BEYOND BLACK and orange

FORGET THE GO-TO COLORS THIS HALLOWEEN

BY COURTNEY WARREN

When it comes to holidays and celebrations, I love tradition — candles on a birthday cake, a Christmas tree accompanied by wrapped presents, and a Thanksgiving green bean casserole covered with a crunchy onion topping.

But there is fun to be had in mixing things up, and some elements of the holidays are open to interpretation. I believe only using black and orange for Halloween is one of them. Don’t be afraid to infuse some variety into the upcoming holiday.

HUES OF BLUE

Are you setting a fall table? Add sprays of fresh or dried blue hydrangea to a centerpiece of white pumpkins, grey-green foliage, and eucalyptus. Add a little ambiance with twinkling votives.

MARVELOUS METALLICS

In my opinion, you can’t have too much sparkle, and fall pumpkins offer an opportunity to glam it up. Dip white pumpkin stems in glue and then in chunky glitter. Or paint a drippy glue pattern on the tops and sprinkle with glitter creating a stunning effect in daylight or candlelight. Pair this with gray or white pumpkin accents. Whether real or faux, this DIY project is an excellent way to spice things up.

GRAY AND WHITE

Many holiday decorations are trending toward neutral tones, and Halloween is no exception. Look beyond the usual pumpkins at the patch and arrange some ghostly gray, white, and cream pumpkins with twining greenery and wood or burnished metal accents.

PRETTY IN PINK

We all know pink works for Valentine’s Day, but pink for Halloween? Absolutely! Pink peps things up, especially when playfully paired with pops of black.

Think outside the box, forget the go-to colors for Halloween, and re-interpret fall decor to your taste. Just don’t re-interpret so much that you become the house that gives trickor-treaters apples instead of chocolate. Some traditions are best left alone.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Courtney Warren is a Rockwall native interior designer whose award-winning design work has been featured in numerous national magazines and media and whose clients span the North Texas area. She believes “you deserve a beautiful home you can be proud of, and it doesn’t have to be complicated.”

She loves decorating for the holidays, and her most embarrassing Halloween costume was when her parents made her dress up as a Magic Skunk. You can find her recent projects on Instagram and Facebook at @courtneywarrenhome or courtneywarren.com.