All Hallow’s Eve is one of the spookiest and most fun nights of the year. And for some, the 30 days leading up to Halloween are equally spooktacular and filled with ghosts, ghouls and witches galore. To help you get inspired for this festive season, we’ve put together 20 of the best apartment Halloween decorations. Whether you want to go all-out or add a few ghostly touches here and there, we’ve got you covered on how to decorate your apartment for Halloween.
How to decorate an apartment for Halloween
When you live in an apartment, you may have less space compared to homeowners or people who rent single-family homes. But, that doesn’t mean you have to skimp on decorations. The key is to maximize the space you do have and be intentional about what you use.
Before we go six feet under with ideas for your apartment Halloween decorations, there are a few things to remember when decorating an apartment so you don’t violate your lease.
Ask your landlord about the rules for decorating outside
It’s fun to decorate your front door, entryway and patio for Halloween, but you need to double-check with your landlord to see if you can add props to the outside spaces that other residents see. If you can, decorate away! If you can’t, you can still spook up the interior of your space without getting in trouble.
Check your lease to see if you can hang things using nails
This goes for all wall decorations, but if you were planning on hanging a skeleton or any other type of wall hanging, read the fine print in your lease to see the rules about how to properly hang art from the walls. Some apartments don’t allow you to use nails on the walls.
Know if you can paint the interior of your apartment
If you really want to go all out, painting a wall or two for Halloween is fantastic. But hold on. You need to check and see if you’re allowed to paint the walls of your place before you buy the paint.
Understand if you can use props with flashing lights or smoke
Thinking of using a smoke machine and flashing orange-and-black lights as part of your décor? Think twice and ask your landlord if you can use props like this and under what conditions.
Apartment Halloween decorations to die for
Once you understand what you can and can’t do in terms of decorating under the rules of your lease, it’s time to get your spook on!
1. Use pumpkins and gourds
Pumpkins and gourds are the staple decorations for Halloween and fall in general. You can use these fall vegetables nearly all season. Decorate your front entryway, your table or patio using pumpkins and gourds in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. You can carve some and leave some intact to keep them from rotting too quickly.
2. It’s a-maize-ing what you can do with corn
Get yourself some decorative maize as part of your apartment Halloween decorations this year. Most grocery stores will sell harvest maize, which makes for a great decoration to put on your mantle or use as a centerpiece. A few stalks of this to deck out your apartment from September to Thanksgiving gives the right seasonal touch.
3. Have fun with fall flowers
Adding some fall flowers, like mums, to your apartment is a great way to decorate in a less-spooky way. Go treat yourself to a bouquet with red, yellow, orange and deep purple flowers. Add them to some vases throughout your apartment and you’ll have a fresh, fall feel in your apartment.
4. Scare those crows away with a scarecrow
Another fall-related décor option is to hang a scarecrow somewhere in your apartment. Ideally, if you can decorate your patio, you can place a festive scarecrow on the balcony and surround him with bales of hay. Your scarecrow will scare those pesky crows away and look cute all season long.
5. Use fall-colored ribbons
Ribbons are for more than just gift wrapping. Go to your local craft store and buy eight to 10 strands of ribbon in a variety of colors, shapes and textures. Once you have a fall-colored ribbon bundle, you can use this to decorate things like wreaths, lanterns or light fixtures in your home. It’s a fun touch for those who like simplicity.
6. Sweeten it up with candy
Whether you love it or hate it, candy corn is a product you can use as a snack or décor or both. Place some candy corn in decorative jars on your table or counters to use for Halloween decorating. Or, put it in little candy cups for guests to joy. And, you can always put out other sweet treats this month.
7. Light the way with seasonal lighting
You can string up orange-toned lights inside or outside your apartment to create a Halloween mood. String fairy lights around from wall to wall if external lighting is an option at your apartment. Then, turn it on at night to add ambiance to your apartment.
