Go Black: Keep Halloween decor sleek, stylish, ghoulish with timeless, basic hue

  • By Sarah Jackson Herald Writer
  • Thursday, October 4, 2007 10:57pm
  • Life

You want to have a Halloween party, but you can’t bear to do the same tired orange-and-black color scheme.

Even the classic fall foliage “harvest” theme isn’t really doing it for you.

You want sleek, stylish, hip even.

Our advice?

Go all black.

With basic black making a strong resurgence in the world of home decor and runway fashion, you can easily find a bevy of jet-black accessories, dishware and seasonal accents for a ghoulish — yet elegant — Halloween.

You’re sure to have fun with black spiders, crows, rats, cats, caldrons and witches all at your disposal.

Carve a white jack-o-lantern this year and dress it up with black spiders and other ebony Halloween garb.

This year’s crop of Pottery Barn home accents makes going black for Halloween easy.

Sure, you’ll find the usual pumpkin candles and fall leaf garlands.

But you’ll also find black lanterns, spider web candle holders and a delightful black crow table runner, a perfect touch in the Northwest where crows are ubiquitous icons.

Nautica’s new fall tabletop line, meanwhile, includes black-banded dishware as well as black floral dishware designs.

Both feature white accents, the ultimate foil for black.

When shopping for black accents, be on the lookout for all things albino, too, including white skulls, candles, ghost figurines and napkins for a dramatic contrast.

If you have a collection of all-white dishes, now is the time to break them out and decorate place settings with black plastic spiders, witches’ hats or even black masks.

You’ll see the black-and-white scheme played out in all kinds of interior design schemes now, including bedding, living room and dining combinations from retailers such as Ethan Allen, featuring a black-and-white checkered chair on its current catalog cover.

If you avoid going overly seasonal with your Halloween choices, you can use many items — such as black placemats, throws and dishware — all year long in various contexts around the house after the spiders and rats come down.

Because black is so neutral, it works with just about any color, including red and green at Christmastime as well as blues, greens, yellows and, of course, orange hues, too.

“Look at design magazines, furniture catalogs and showroom displays today, and you’re likely to see more than just a touch of black,” Jackie Dishner wrote on HGTV.com. “Just like the ‘little black dress’ that’s been decorating a woman’s wardrobe since Coco Channel unveiled the first version in Vogue magazine 80 years ago, the color black never does seem to go out of style — especially not in the home.”

Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

What’s Up columnist Andrea Brown with a selection of black and white glossy promotional photos on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Free celeb photos! Dig into The Herald’s Hollywood time capsule

John Wayne, Travolta, Golden Girls and hundreds more B&W glossies are up for grabs at August pop-up.

Rodney Ho / Atlanta Journal-Constitution / Tribune News Service
The Barenaked Ladies play Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville on Friday.
Coming events in Snohomish County

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Edmonds announces summer concert lineup

The Edmonds Arts Commission is hosting 20 shows from July 8 to Aug. 24, featuring a range of music styles from across the Puget Sound region.

Big Bend Photo Provided By Ford Media
2025 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend Increases Off-Road Capability

Mountain Loop Highway Was No Match For Bronco

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Mustang Convertible Photo Provided By Ford Media Center
Ford’s 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible Revives The Past

Iconic Sports Car Re-Introduced To Wow Masses

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

The 2025 Nissan Murano midsize SUV has two rows of seats and a five-passenger capacity. (Photo provided by Nissan)
2025 Nissan Murano is a whole new machine

A total redesign introduces the fourth generation of this elegant midsize SUV.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

The Mukilteo Boulevard Homer on Monday, May 12, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Homer Hedge’: A Simpsons meme takes root in Everett — D’oh!

Homer has been lurking in the bushes on West Mukilteo Boulevard since 2023. Stop by for a selfie.

Sarah and Cole Rinehardt, owners of In The Shadow Brewing, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In The Shadow Brewing: From backyard brews to downtown cheers

Everything seems to have fallen into place at the new taproom location in downtown Arlington

Bar manager Faith Britton pours a beer for a customer at the Madison Avenue Pub in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burgers, brews and blues: Madison Avenue Pub has it all

Enjoy half-price burgers on Tuesday, prime rib specials and live music at the Everett mainstay.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.