If you know me, you know my love of Rae Dunn and Halloween Decor. Decorating for any holiday can be a real pain in the ass if you don’t have a game plan. So I figured I’d share how I get my house ready for the holidays! Halloween is a big one for us and the only holiday we do bigger is Christmas. The majority of the ceramic decor is by Rae Dunn, and is from Home Goods. Marshalls, Sierra, and Home Goods sell Rae Dunn pottery as well! What you see below took me two solid days to unpack and arrange. Decorating for the holidays brings a lot of joy though, so it’s worth the time!
Below you can see a glimpse of my “before” photos. I am pretty OCD, but when it comes to decorating (and cooking), I have to make a huge mess before I can perfect the end result. So, I unloaded my nineteen (yes – NINEFUCKINGTEEN) giant rubbermaid bins of Halloween decor. I made piles of all the breakable crap on the counters, pillows and non-breakable stuff on the floor, and then just went from there. Once I had everything sorted, I took my items that I thought made a “story” together and grouped them in smaller piles. Then, I threw the piles onto the bookshelves and china hutch for later staging. To be honest, the hauling up of 19 heavy bins and unpacking took a few hours, so it was good to let things sit overnight so I could start fresh the next day with staging.
The first pic is the loot all boxed up. The second and third photos were just to show my various piles of crap so that you can see that you have to get messy before you get clean.
Once I had everything somewhat sorted out, I threw certain items that went well together in small groups. In the first photo you can see I put all the pumpkin print and ghost print ceramics together. The next photo was all of the “luster” Rae Dunn items. The last photo was anything breakable in orange, purple, black, or green to go in my hutch. Note that nothing stayed in the exact same spot as I initially staged it, but it did end up pretty close to where it began. The biggest tip I can give is to make sure you have a lot of fillers! Garlands and items of different sizes and heights add visual interest. Also, invest in risers from the dollar spot at Target! They’ll make any Halloween decor arranged on shelves really pop!
When it came time to decorate my hutch, I knew I wanted each color (black, orange, green, and purple) represented on each shelf, and I knew I wanted it to be mainly Rae Dunn. So I just kind of staggered things then added the wooden risers purchased from Target underneath certain canisters/mugs for height. After arranging all of the ceramics, it was time to weave through black garland and floral picks. When it comes to hutches and trays, the key is to layer things and have different heights. Don’t line up all of your Halloween decor in a straight line!
Above is a third book shelf I don’t usually have out but I now use it purely for Halloween decor. I used this for all the basic, white Rae Dunn pottery. (All candy corn items on the top shelf, spider ones on the second, dancing skeletons on the third, and witches on the bottom.) The last picture is missing a witch leg canister. It’s taken the long route to CO so the purple spider is holding its place until it arrives.
The photos above are of my other book cases where I started by first laying down spider webs, then I added in my luster Rae Dunn Halloween decor. I covered the top of the book case with creepy plants that I found at Target. How perfectly do those little Venus fly traps fit into the orange planter? I fucking love it! I filled the large black planter that says “Witch’s Garden” with witch leg picks I got from Michaels, and more faux creepy plants from Target.
Next, I worked on smaller sections like my bar and coffee nook. Ernie, our cat came to snuggle with the skeleton. The faux mug machine was from Home Goods. The jack-o-lantern fruits light up and are from Target! The bowl is naturally Rae Dunn. Hobby Lobby doesn’t sell Halloween decor, but they do sell fall decorations that can tie in with your displays as well.
I worked on my smaller trays and shelves last. Since I didn’t have many green items left over, I used all my Frankenstein goods on the shelf below. Next year I will swap out some of the white items for more green and purple. For those curious as to where I got all of my shelves, they’re from Hobby Lobby! The one below is the chicken wire one you can find here, and the other two are found here. If you want them, make sure to buy them this week while they are on sale!!
Below you can see what it all looks like from afar! But now you get the gist of how I decorate step by step. If you’re just starting out, don’t get overwhelmed. Take your time and feel free to adjust and re-adjust as you see fit. It’s a process until you know how to style book cases, hutches, and trays.
My biggest tip is to try and make cohesive “stories” with your Halloween decor. Especially if you’re like me and are drawn to a variety of styles of decorations. And the best day to shop for Halloween is November 1st when it’s all on sale. Anything you see that isn’t Rae Dunn was most likely purchased at Target or Hobby Lobby. And if all else fails, search Pinterest for design ideas! Happy first day of Fall!! For ideas on how to make cute Boo Baskets for your neighbors for Halloween, check out my blog here.
