October is an exciting month with cooler temperatures and frightful fun in the air. It’s the perfect time to switch out your summertime lemon centerpiece for something with pumpkins and a little more fall flair. Many decorations can even be made right at home, giving your house added creativity and originality. It’s also great fun for kids, grandkids, and, of course, the influx of trick-or-treaters.
Decorating with your plantation shutters is an easy way to incorporate your windows into your fall home designs. For Halloween, think faux spider webs or creepy netting combined with flameless candles for a spooky night inside. Of course, you can also have some fun with your actual windows, too. Give one of these ideas a try for some Halloween fun this month:
Use Halloween Window Decals and Stickers
From elaborate Halloween scenes to simple, popular characters like spiders and ghosts, window decals and clings are easy ways to get in the Halloween spirit. You can find decals in local shops or online. You can even make your own window decals using a variety of materials, such as simple contact paper and printed templates or vinyl adhesive and specialized machines (like the Cricut). The possibilities for DIY window decals are truly endless.
Get Imaginative with Pretend Window Boards
Give your house that horror movie look by pretending your windows are all boarded up. Battered board decorations are easily found at party supply stores and should be easy to hang using removable mounting putty or other materials. Just make sure that any adhesive you use is safe for use on windows. Just like with the window decals, you can DIY these playful boards, too, using foam board. If you want to take the whole project a step further, pick-up “caution” or “enter if you dare” tape from the party supply store and attach it to your battered board.
Hang Decorative Curtains
Hanging spooky curtains above your plantation shutters sets the perfect tone for Halloween movie night. Fringe and lace curtains are popular decorations for the holiday. Gauze and cheesecloth are other favorites for outdoor displays. You could even decorate your own curtains, or use streamers in place of fabric.
Add a Silhouette to Your Window
Similar to window decals, silhouettes make spooky and fun decorations for your windows. It’s easy to make your own using online templates, a printer, and foam or poster boards. Cardboard monster shapes are an especially favored Halloween design, as are the characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas and the silhouettes from the Hocus Pocus sisters.
String Miniature Lights on Your Windows
Halloween lights can illuminate your window decorations or just serve as a more simple way to participate in the holiday. If you’d rather decorate more for autumn and less for Halloween, then you can even choose lights in warm colors that can last well into November.
Project Images Onto Your Windows Using a Projector
If your neighborhood is popular with trick-or-treaters, you can really amplify the scare factor with a projector that projects Halloween movies and images onto your windows. Some projectors also project images from other holidays, like Christmas, or create interesting light shows.
Doodle Your Own Designs Using Window Chalk Markers
Kids will have a blast when you tell them that, yes, this time they can draw on the windows! Chalk markers are easy and inexpensive finds at craft stores, so that your family can decorate the windows with any Halloween design they can imagine. Best of all, glass markers allow you to change up your design as often as you want. Marker art should be simple to remove from the glass using a window cleaning product.
Have an Elegant Halloween with Themed Garland
Garland is a classic, festive way to decorate your windows regardless of the holiday. Bright orange pumpkins or dangling ghosts are perfect for Halloween parties and visiting candy hopefuls. Plus, you can easily make your own garland using paper or fabric.
What About When It’s Time to Take Down the Display?
When October ends and you’re ready to switch to purely fall decorating, carefully remove your decorations without damaging your windows. Ideally, your decorations won’t leave behind any residue, but if they do, one common trick is to use nail polish remover or an acetone-based glass cleaner to help remove the residue from the glass. As tempting as it may be, try not to scrape your windows to remove residue or decorations, as this could damage the glass.
Clean your windows gently with a lint-free cloth and a safe, homemade or commercial cleaning product before applying new decorations. It’s also a good time to clean your plantation shutters, as well, using our simple guide.
Fall Is the Perfect Time for Plantation Shutters
With the cooler temperatures, autumn is the perfect time to think about home upgrades, like installing plantation shutters. Shenandoah Shutters custom builds beautiful, natural hardwood plantation shutters for the residents of Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.
Plantation shutters add value and elegance to your home, providing extra privacy and energy efficiency. You can even pair plantation shutters with fabric valances or curtains, if you wish. Our plantation shutters are specifically crafted to fit your windows, from tilt-ins and casements to arches and French doors. Choose from cream or stained plantation shutters, or even a custom color. We also offer specialty woods like cherry and oak to match your plantation shutters with your existing home furnishings.
Shenandoah Shutters has been building plantation shutters for decades. We’re located in Richmond, within a few hours or less of our service areas. In fact, you can even tour our woodshop and showroom to see our process and examine our products. At Shenandoah Shutters, we usually only fine American woods and our silken lacquer finish to design our plantation shutters. No plastic or vinyl here. We even patented our own plantation shutter design, the Softedge, giving you more options for your plantation shutters.
Explore our products and photo gallery to see our passion for plantation shutters. When you’re ready, contact us with your questions and to set-up your free, in-home design consultation with a member of our team.
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