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Decorating For The Season - Halloween Home Staging

By Sharon Tara

Home Stager with Sharon Tara Transformations

October 26, 2014 09:58 PM

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I've always enjoyed the costumes, haunted houses, hay rides and especially the decorating. Decorating for Halloween is a fun family tradition in many homes. Halloween decor has evolved over the years. No longer is a witch's broom by the door, or a few jack-o-lanterns on the steps going to cut it. People are staging full horror show productions on their front lawns.

So....what about homes that are listed for sale?

How much blood and gore is too much if your home is on the market?

Even though it's all in good fun and holiday spirit, an abundance of Halloween horror can be very distracting to potential buyers.

Most home stagers will tell you that it's best to decorate for the SEASON, rather than the HOLIDAY.

Use pumpkins, apples and gourds, colorful leaves, branches and fall flowers. Urns are very useful for fall decorating. The key is keeping it simple.

If you insist on decorating specifically for Halloween...

keep it to a minimum

keep it tasteful... no blood and guts

keep all walkways and stairs clear

replace all Halloween decorations with FALL decorations on November 1

Two fast and easy Halloween decoration ideas

Fall decorating window boxes and planters

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Dick Greenberg

New Paradigm Partners LLC - Fort Collins, CO

Northern Colorado Residential Real Estate

Hi Sharon - Your advice about Halloween decorating is spot on, which is why Mary would never allow our home to be on the market in October - Halloween is her main holiday for decorating and she pulls out all the stops - ghosts, half-buried witches, skeletons, huge spiders, etc. Pretty creepy considering that we only get a dozen or so trick or treaters - the density in our neighborhood is too low to make it a profitable place for acquiring massive amounts of candy - but at least we do full-size candy bars.

Oct 27, 2014 03:53 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH
Ron Marshall

Saint Michael, MN

Broker Patty Da Silva Da Silva

Green Realty Properties® - 954-667-7253 - Cooper City, FL

Top Listing Broker

I can't imagine ever selling a home that looks haunted. Great advice Sharon! Thanks for sharing.

Oct 27, 2014 03:56 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Anna "Banana" Kruchten

HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ

602-380-4886

Sharon I agree, decorate for the season of fall not a gory halloween scene while a home is on the market. Actually that's what I do at this point as well and it lasts from September through Thanksgiving - so much easier and manageable.

Oct 27, 2014 04:02 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Grant Schneider

Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY

Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Sharon - well said. Decorate for the season. The door on the lower right enhances the house.

Oct 27, 2014 07:22 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Ron Marshall

Marshall Enterprises - Saint Michael, MN

Birdhouse Builder Extraordinaire

Great advice for the season...and, Sharon, all the things you mentioned translate well into Thanksgiving, too. You are so smart!

Oct 27, 2014 07:34 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Beverly Carlson

Carlson Properties 325-721-2429 - Abilene, TX

Abilene's Staging Realtor

I would stick to fall leaves and pumpkins for staging. The home needs to look inviting. I have no idea why Halloween is so popular. Of course, I haven't been to a scary movie since the Exorcist, so may be that explains something!

Oct 27, 2014 10:45 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Will Johnson

Hendersonville, TN

The Sell and Stage Team

This is fantastic advice. I didn't even think about this being an issue. Gory and bloody decorations could especially be turnoff. Great tip; decorate for the season rather than the holiday. Thanks!

Oct 27, 2014 10:46 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

James Dray

Fathom Realty - Bentonville, AR

We are still unpacking from the move yesterday. Thankfully the wife hasn't found the fall decorations yet. Sometimes she does go overboard

Oct 27, 2014 08:02 PM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Joe Petrowsky

Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT

Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

Good morning Sharon. Definitely door number two for me, very appealing and inviting. The photo of the home, would immediately want me to not go in.

Oct 27, 2014 08:10 PM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

LaNita Cates

REMAX of Joliet - Joliet, IL

As someone that hates Halloween and don't get the competition of costumes and handing out candy (just paid $70 for my son's costume and $55 for my daughter so they can wear once and paid $65 in candy), I hate walking up to houses with tons of decorations. It's very tacky. Door #2 is nice - it's more like fall which is a beautiful season.

