Hello Loves,
We spooked up our apartment with affordable holiday decor.
So “welcome, foolish mortals to the Haunted Apartment.
I am you host, your ghost host.
Kindly step all the way in please, and make room for everyone.
There’s no turning back now”…. (said in my Corey Burton voice)
The creepy spiders made a grand entrance again this year. They were Dollar Tree spider’s with glued paper clips to their backsides for easy hanging using Command hooks. I like the correlation between the doormat and the spiders on the wall.
Amazon had these fabulous rectangular planters. I’m a huge fan of symmetry in decor. If you have been following me for awhile then you remember I picked up the black lanterns that rest in the pots from Walmart for $12 each. Target had small $5 skeletons so I placed one in each lantern for a spooky welcome. If you happen to stroll along our hallway you may smell an aroma of cinnamon. Tucked underneath the faux greenery is pieces of a Trader Joe’s cinnamon broom. You could also tuck under the plants any fall potpourri. It greets guests with such a warm welcome.
If you are needing a new wreath this Halloween, I recommend making your own. Read about the how to’s here. All inspiration credit goes to one of my favorite holiday decor websites, Grandin Road.
Many spooks have roamed the hallways of my apartment building dating back to 1861. This building once housed Union troops and characters like Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday and Jesse James. The architectural features are what drew me to the space. The location of our Crate and Barrel bookcase was an awkward cutout in the kitchen. I’m not sure if it was a window or a door during the Civil War. I have had so much fun seasonally styling the shelves.
Many of the pieces this year are from RE: Emporium. I love the mix of a black and white kitchen with a farm, rustic at home-feeling style. Yes, I know I’m very eclectic with my decorating. I have a lot of space above our cabinets so I grabbed a few branches from my grandma’s house and spray painted them black. They became a home to faux crows and a gold Target owl. The space was a perfect place to tuck in a few fabric pumpkins. Also, every spooky season, I place black succulents from Target dollar section on my stove.
The bar wall draws you into our dining area. My favorite piece is the Whiskey Jack print that I framed several years ago. The willow tree was purchased last year from Target. I went for a witch’s potion style for my bar. The books were all found at thrift stores. I dug for different sizes of books that all had black covers. Michaels came in clutch with beakers, chemistry glassware, and a cool wooden orb eye. Many of the bottles in Bryce’s collection lended themselves to a creepy vibe like the one with white owl etched on it and the skull bottle of course.
I splurged this year with a Crate and Barrel black garland to frame my mirror. It was my one expensive piece, however I will use it for many years to come. Fred, the light-up skeleton is my greeter. He was a favorite purchase 3 years ago from Kirklands. They still have him on their site. The leaves are from Crate and Barrel. I struggled finding faux greenery that didn’t look so fake. I dripped black tapered candles into primitive style candle holders. The metal candle holders are from Hobby Lobby. This table is a great example of folk, modern, and vintage all mixed into one area.
Please join me in our dining room. It’s the space as soon as you open our apartment door. You are greeted with my DIY floating candles, a bat skeleton, and a life-size skeleton from Bryce’s dad. The table runner was from Target last year. If you remember, it was so long on our table. I cut off both ends and made pillows for the couch with the extra fabric. So simple, because the table runner was double fabric. All I had to do was stuff it and stitch one side to close it up.
Our living room is framed with large windows. The view on one side of our space is downtown Kansas City and the view from the other side is the City Market and the Bond Bridge. I never get tired of all the natural light or the city views. The 3 Jack-o-lanterns in the window represent Bryce, Sky, and me. I added around our tv the black butterflies from Amazon. They are flying in all directions like you might see in a horror film. The 3 cloches on the console table are my most recent DIY. There will be a blog post coming soon on how to make these cool oddities. Our cement coffee table is home to gold spiders. I purchased the spiders from Hobby Lobby and Family Dollar. Spraying them with Krylon Gold paint creates a very inexpensive decor and solved my problem of searching for brass or iron spiders.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. I hope it encourages you to feel like you don’t have to spend a lot on holiday decor to create a magical space. Everyday objects can turn into extraordinary holiday decor with spray paint and a glue gun. I saw someone on TikTok say they only decorate for the 4 seasons and not for the holidays. Whichever you choose, decorate your life with things that make you happy.
Until Next Time, Spread Kindness.
HW
by Twofold Media 
