Chic Halloween Decorations for Your Mantel (and aFireplace Makeover)

We love the new trend of glam Halloween decorations. We�d never want traditional orange-and-black Halloween to go away. (Don�t worry. It will always be the go-to theme forHalloween.) But shiny, sparkly white and gold Halloween can be so cool. Take for instance the chicHalloween decor Monica Benavidez created for her mantel and fireplace.

Sheâ��s the author of the blog� Monica Wants It. Monica is one of the design and decorbloggers we invited to take part in our Halloween Style Challenge. We sent several bloggers mysteryboxes of Home Depot Halloween and harvest decorations. The bloggers then used those items tocreate fresh new takes on fall and Halloween decorating for us to share with you.

MonicaâÂ�Â�s Halloween Style Challenge resulted in a glam Halloween mantel thatâÂ�Â�s verychic, but still fun. She shows us how she came up with some of her Halloween decorating ideas. Butfirst, she needed to do something about her fireplaceâÂ�¦Ã�Â

When I got word that I�d been challenged to decorate my mantel in a Halloween/Harvesttheme, I panicked. I love decorating my mantel, but for the past four years I�ve truly despisedour fireplace area. I didn�t want to let you all down by having a boring fireplace, so I knewsomething had to be done stat!

Fireplace Makeover

My husband and I decided to take this challenge to the next level by not only decorating our mantel,but also by completely revamping the fireplace surround. We put the â��allâ�� in challenge,yâ��all!� Hereâ��s what the mantel and fireplace looked like beforeâ��the fireplacescreen was gold, had several dents, and the firebox was super grimy. Add some beige brick and itwas very much stuck in the 1990s.

After making a game plan, we headed to The Home Depot and picked up a gallon of Kilz primer (beststuff ever), a gallon of Behr paint, some rollers and brushes, painter�s tape, drop cloths, andsome Rust-Oleum high heat paint for the firebox. For the mantel itself, we decided to reuse the beamthat was up there, but we added moldings, a new shelf, and a fresh coat of paint to modernize it.

The process of painting the fireplace was super simpleâ��a coat of primer and two coats of paintsealed the deal. The firebox took two coats of paint, and the mantel itself took lots of 45-degree cutson a miter saw, caulk� and paint.

For the new mantelshelf (which is a pine 1 x 10 board that we cut down to size), we finally had anexcuse to invest in a table saw. We chose a Ryobi table saw, and we are smitten with how easy it isto use. Safety is our top concern when using power tools, and there are lots of safety features on thissaw.

Head over to� my blog� to read a detailed tutorial about the mantel and fireplace revamp.� Now, letâ��s get back to the d�©cor!

Hereâ��s what the space looks now that itâ��s been gussied up in time forHarvest/Halloween d�©cor. I think right now is a great time to tackle those projects that will helpshowcase your holiday d�©cor better (for us, it was a fireplace makeover).

The mantel is now super beveled and gorgeous thanks to mouldings that we paired together tocreate a custom look. The flat paint color really adds a chic touch.

Glam Halloween Decorations

And here it is in all her glory! For this yearâ��s d�©cor, I really wanted to challenge myselfto not stick with the usual orange and brown color scheme. I wanted glam, gold, black & white, andpops of pink and red.

There�s a lot of stuff from The Home Depot in my set-up. I�ll walk you through it.

Shiny Painted Pumpkins

The Home Depot has the most awesome pumpkins to craft with. They�re lightweight, easy tocarve and very easy to spray paint. Some gold Rust-Oleum spray paint helped me create a shinygilded pumpkin. I got an amazing finish in just two coats.

The gold pumpkin really looks great when paired with black and white accents.

The skull in the apothecary jar is actually part of a 6-pack of skull candles that also work well as vasefiller, which you�ll see in a moment.

I also bought a second pumpkin and coated it with flat black paint. Now that I think about it, Ishould have used chalkboard paint and used it as a Halloween countdown. A spider and freshflowers complete this vignette.

Gold Painted Branches

For my next project, I only had to go as far as my backyard. Some branches spray painted gold and

adorned with flowers, plus a vase that I upcycled using some mirror-finish spray paint help create anarrangement that adds height and glamour.

A tip when using mirror-finish spray paint in narrow vases is to spray paint and let it dry upsidedown. Thin coats (I did four) give you great coverage and a professional finish. With this spray paint,you can turn almost any piece of glass into a mirrored, mercury glass-esque finish.

Pee Wee has claimed this spot as his own on this super comfy recliner from Home DecoratorsCollection. Yes, I totally coordinated his outfit for this shoot and he obliged.

Candles, DIY Art and More Pumpkins

Inside the firebox, candles really pop against the dark black finish.

Up above, itâ��s a mix of new items and d�©cor from previous years. I have a thing forpumpkins, so I have tons and tons in various finishes, but each year I do like to create new ones toadd to the family.

The black and white geometric art piece is made from some thin plywood I cut down to fit a thriftedgold frame. A fabric remnant is attached using spray adhesive and staples. Once fall is over,I�ll repurpose it for my office gallery wall.

This gold pumpkin is part of The Home Depotâ��s Harvest D�©cor Collection, and anyonewho knows me knows I love mercury glass. This pumpkin is a stunner!

The garland on my mantel is from the� dining room Christmas decor� I did for a previousHoliday Style Challenge. Itâ��s great to re-purpose d�©cor for multiple holiday seasons.

When I originally saw these skull candles, I didn�t have a clue what I was going to do withthem. I went through a few options before deciding on this display method. To me, it�s a littlemad scientist and a tad creepy. I love it.

Halloween Lights

While this all looks great, I have a few more tricks (and treats!) up my sleeve. Hidden behind thed�©cor are sets of Halloween strobe lights. These are AWESOMEâ��they come with thebatteries, plus they can be set to on, off or sensor (theyâ��ll turn on when someone is nearby).And to make these even better, they have sound effects! These really amp up any d�©cor and areso affordable. For my mantelscape, I used six sets.

Here�s how it looks with the strobe lights on:

I strategically placed one of the strobe lights near the skull in the photo above.

And on the mantel itself, the addition of a set of blood drip LED lights helps add in even morepunches of red. Words cannot express how cool these lights are and one set is probably the perfect

length for most mantels in the 5- to 6-foot range. Plus, your kids will think it�s cool.

I hope my Harvest/Halloween d�©cor and fireplace revamp get your creativity going! Iâ��mso thrilled I was able to take my fireplace and mantel from boring to chic, and I couldnâ��t havedone it without the great selection of DIY and d�©cor supplies from The Home Depot.

And here�s a before and after�this all happened in the span of just two weekends!

Here�s a final shot, plus you can see more of the comfortable and well made KingstonRecliner. The nailhead, the tufts, the leather�swoon.

After all those DIY projects, it�s time to relax with my little devil. Happy Halloween!

Monica Benavidez lives in Beeville, Texas and is the creative mind behind� Monica Wants It. Shesays she started her blog as a way to share with the world the random things she wanted to buy, butitâ��s evolved into a terrific lifestyle blog where she chronicles her adventures in DIY, recipes,and life.

The mystery shipment of Halloween decorations The Home Depot sent to Monica included theseitems:

For more great ideas for Halloween decorations, see other articles in our� Halloween StyleChallenge� series here on The Home Depot Blog, and follow our� Halloween StyleChallenge� pinboard� on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depotâ��s online� Holiday Decorations Department� for everything youneed to decorate for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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