“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
-L.M. Montgomery
It’s hard to believe October is here! We love these fall months, and somehow they always seem to fly by. Knowing this, our goal is to get our spaces “spookified” as early as possible, so we can enjoy every moment. With Tess home last weekend for a belated birthday celebration, we took advantage of the time together for some october decorating – and make a fun and macabre seasonal meal (think brains and “human” ribs) – more on that in our next post.
Regardless of the holiday, it’s important to bring back the elements we loved the most from year to year – while also adding some new inspiration. Fresh touches keep everything interesting, while the old favorites honor the nostalgia of our traditions! With this is mind, we pulled out our favorites from past seasons, and got to work incorporating new elements (think bats, butterflies and moths!) into our Halloween home scapes.
Less Is More.
As September ushers in sweater weather and fall foliage; October signals the time to prepare for Halloween. I enjoy Halloween, although my appreciation for the holiday pales in comparison to Tess’ literal obsession with all things ghostly. Yet, as a result of serious space constraints in her Brooklyn apartment, Tess has to be super selective about her holiday additions. On the flip side, even though I have the luxury of more space here in Rocky River, I prefer to approach holiday decorating (specifically october decorating – christmas is a slightly different story) with a minimalistic mantra. The moral of the story here is “less is more”.
This year, in both of our homes we went for a gothic vibe. Playing up the stark contrast between black and white, we chose black bat decals for our white walls. Carrying the theme outdoors as well – we used them to artfully frame the front door. Perfect for our gothic theme, the decals are big on impact with the bonus of a space saving footprint. Another simple design approach we embraced was creating an interesting table scape. This time around we added an otherworldly toile table throw accented with tapers, votives and 3-D butterflies and moths (thanks Etsy!). Even if your table is on the small side, this effect can be achieved with tiny white pumpkins, votives, and tapers. On that note, consider fresh pumpkins as indoor decorations. These define the season and won’t have to be stored after All Hallows Eve arrives.
Before…
After…
Soups On.
Lastly, what would an autumn decorating afternoon be without a satisfying fall meal as the finale? Our plan included putting together a savory soup earlier in the day. Then when it was time to relax, we simply popped the croutons under the broiler while bringing the soup to a simmer. With this as our cue to toast to a job well done, we sipped an earthy Pinot Noir over bowls of steaming french onion soup gratinee, with gruyere croutons. A fitting end to an October day well spent.
Happy October!
