Here’s how we’re celebrating spooky season…

If you’ve read my book, Sleeping with a Stranger, then you know I spent many years as the manager of a store where I was in charge of decorating 14 tables for all of the seasons. So when I got home I wanted a really clean space. This was never a problem until my children got old enough to have an opinion.

It’s almost time for Halloween and while over the top holiday decor is not my thing, now my kids want our home to be really festive for each holiday. As someone who really appreciates aesthetics and a neutral environment, Halloween in particular can be hard to find decorations that feel both celebratory of this season while also being elevated enough to blend in with the home.

I want it to feel spooky, but I don’t want it to overpower the home.

I’m not into the cheesy, over-the-top decorations, so this year we decided to stick with a very black and white theme to be cohesive with our neutral home. We have a very dark grey front door, so we hung a full length skeleton to contrast. I wanted pumpkins lining the steps of our porch that were black, but as a floral designer, I really appreciate living things — nothing fake or artificial — I want real pumpkins. We went to the local plant nursery and found pumpkins that looked the most grey or black. If you get up close to them, they look dark green or light grey and this sets the tone for what’s inside the house.

Just like with a wedding, I always say the entry table is where guests sign in should set the tone for what they’re going to be seeing aesthetically for the rest of the event. It’s the same with my front porch and the home.

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Once inside my 1960’s home, I have a built-in bookshelf. With this focal feature, all I did was replace a few things that were already on the shelves (I put those few items away in a closet or drawer so they will still be easily accessible once the holidays are over), and replaced them with Halloween-type decor that still goes with my home aesthetic. That’s why we went with a skeleton-scheme because I don’t want bright orange everywhere. Instead I have a neutral palette with black skulls, white skulls, skeleton china, white pumpkins, black ceramic pumpkins. I even took an aloe vera plant that I normally have in a terra cotta pot, and simply placed in that in a subtle spiderweb black pot.

I knew that wouldn’t be enough, and my kids would definitely want more decor for Halloween. So I got all my brass candle stick holders leftover from my wedding days, bought some black candle sticks and lined the fireplace with them. Then off Amazon, I got some inexpensive bats and taped them against the wall as if they are flying out of the fireplace. My children love these fun, whimsical, cool Halloween additions. Of course I may not love having paper bats all over the wall, but as you may have seen from some of my past floral work, I do love asymmetry.

I’ve always appreciated an asymmetrical focal point — a lot of my floral arches are asymmetrical. I even have two videos all about making asymmetrical installations here and here where you can see how I make these designs.

It’s a win for everyone in the house: I love it for the visual, and my kids love that it screams HALLOWEEN! Plus to continue that fun, in the kids room I let them have more creative freedom to do more of the orange colors and jack-o-lanterns.

To continue the black and white theme, even just the smallest touches of switching out our soap dispensers in the kitchen and the bathrooms from a normal, classic soap dispenser to a black skull soap dispenser give it that “hey, it’s Halloween” touch.

To fully embrace the season, we basically live in Halloween pajamas and have a Halloween playlist going on a loop.

Again, I love celebrating this time of year. I love making memories with the kids. But I love even more that I can incorporate the season in my home for both myself as well as my children without sacrificing the aesthetic of the entire home.