It's Halloween decorating time! With spooky season just around the corner, the bewitching hour is upon us to dress up our homes in preparation for 31 October. From creepy colour schemes to petrifying props, check out these hair-raising DIY Halloween decorating ideas that will transform your home into a haunted house of horrors.

Ditch the gloomy colour palette in favour of Barbiecore brights. Velvet pumpkins are a must-have this Halloween, so line them up on your tablescape in varying shades of pink and orange. For a sophisticated and feminine look, add crystal champagne coupes, cut glass candleholders with vibrant candles and vases with coordinating seasonal blooms.

Swap out photos or prints from an existing gallery wall for Gothic-themed alternatives. There are lots of cheap PDFs online that you can print off on a home printer and frame or invest in purchasing a few of your favourite poster designs and you'll have them for years to come if stored in rigid envelopes. Think Tarot-inspired illustrations, vintage apothecary bottles and mysterious book pages – perfect for a murder mystery evening.

Give your party guests a rundown of the treats (or tricks!) they can expect for the evening. Paint a coffin-shaped ceramic blank with chalkboard paint and allow it to dry. Alternatively, cut a shape from thick card. Then use a chalk pen or glow-in-the-dark stickers to add a menu of themed cocktails or nibbles.

Create a grown-up All Hallows Eve display by swapping bright oranges and jet black for soft terracotta and charcoal. Introduce interesting textures in the form of ribbed ceramics, slubby linen napkins and slate bunting, but don't forget the whimsy! Pop some googly eyes on bowls of satsumas and fill a metal pale with water for apple bobbing.

These mini meringues not only look adorable but taste delicious, too. Whip up a batch of meringue and pipe out little teardrop shapes onto baking paper. Bake in the oven, then when cool, use black food colouring to paint on cute ghost faces. Display them on a platter or hide them around your home for sweet-toothed guests to discover.

Hang up curtains of bats or, better still, take on a DIY craft project and make your own. Take a sheet of black paper or card and neatly cut out bat shapes. Affix to a length of black ribbon with glue or a stapler to make a DIY curtain or garland, then either hang to decorate a wall, display across a doorway or add them to a scary porch scene complete with a giant spider web and large black spider.

Create an eerie welcome on Halloween by continuing the creepy décor indoors. Piled pumpkins and lanterns arranged together with spiky twigs and large, crispy leaves can evoke a haunting atmosphere in a hallway that is super easy to achieve.

If you've embraced an on-trend dark decorating look recently, use the moody look to your Halloween advantage by displaying ultra-bright decorations that pop against a black backdrop. These honeycomb pumpkins in fuchsia pink, yellow and orange add a colourful wow factor to the black mantelpiece. Alternatively, why not have a go at making your own pom-poms with tissue paper?

Sometimes less is more! One large decoration can make a fabulously creepy front door idea. This vampire face sticker is ideal for adding a Halloween flavour to your entrance and there are those easy cut-out bats again, too. 

Balloons in black, orange and white are just perfect for a Halloween theme. And if you can blow them up with helium, then all the better! Make them even more fun by drawing on spooky faces with black permanent marker pen. Or, this balloon installation with 'eyeballs' bubbling out of a cardboard cauldron couldn't be easier and it's sure to go down a treat with the kids.

For a fun and effective Halloween craft for the dinner table, use a cutting tool to make letters from thin wood or heavy card – go for classic spooky words or phrases. Then simply mount them in a frame or glue them to a homemade stand. Use little chalkboards as place cards and decorate the table with an orange runner, napkins and a few mini pumpkins.

Turn your living room into a seriously scary home cinema for Halloween. Layer up the sofa with dark velvet cushions, hang vintage net curtains and cardboard cut-out bats at the window. Dress the fireplace with haunted house-style props such as scary photo frames, skulls and black feathery crows. Then, turn out the electric lamps, light lots of candles and let the 'fright night' movie marathon begin.

Give the outside of your home a spooky touch with pre-lit novelty statues. They're sure to add character to your porch and bring a little fun to your Halloween scene when combined with pumpkins and autumnal features. 

The next time you head out for a country walk, bring home a fallen branch to decorate with Halloween decorations. Spray paint the twigs black or purple, then use it as a 'wildwood' backdrop to hang decorative ghosts, tombstones and spooky sign ornaments.

You don't have to spend a lot to create a stylish scheme for Halloween and it doesn't have to be tacky either; this one is especially brilliant for a grown-up look. Visit the supermarket and buy a bundle of pumpkins and gourds in various sizes and simply spray paint them in vibrant colours. You don't even need to carve them for this to still be impressive.