8. Hang a decorated wreath
Wreaths are one of the most iconic and easiest ways to decorate for the upcoming holiday. For Halloween, create a wreath made out of small, plastic skulls, spiders or bats. If you’re going with a fall theme instead of Halloween only, you could hang a wreath of leaves or with seasonal colors, too. This is a great way to add a little something to your apartment without it being too expensive or taking up too much space.
9. Leaf it up
With the changing of the season comes falling leaves. Use this to your advantage and spread leaves on your tablescape or put them in vases for a Halloween and fall touch.
10. Stretch out some skeletons
This is the one time of year when we want you to get those skeletons out of the closet. You can use skeleton decorations almost anywhere in your apartment. Put one in an armchair or at the dining room table. Hang it from the coat closet or front door. Really, anywhere you place Mr. Bones will make for an awesome decorative addition this Halloween.
11. Watch out for skulls and crossbones
Like skeletons, skulls and crossbones are another iconic way to decorate for Halloween. You can use them as candle holders, centerpieces, vases or just as-is. Place a skull in the center of your wreath on the door or as a paperweight for your current read. The nice thing about skulls is you don’t need to do much with them other than place them where you want them. Otherwise, they’ll just sit (and stare) with vacant eyes at you and your guests.
12. Go batty with bats
Bats are a great Halloween decoration. You can purchase bat-shaped stickers and place them on the mirrors, walls or even the ceiling of your apartment. Or, you can DIY bat cut-outs yourself with some black construction paper and scissors. This is a fun way to decorate your apartment without taking up too much space.
13. Create a spider web
Most people want to rid their apartment of spiders but not at Halloween. Get yourself some fake spiders and stretchable spider web crafting material to deck out the corners with cobwebs. This is another option that’s great for apartment dwellers because you can put cobwebs anywhere from the front entryway to the kitchen to the TV itself. Add a few faux spiders of any size to up the creep factor.
14. Watch out for witches
From witchy hats to pointed shoes to black cats, you can use the witch theme to spice up your apartment for Halloween. If you’re looking for some DIY options, make pointed witch hats and place them throughout your apartment. Or, you can buy witchy things like brooms or cauldrons and place them strategically throughout your place. Big or small, witches make a big impact.
15. Start a miniature spooky village
If you’re looking for ways to DIY Halloween decorations, this is a great hack. Buy some square and rectangular wood blocks and some paint. Then, paint the blocks to look like houses. You may consider painting the houses black and adding white trim for the doors and windows. You can then take your little spooky village and place it on the kitchen table, mantle or other areas to create a tiny spooky town.
16. Create your own graveyard
If you can decorate the front door of your apartment, you can make it look like a tombstone by adding some plastic wrap or decorating paper to the door. Cut a big piece of plastic or paper into the shape of your front door. Then, add words like RIP or “Tombstone of YOUR NAME” to make your very own tombstone front door. You could do this to all the doors inside the house, too.
17. Create a haunted apothecary
Turn your bottles and jars into a creepy apothecary this Halloween by adding DIY labels to each of them. You can add things like “unicorn blood” or “vampire sweat” to your regular oils and vinegar to make things spooky.
18. Welcome the ghosts
A simple yet festive decoration for apartments at Halloween is ghosts. From a little ghost figurine to a sheet hanging from the fan to look like a ghost, you can welcome the friendly (and unfriendly) ghosts to your apartment this year.
19. Put out some decorative pillows
If you want a super easy way to decorate your apartment, buy one or two pillows that are Halloween-themed. Add them to your couch, chairs or bed and you’ve got a simple touch that also adds a little bit of the holiday into your apartment.
20. Add a creepy doormat
Last but not least is the doormat decoration. Buy a doormat that has a pumpkin, ghost, goblin or ghoul on your front porch and you’re welcoming the dead into your home from the get-go.
Have a spooktacular month with apartment Halloween decorations
From fall-centered decorations to Halloween props, you can make your apartment the spooky spot this Halloween. Whether you DIY all the crafts or go with store purchases or a bit of both, just make sure you go all-out ghoul this year.
