Setting the Stage

In the past several years I have been getting rid of the Halloween decorations I purchased that are plastic-y. You know the ones I mean. All those impulse buys from big box stores and Halloween pop-up shops are disappearing from our house and being replaced by items crafted by artists. That means I have fewer items to be sure, but the ones that remain get places of honor.

So, to set a spooky stage, I put emphasis on things like lighting, pillows, and the curtains. It's amazing the difference the curtains can make in a room because they can be a large block of color. We have cheerful paint colors in our house so it's important to tone that down a notch for Halloween.  I know what you're thinking- curtains are so expensive. I think they are ridiculously expensive so I've come up with ways to work around that.

Stay with me here, rolls of black plastic tablecloths. For years I purchased a few rolls at a party store every Halloween and draped that stuff everywhere. In low lighting, the sheen has a silk like appearance. I made swags at windows and one year even draped an entire room to become a tent. It was crazy and I must admit kind of hot in that room. You can often get the tablecloth rolls on sale. Here is a poor picture of how I used it. I wish I had a better picture, but I wasn't always good at documenting my work. You get the idea, though.

The Shivers of Delight House

The Shivers of Delight House

People would actually go up and touch the curtains because they didn't believe it was plastic. Hey, give them some slack. It was dark and they were drinking. 

After a few years of buying rolls of plastic, I thought there must be a more environmentally friendly way to do this. I turned to inexpensive black fabric tablecloths. If you purchase those little clip rings for curtain rods they're easy to attach. I went an extra step and made black and white striped valances because we were having a Tim Burton themed party that year and this look has lasted for the last few years. I purchased the tablecloths on Amazon for about $10 a piece. Again, I wasn't aiming for the curtains in this photo so you have to peek at them through the doorway.

The Shivers of Delight House

This year, I'm draping the back porch windows in black lace mantel scarves I did purchase in the Halloween aisle. They look pretty cool though. I don't have them up yet, but when I do you can be sure I'll take a decent photo of them.

So here are some professionally photographed ideas for you to consider.

Awesome tablecloths from Amazon:

Trellis Tablecloth

Striped Tablecloth

I would love to try to recreate these with plastic and fabric!

source: Interior holic

source: B. Lovely Events

source: Design Dump

source: The Rozy Home