Oct 27, 2014 10:15 PM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Brian England

Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ

MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

It's a great point you make, as some prospective buyer's might be offended by holiday decorations, depending on their views.

Oct 28, 2014 12:59 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Suzanne Otto

Six Twenty Designs - Lansdale, PA

Your Montgomery County PA home stager

Excellent tips Sharon. Decorate for the season, not the holiday!

I was actually driving through a bad area a couple weeks ago and I wondered if some of the things I saw were real or Halloween decorations. I'm hoping they were Halloween decorations lol.

Oct 28, 2014 01:05 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Dick: Mary is my kind of girl! I was so disappointed our first Halloween in this home that we didn't get any kids. SOOO disaappointed! Unlike Mary, I don't bother to decorate because of it. We have our own cemetary and I had such plans for it.

Patty: As I just said to Dick, I don't bother decorating outside anymore because we don't get any kids here.

Anna: I don't mind the work of spooking it up for Halloween, if someone is going to appreciate it, but no one comes here so I just go seasonal.

Grant: That picture gets a lot of pins on Pinterest.

Ron: If you go seasonal you can keep it going right through Thanksgiving!

Beverly: For me the attraction is all the creativity involved. I have always loved creating things for Halloween.

Will: Works for inside or outside. Having seasonal decor adds emotional appeal to a home.

James: Sounds like you may skip this year. Watch out next year though because it's a new home so it will be fun to decorate for the first time!

Joe: The frightening home is right around the corner from me....it's really pretty cool at night. I appreciate all the work they did, but it wouldn't be a good idea if the home was for sale.

LaNita: Sorry to hear you hate Halloween. You aren't alone, I have friends who feel the same way. You can save a lot of money on costumes if you make your own. Get creative and maybe you will surprise yourself and enjoy it.

Brian: I have no problem with the frightening stuff if it's kept to a minimum....the picture I used is a good example of what NOT to do.

Suzanne: That's not good, LOL!

Oct 28, 2014 05:33 AM

Lisa Von Domek

Lisa Von Domek Team - Dallas, TX

....Experience Isn't Expensive.... It's Priceless!

Hello Sharon,

Great, great post for Halloween! Sellers do need to be mindful of their decorations and you have given two wonderful examples of Halloween / Fall front decor.

Oct 28, 2014 07:18 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Brian Olsen

Portland, Lake Oswego, West Linn & Dunthorpe Neighborhoods, Waterfront, Luxury & Floating Homes - Lake Oswego, OR

Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Group | Keller Williams

Yes, our Halloween decor is going back into storage bins this Saturday. Our neighbors have been extremely spirited with our front lawn graveyard : )

Thank You Neighbors of Lake Oswego!

Oct 28, 2014 08:22 AM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Best to get into the "spirit" of the holiday without the Spirits !

Oct 28, 2014 09:10 PM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Steve York

York Real Estate Services - Austin, TX

Residential Sales, Luxury Homes, First-Time Home

Sharon, Great job! I agree that sellers need to decorate to appeal to the broad audience. Minimize the blood & gore, maximize the warm & friendly!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Oct 28, 2014 11:53 PM

Sharon Tara

Portsmouth, NH

Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Lisa: Selling your home means cutting back a bit on the decorations, but you don't have to stop completely.

Brian: You just reminded me that sometimes we don't have control....like control over our neighbors' decorations. That can also be a big issue.

Sally & David: I like that...you should write your own post on the subject!

Steve: Well said! Warm and friendly is far more emotionally appealing!

Oct 29, 2014 05:39 AM

Captain Wayne - Rowlett Real Estate School

Rowlett Real Estate School - Panama City, FL

Rowlett Real Estate School / Owner and Instructor

Halloween was fun. Now I can't wait til Thanksgiving!

Nov 02, 2014 03:32 AM

Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Wayne: I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving too. We alternate every year. We only have the family every other year. This is the year we have them all here.

Nov 02, 2014 10:51 PM