Turn jam jars into jack-o'-lanterns for a safe alternative to the real thing. They make a warming glow and are especially cute as nightlights for children if you are decorating their bedroom for Halloween. Choose small jars and paste pieces of orange tissue paper to the outside with PVA or craft glue. Cut shapes from black tissue paper or lightweight card for their cheeky jack-o'-lantern faces. Once dry, pop in a battery-operated candle. 

Whether you choose a terrifying skull as a chilling centrepiece or place a lifesize dancing skeleton in your porch, bony bodies make marvellous Halloween decorations as their deathly forms have a spine-chilling impact. For super-scary scenes, combine them with candles and cobwebs. Or, for a humorous twist, make them pose in everyday situations or dress them up in hats and accessories.

During Halloween, be sure to light this fantasy spherical firepit on the night of 31 October to set your garden apart from the neighbours. Fairies and pixies are carved out of the iron globe to create an enchanted forest scene as it burns, which then casts bewitching shadows bursting with atmosphere onto floors and walls around the garden. 

Hide under the covers with seasonal Halloween bed linen that will make an endearingly apt addition to spooky sleepovers. This version is printed with cute little dogs dressed up in batwings, capes and witches' hats, so is more fun than fearful to avoid any real nightmares. 

Decorate the dining room with eerie illustrated dinnerware. These wicked plates feature a different Halloween-inspired skull image on each surface – deadly has never been so debonair! Pair with black and white tableware for a classic, monochrome look, or with white and gold for an elegant take on a Halloween table scheme.

Orange and black not your scene? Go for a ghostly decorating theme of white instead. For a hair-raising haunted house vibe, look for vintage books, faded handwritten letters and black and white photographs, then layer them in among white church candles and antique bottles. Finish with white roses and a sprinkling of faux cobwebs and spiders. Mottled metallic pumpkins and white will add a touch of glamour.

Let your friends pick their poison by creating devilish drinks. Look out for interesting bottles, then fill them with brightly coloured fruit juice. Alternatively, turn glass drinks dispensers into cauldrons full of vibrant potion punch complete with floating props inside. Stick on labels that have nasty names like 'bat blood' and 'vampire venom' and use corks as stoppers. Finish with cobweb-covered glassware made from candyfloss.

Removable wall mural wallpaper will turn your room into an atmospheric werewolf's lair. Sure to add a fright all night, this eerie full-moon scene creates a super-sized backdrop that will have you looking over your shoulder. Come morning, it can easily be peeled off and stored until next year. 

Make a creepy-crawly scene above the mantel or on a shelf with a large homemade spider's web. Paint the back of a large empty picture frame with chalkboard paint, then draw a web shape with white chalk. Finish the display with scuttling spiders made from black pipe cleaners and foam balls. Blogger and crafter jane can... has got the full tutorial. 

If you're hosting a dinner party for just the grown-ups, create an elegant soirée with unconventional colours. Weave fake spiderwebs over the tablecloth and around moody blue and black shades of tableware. Finish with fun, witchy props and smoked glassware to fill with spellbinding cocktails and refreshments. 

Make floating ghosts by draping napkins or white tissue paper over ping-pong balls tied with ribbon and hanging up with string. Give life (no pun intended!) to the scene with a backdrop of Halloween-inspired words and a colony of black paper bats.

Only the bravest trick-or-treaters will dare to bang on the door that has a super scary bell or knocker. Create a haunted house effect with a skull or monster face that lights up and makes a chilling chime when pressed. 

Neon lamps in spooky shapes make an easy last-minute Halloween update and will instantly ignite your home with an eerie atmosphere. Pop battery-operated bats, pumpkins and witch hats in windows and among Halloween displays, then dim the lights to let the neon signs take centre stage.

Transform your entrance with a deathly doormat using a stencil and black spray paint. Instead of the usual spiders or ghosts, why not go for something a little different like a creepy crow or a spiky dead tree? Check out Lollyjane.com for the tutorial.

Cast ghostly shadows with a row of eerie floating candles. Spray paint battery-operated candles in black and gold and tie them with fishing wire. Hang them from the ceiling in a row at different levels and watch them splutter and flicker just like at a Hogwarts feast.

Give everyday games a makeover with a Halloween twist. Paint ghost faces on white skittles, carve a pumpkin out to make a mini-golf target or throw witches' hats over wooden pegs for a ring toss. Pop sweets in glass jars and goody bags to give away as prizes at the end.

If walls can't be tampered with, a projector makes a clever, mess-free option. There's no end to the things you could project – we love these fun multicoloured dancing skeletons. These creepy characters would look super-menacing cast onto front gardens in the darkness, too.

