectic and eerie aura that is guaranteed to give your friends and family the shivers for days to come!