4 Subtle Ways To Start Decorating Your Home For Halloween

October is right around the corner, and you know what that means: The spooky season is officially almost upon us. Of course, we all know that one neighbor that goes really all-out with the Halloween decorations: gravestones on the front lawn, a million pumpkins on the porch, cobwebs, and black cat statues all over the living room. If that's your vibe, that's awesome in its own way, but you might be looking for a decorating scheme that is still seasonal and maybe even a little spooky but much more low-key. You don't need to have fake blood dripping down your walls to make your house feel like it's on the edge of the witching hour.

There are a few easy hacks (and even some DIY decorating tips recommended by Good Housekeeping) that can take your fall and Halloween decorating scheme to the next level without feeling overwhelming or like your living space has become a haunted fun house instead of your comforting, familiar home.

If you are the type of person who likes to shift up the color scheme inside their home often, the Halloween season will provide you with the perfect excuse. Summer décor usually calls for bright, vibrant colors, so if those hues are still lingering in your living space, switching them out for shades that evoke more of a fall vibe could be a quick and easy way to transition your home into the Halloween season.

CountryLiving advises focusing on classic fall hues such as deep oranges, reds, and browns. However, if you want to make your house feel less autumnal and more spooky, you could even incorporate some darker, more moody colors such as black and purple. If you do go that route, and you still want your home's atmosphere to be subtly spooky instead of outright scary, you should try to keep the rest of the colors in your space fairly neutral and maybe stick to one or two statement pieces.

The nice thing about Halloween as a holiday is that it encompasses a broad range of different decorating schemes, from cutesy to seasonal to terrifying. As a result, it can be easy to subtly evoke reminders of Halloween and the fall season in your home by swapping out a few classic accessories for something a little more autumnal. Good Housekeeping points out that switching up decorative throw pillows and blankets on your living room couches is always a quick and easy way to make your space feel refreshed and more in season, and there are lots of options and patterns to choose from, from fall leaves to black cats.

You can also save some money and indulge your creative side by crafting your own homemade decorative pieces, whether that is a fall wreath for your front door or an ornate harvest-themed centerpiece for your dining room table. One of the most convenient aspects of fall decorations is that they are applicable for both Halloween and Thanksgiving, so hypothetically, if you stay away from spookier choices, you won't have to change things up again until the holiday season.

If the thought of swapping out accessories all throughout your home is a little too much, you can also choose to focus on just one room in your house or even a single furniture piece within that space. For example, you can incorporate Halloween aspects into your home's entryway with a cute "Enter if you dare!" sign and some pumpkin accents. Or, First Day of Home highlights your home's mantel as a classic area that is easy to switch out for seasonal decorations without being too overwhelming.

For instance, you can string up a Halloween banner or garland and add candles for some ghostly lighting. If your mantel features picture frames, you could temporarily swap out the photos for more spooky art. You could even find old glass jars with corks at thrift stores and upcycle them so that they look like dusty apothecary potion jars. The possibilities for what to do with your mantel space are endless!

Changing up your lighting definitely falls on the spookier side of subtle Halloween decorations, and it may not be something you want to do beyond the holiday itself — you probably won't be too thrilled about flickering lights in your living room while you're trying to read, or dining room lighting that's so dim you can't really see your food. But, if you're throwing a Halloween party or you want to make sure your outdoor lighting is appropriately spooky for prospective trick-or-treaters, switching up your bulbs can be a quick and inexpensive way to give your home a Halloween vibe.

Flickering lights (also known as candle lights) and even strobe lights can be a fun way to help your porch stand out for the neighborhood kids as they trick or treat. For an indoor party, you can switch out your regular lightbulbs for colored ones. Entertaining Diva explains how red lights can make any room feel scary while green lights promote a colder "graveyard" vibe. Just make sure you don't put your red and green lights together, or you might evoke a different holiday feeling instead!