Halloween wouldn't be complete without an array of delicious treats displayed in a mischievous manner. Kids will go batty for this bat-shaped doughnut wall that makes a striking spooky centrepiece. Make the buffet table a feature by styling it with purple pumpkins, a witch's cauldron and plenty of balloons.

Dress a mantelpiece with plenty of Halloween colour by hanging an array of novelty paperchains. If you'd rather have a go at making them yourself, make a card template then use it to trace and cut out shapes in black and orange craft paper. Try pumpkin faces and spiders in alternating shades, or any other shapes you fancy. 

A 10-metre roll of 'caution' tape is super cheap and is all you need to make an eerie impact on Halloween. Simply stick it across a doorway to make guests instantly uneasy or make it part of a spooky display with glitter skulls and jelly sweets in ornate vintage jars.

Great for including the kids, why not get in the kitchen and start baking? Young children can assist you with mixing and rolling out biscuit dough. Decorate your baked cookies with royal icing piped into pumpkin shapes and hang them from spikey branches placed in a vase. 

Investing in decorations that will only be used for a few weeks can seem a little extravagant. Take a look around your home for vases and ornaments in typical Halloween shades – think orange and black – that you can group together to make a spooky display. You could spray paint plain glass bottles, too. Buy a few mini gourds from the supermarket to add the finishing festive touch.

Easy and quick to make, grab yourself some paper straws that you can adorn with handmade decorations. Using a black pen, draw a spider onto white card, trim and adhere to the straws with hot glue or double-sided tape. You could even draw ghosts, cats and other spooky characters.

We love this idea for decorating a pumpkin. It's not Halloween without copious amounts of sweets, chocolates and cakes. Bright bowls are perfect vessels for treats and why not customise your home baked cupcakes with pumpkin cake-toppers?

Create a spooky graveyard inside your house with these realistic decorations with light-up features. If you'd rather have a go at making one yourself, cut polystyrene to size and carve deathly shapes into it. Simply spray paint them grey, then drape faux spider's webs over the top to finish. 

Gingerbread houses aren't just for Christmas! Bake a spooky old mansion for Halloween and decorate it with orange and black icing – pipe on the roof, windows and doors. Pop teeny pumpkins made from sugar paste outside the house's door and add bats to the front. Make it extra special by filling it with sweeties before you secure the roof.

It's time to raid the medicine cabinet for this one! Grab yourself rolls of bandages, googly eyes and some fruit and veggies – go for unripe ones so the display lasts longer. Simply wrap the food pieces in gauze or bandage, then press on some playful eyes. Dot your new cheeky friends around your home and on the doorstep. 

Love an upcycling project? Take inspiration from old haunted houses by temporarily replacing family photos with terrifying updates. Look online for free printables or get clever with software like Adobe Photoshop. Better yet, have some fun with the digital camera and create tongue-in-cheek versions of your own with face paints, costumes and ghostly lighting. To complete the look, frame your shots in eerie surrounds by spraying second-hand frames black.

Inflate as many balloons as you can to fill your party room. Use helium so that they drift to the ceiling and bob around above you. Go for a quirky mix of colours and patterns – we love these spotty and marbled designs. But the key is the more the better!

Every Halloween party needs an extra spooky buffet table. Use a black tablecloth and lots of lanterns, candles and pumpkin decorations to set the scene. And be sure to cater for your guests with plenty of homemade cakes, nibbles and treats with ghastly decorations.

Make a statement in your home by using stylish wallpaper to dramatic effect. To recreate this look, buy yourself a few black and white striped rolls and affix them to the wall with sticky tac, continuing the design onto the floor. You'll be able to easily remove it once the party is over. 

The little ones will love this next project. Take some paint or pens and draw cheeky faces onto mandarins and oranges. Group these guys together for a fun, fruity display and add googly eyes for a 3D effect. The best bit? As long as you don't pierce the skin, they can still be eaten once the festivities are over.

The bright colours and decorative detailing of these 'Day of the Dead' Mexican-themed skeletons are more cheery than chilling, so this look might be less frightening for little ones. Use pops of vibrant orange and pink to lift the whole scheme.

If you're brave enough, paint one wall of your home in a vibrant pumpkin shade. You can always return it to the old colour at a later date – but be sure to get your landlord's permission if you live in a rental. Once the paint has dried, dress the room around it by adding orange cushions and several large pumpkin faces cut from pieces of black card. 

Spell out some Halloween fun by adding a wooden word board to the mantel and magically changing the message each day as the 31 October draws nearer. If you want a look that's a little less scary, opt for props in softer colours and a lantern or two. 

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