11 Ways to Add Halloween Curb Appeal

Halloween decor at my house tends to run more toward fake severed arms than placid pumpkin displays. But there’s always room for improvement. Here are 11 stylishly macabre ideas to add curb appeal for the holiday:

Black Window Box

Above: See 10 Easy Pieces: Black Box Planters.

A black window box filled with spiky grasses and a seasonal spray of orange is all you need.

Go Goth

Above: Photograph via Roman and Williams.

Stain an outdoor dining table black for a moody look year-round.

DIY Halloween Lights

Above: Julie likes to make a string of DIY Beady-Eyed Black Cat Lights to hang over the door to welcome trick-or-treaters.

Tiny Pumpkins

Above: Photograph via Susan Branch.

Wherever you have a little ledge–above a door, outside a window, or on a deck railing–you can line up a little orange army.

Lawn Ghosts

Above: Only slightly spooky, a circle of dancing lawn ghosts is a simple DIY project (pretty much all you need is some old bed sheets). For step-by-step instructions, see How to Make Ghost Circle Yard Decorations.

Midnight Planter

Above: Black grasses and plants are the right brew for a witches’ cauldron on a front stoop. For step-by-step instructions, see DIY Patio Planter: Dark and Stormy for Halloween.

A Steely Look

Above: A dark steel postbox revives the mystery of mail. Made in Austin, Texas, a Gibson Mail Box from Bold Manufacturing (formerly SteelHouse) is $275 via Etsy.

Black Spray Paint

Above: You can rent a spray gun to turn ugly brick glamorous, a Melbourne couple learned after a disastrous attempt to paint their house blue-gray sent them into DIY mode. Read about their adventure with black spray paint on Design Sponge.

Bat Cave

Above: Hang a bat house to attract mosquito-eating bats. A Teak Bat House made of wood sustainably harvested in Costa Rica is $99.95 from Yard Garden Art.