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I love decorating for the seasons.

But I don’t want to completely redecorate my house every four weeks.

I don’t have the patience.

I don’t have the storage.

And frankly, I don’t need 37 plastic pumpkins living in a tote in the garage for eleven months of the year.

What I do love is making the house feel different when fall arrives.

Warmer.

Cozy.

A little moodier.

Then, as October gets closer, we can sneak in a few bats, ghosts, black candles and maybe something just slightly witchy.

The trick is starting with fall décor that can stay out for months and layering Halloween on top of it.

When Halloween is over?

Pack away the spooky stuff and leave the cozy behind.

Baby, that’s my kind of decorating.

Start With Fall, Not Halloween

Before we bring out a single skeleton, let’s build the foundation.

Think about colors instead of themes:

Rust.

Terracotta.

Mustard.

Olive.

Chocolate brown.

Cream.

Deep burgundy.

Black.

Those colors can carry you from September straight through Thanksgiving.

Start with things you’re actually going to use.

Throw pillows.

Blankets.

Candles.

Table runners.

Baskets.

A few pumpkins.

AMAZON FALL FOUNDATION

Pillow covers are especially useful because I can change the look without finding somewhere to store six more pillows.

Bring in Natural Texture

This is where the boho girl in me gets happy.

Give me woven baskets.

Wood.

Dried grasses.

Rattan.

Warm metals.

Chunky fabrics.

Terracotta.

Those textures already feel like fall without having HAPPY FALL Y’ALL written across everything.

Not that there’s anything wrong with a sign if you love one.

I just don’t necessarily need my pillow telling me what season it is.

I looked outside.

I know.

SHOP THE TEXTURE

Use what you already own first, then add one or two seasonal pieces.

Pumpkins Don’t Have to Be Orange

I like orange.

But every pumpkin in the house doesn’t need to be bright orange.

Mix them.

Cream.

Rust.

Brown.

Green.

Black.

Wood.

Velvet.

Woven.

Different materials make a collection look much more interesting than buying ten matching pumpkins.

FALL FIND: TEXTURED PUMPKINS

Scatter a few on a table, bar cart, shelf or coffee station rather than covering every available surface.

We still have to live here.

Then October Arrives…

Now we get weird.

Just a little.

You already have your fall foundation.

Now add:

Bats.

Black candles.

A skeleton.

A ghost or two.

Celestial pieces.

Black branches.

Ravens.

Spiderweb accents.

Maybe something that makes your husband wonder what happened while he was out of the room.

That’s when the house starts feeling like Halloween.

AMAZON HALLOWEEN LAYER

These are the pieces that get packed away November 1.

Everything underneath stays.

Give the Entryway a Little Personality

You don’t need to decorate every room.

Pick a few places where seasonal décor makes the biggest impact.

The entryway is one of them.

Start with a fall wreath.

Add a doormat.

A couple of pumpkins.

Maybe a lantern.

Then for Halloween, slip in a few black accents or something spooky.

SHOP THE ENTRY

The same lantern can work for fall, Halloween and even Christmas depending on what you put around it.

That’s the kind of seasonal décor I like buying.

Don’t Forget the Coffee Bar

Oh yes.

We’re decorating the coffee.

Because coffee is already a daily ritual. Why not make that little corner of the house feel seasonal too?

You don’t need much.

A fall mug.

A tiny pumpkin.

A seasonal towel.

Maybe a little sign.

And when Halloween gets closer, swap in a spooky mug or add a little ghost.

SHOP THE FALL COFFEE BAR

The coffee itself stays black if that’s how somebody in your house insists on drinking it.

The décor can have some personality.

And Yes, the Cocktail Bar Gets Halloween Too

If the coffee bar gets decorated, the cocktail bar isn’t being left out.

This is actually one of the easiest places to have fun with Halloween.

Black cocktail napkins.

A spooky glass.

A little skeleton.

Black candles.

A dark tray.

Maybe one ridiculously dramatic piece just because it makes you laugh.

SHOP THE HALLOWEEN BAR

A bar already has a little nighttime mood built into it.

Halloween just gives us permission to lean into it.

The Patio Deserves Fall Too

Arizona fall isn’t exactly sweaters-and-fireplaces weather.

Sometimes fall arrives on the calendar before it arrives outside.

So I create the feeling anyway.

Outdoor pillows.

Lanterns.

A fall-colored throw for cooler evenings.

A few pumpkins.

Warm solar lights.

Then for Halloween?

Add something spooky near the patio.

Nothing that requires turning the backyard into a haunted attraction.

Although I’m not ruling anything out.

SHOP THE FALL PATIO

A Little Witchy Boho Never Hurt Anybody

This might be my favorite Halloween decorating direction because you can use much of it year-round.

Think:

Moon phases.

Stars.

Dark botanical prints.

Candlesticks.

Amber glass.

Black metal.

Crystals.

Celestial accents.

Old-looking books.

Moody florals.

These don’t necessarily say Halloween.

They just have a little mystery.

AFFILIATE FIND: WITCHY-BOHO HOME

You Don’t Need to Decorate Every Inch

This is probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned about seasonal decorating.

You don’t need something seasonal everywhere.

Pick your moments.

The front door.

A coffee table.

The coffee bar.

The cocktail bar.

Maybe the patio.

One shelf.

That’s enough to change the feeling of the house.

Your regular home should still be visible underneath all of it.

Because that’s the point.

I’m not trying to create somebody else’s Pinterest house.

I’m decorating our house.

The November 1 Trick

This is why I like layering fall and Halloween instead of treating them as two completely different decorating seasons.

When Halloween is over:

Take down the bats.

Put away the ghosts.

Send the skeleton back to wherever he lives the rest of the year.

Remove anything obviously Halloween.

And stop.

The rust pillows stay.

The blankets stay.

The baskets stay.

The fall stems stay.

The pumpkins can stay.

The lanterns stay.

Now you’ve got a cozy November house without redecorating the whole damn thing again.

Perfect.

Decorate the Home You Actually Live In

I love looking at beautifully styled houses.

But I don’t want to live in a showroom.

There are coffee cups.

There are dog toys.

There are things somebody left on the counter even though they absolutely know where those things belong.

There is life happening here.

And that’s exactly what I want seasonal decorating to work around.

A few pumpkins.

A cozy blanket.

Some warm light.

A little Halloween weirdness.

And the people — and four-legged family members — who actually live here.

That’s enough.

Your home doesn’t have to look perfect for fall.

It just needs to feel good when you walk through the door.

And if there’s a skeleton sitting at the cocktail bar?

Well…

He probably needed a drink.

👉SHOP THE FALL-TO-HALLOWEEN HOUSE

Look for versatile pieces that can carry the house from early fall through Thanksgiving:

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