Halloween is one of the best nights in my neighborhood. Front yards become cemeteries, porches are haunted, witches fly through canopied live oaks on invisible wires. Fog drifts above the streets while Tubular Bells plays in the distance. I’ve seen grown men run down the sidewalk screaming…
One hundred year old houses with old porches and towering trees make for a perfect Halloween neighborhood, but we don’t stop on the outside. Inside we channel The Addams Family. I’m thinking a Haunted Halloween Home Tour would be a big hit…
Things around the house, already used, tarnished, rusty, and broken, appear realistically eerie in dim lighting. I stop polishing silver after Easter, which gives platters and pitchers the perfect patina for Halloween. Throw in some dead flowers, fried from the long hot summer, add a few gnarly sticks, and you have a haunting arrangement for the dining room table. (Ok full disclosure…. I only polish silver at Easter and Christmas.)
Mismatched, unused or oddly colored candlesticks, spray painted flat black, make Pottery Barn-like decorations.
An old doll head is bizarre in the china hutch.
A haphazardly arranged stack of mystery and sic-fi books on the mantle sets the tone.
In the fall as I walk the dogs, I begin dumpster diving, dragging home things for Halloween. Last year I found a mannequin on the side of the street. I carried her home, gave her a coat of paint, and she became an instant hit. The Schnauzers barked at her until November.
talya
Musical Pairing:
Halloween is my favorite! And that doll head is spooky – not as bad as a ventriloquist dummy, but close!
ventriloquist dummy is very midget-like.
How fun! Halloween is my favorite! I’m so glad you are going to be guest posting in our Inspiration Cafe! I’ve posted your button on my blog. Thank you!
Thank you! I’m glad I found Inspiration Cafe. And thanks for posting my button. Only took me 2 days to figure out how to make it – lol.
If you really want to freak people out, rig that doll head up to just blink once in a while. 🙂
Doll heads are freaky enough as is. Besides, I don’t know how to do that…
I love the painted mannequin idea! Now if only I can find a free mannequin. Thanks for sharing your tips for cooking with wine with us on Inspiration Cafe…we are happy to have you!
Thank you! My neighbor, who abandoned the mannequin in her trash, didn’t even recognize it at our Halloween party :)) (I think she may have wanted her back…)
Love this! I used to treasure hunt through other’s trash for Halloween props, too.
Here at Dairy Hollow, I’ve added decorations on the porch of my suite; as well as to the mantel and the microwave. You’ll have to come see!
There’s a porch!!!? omg can’t wait. Be there soon. Need to stop writing and get in the car…
Great decor!
thank you!