Ask An Expert: Decorate For Halloween
Melody Jurick
Melody Jurick Designs
214-632-5297
www.melodyjurickdesigns.comMelody Jurick earned a bachelor's degree in interior design from Texas Tech University. Jurick specializes in residential and commercial interiors. This Halloween, try some of her top design tips to give your home a welcoming appeal perfect for the season.
Front Door"First impressions always start at the front entry door so I love having wonderful plant containers on each side of the door, or sometimes just on one side, planting and arranging live plants in the containers. When selecting plants, get different heights depending on the size of your container and then mix items around the base of container such as cornhusk, artificial gourds, small pumpkins, artificial antlers and decorative elements such as gold deco spears. In the Texas heat, sometimes this is very helpful, using artificial plants and elements in your containers outdoors and no watering required. Some of the artificial plants look so real you can't tell the difference."
Lighting"Lighting always makes a party festive. You can stream white lights or decorative lights, such as pumpkins or bars, on your fence or backdrop wall. Another great place is to hang them across your fireplace mantel, on an accent wall or a patio to create ambience and lighting. Be sure to hang them high enough that no one can touch them or pull on them."
Interior DécorTake a large pumpkin real or artificial and spray it metallic gold spray paint including the stem. You can leave it gold or take black matte paint and make polka dots, stripes or even a pattern. The great thing about designing these pumpkins (if use artificial) is you can use it for the next season for Thanksgiving decorations.
Food Serving Table "Take a real pumpkin in any size, clean the pumpkin, cut out top, thoroughly clean out the inside of the pumpkin (removing the seeds) and put your favorite food dish inside. You can put the top back on until it is time to serve. This is great way to display and serve spinach dip, guacamole and salsa.The pumpkin can also be used as a vase. If you want floral color to last longer, you can always insert a small potted plant. Ivy and colorful mums look great in a small carved out pumpkin, showcasing the gorgeous fall flowers to style your tables."
"You will need mini or very small real pumpkins. Look for ones that have curled or crazy stems on them. Your craft list includes mini small pumpkins, metallic sparkle fabric leaves and a package of plain artificial fall leaves, glue and four different colors of glitter — I would suggest a metallic red, green, gold, orange. You will need raffia (I usually use tan green and a kind of a rusty red and purple). The fun part is assembling them. First, take the pumpkin, tie the raffia on the stems in two bows, and cut the excess. Then, lay out all the leaves and put glue on the edges and the veining of the leaves, and then dip them front side into the glitter colors. All of them are different you want to let them dry a few hours. Next step: glue one large leaf and a smaller one, and arrange them at the bottom of the stem under the raffia. A great touch is to personalize them for friends, teachers and clients using a black Sharpie marker."Related: Best Up And Coming Visual Artists In DFW