Make Halloween/fall 2020 gorgeous and glamorous with these chic pumpkin makeovers that are too gourd to eat! Puns aside, these creative looks are simple and suitable for any level of crafter and will add fashionable flair to your Halloween décor, whether you’re having family around or enjoying a virtual Halloween party with friends. From graceful lace to flirty pom poms, try these DIY pumpkin makeovers yourself with our easy-to-follow step-by-step guides, minimal materials and no carvings. While these pumpkin looks are low on mess and high on style, if you’re more of a buyer than a DIYer scroll down for our roundup of the best pumpkin ornaments you can purchase in the UAE. Enjoy, and have a spooktacular October! 

Glitter Glam Pumpkin

Halloween doesn’t have to be all about ghosts and goblins, go for for glitter and glamour instead! This fashionable, party-looking pumpkin is easy to achieve especially for novice DIYers, requiring only a few materials. You’ll need a spray paint or acrylic paint (and paintbrush) in a colour of your choice, and glitter glue in a similar shade. Step One: Give your pumpkin several coats of paint, enough to thoroughly cover the skin and the stem. Step Two: Once dry, liberally apply the glitter gel all over. You may need to apply several coats to achieve a lovely thick covering of glitter. Step Three: This step is optional, but in order to seal the glitter further we recommend spraying hair spray over the glitter to give it extra staying power. Why not add sequins in the same colour to give your pumpkin added glitz!

Image via Factory Direct Craft

Spider Web Pumpkin

Who says spiderwebs need to give you the heeby-jeebies? Creepy can look cool with this webbed pumpkin design, and it’s incy-wincy easy to make with only string, glue and a couple of plastic spiders needed. Step One: Take a roll of plain string and wrap the string around the pumpkin’s body repeatedly, overlapping at angles to create a spider’s web look. As you wrap, fix the twine in place using glue such as PVA; only glue the areas where the twine may slip, to give the web extra hanging power. Step Two: Add your spooky little toy spiders using glue (try hot glue if PVA isn’t strong enough), and you’re done! Optional: To heighten the spider web look, use black and white bakers twine instead of string. If you’re feeling extra crafty, paint the body of the pumpkin white to make it look more ghoulish, or simply paint the stem a chic colour like gold, pictured, or black to add a chic finishing touch.

Pom Pom Pumpkin

This whimsical look is an easy one to achieve for novice crafters. You need only a paintbrush, acrylic paint, acyclic sealer, hot glue and pom poms. Step One: Using white acrylic paint and a flat bristled brush or a sponge paintbrush, paint the orange body of your pumpkin and let it dry. You may want to give it a second or third coat to cover any thin patches and to give added depth to the covering. Step Two: Once dry, paint the stem an elegant complementing colour, such as gold or black. Step Three: Apply a coat of gloss acrylic sealer over the paint and allow to dry. Step Four: Using a glue gun, attach mini black pom poms on the pumpkin’s body with the hot glue: fix them all over in a polka dot pattern, or place them going down the pumpkin’s body in vertical rows. We suggest painting a trio of various sized pumpkins and use different colour pairings, like gold paint with black pom poms, to create a curated display. 

Image via Bead & Cord

Ombré Pumpkin 

If you’re being reminded by your teenage kids that pumpkin carving is sooo three years ago, make pumpkin décor cool by pimping their pumpkins in fashionable colours and fade them ombré style for added teen appeal. Here, we’ll guide you through making a gorgeous pumpkin in bright shades of pink and orange through to white. Step One: Prime your pumpkin by spraying it with white spray paint, including the stem. Step Two: Starting with the brightest colour (or darkest, depending on what shades you’re using), paint your pumpkin from the base upwards painting roughly the bottom third (paint less if you want to paint your pumpkin in more colours than shown in our example). You don’t need to be exact or paint a neat edge. Step Three: Before the paint dries, paint on the second colour, working your way upwards and coating the middle section of the pumpkin’s body. Step Four: Paint on the next colour, in this case a lighter shade of orange. If you want to add more colours, continue to paint your pumpkin in the remaining shades but leave the top 20% of pumpkin white. Step Five: Using a damp cotton pad, blend the colours together so they merge where they meet and achieve that ombré look you desire. 

Image via Bead & Cord

Elegant Lace Pumpkin

Here’s one for the artists amongst you. Take Halloween to graceful levels with this lacy look. You may only need one material — a white pen — in addition to an orange pumpkin but this look is by far the hardest to achieve as you need patience, a very steady hand and a fair amount of artistic talent. Our top tip is to practise drawing lace patterns on paper first and use a template from a Google image search as a guide. You can add extra style by painting the pumpkin silver or a classy pale grey. Take the design to another level by using a gold pen to add highlights and shadows to the white lace pattern, or use Puffy Paint to add colourful embellishments, almost like adding silver balls to the icing of a cake. 

Image via Art and Garde

6 Stylish Pumpkins To Buy Instead of DIY

Crochet Pumpkin

You can’t find a cuter pumpkin for Halloween than these adorable crochet pumpkins from @sharkyknowscrochet, who hand-makes all her crochet wares in Dubai. The finishing touch of the cinnamon stick in the centre will add a cosy winter fragrance to your home, too. Order via DM on Instagram.

Velvet Sequin Pumpkin  

These flamboyant velvet and sequin pumpkins from Marina Home’s 2019 winter collection are still fashionable, dressed in tactile velvet and embellished with a flurry of sequins, and promise to add a sense of luxury to your Halloween, Thanksgiving or Autumn décor setups and tablescapes. 

Marina on location at Comptoir for Inside Out on 30 Nov 2019

Ombré Glitter Pumpkin 

Go for double-bubble with this decorative foam pumpkin mixing glitter and ombré fashions. We love the drama this shimmering pumpkin conjures, like a witch’s cauldron bubbling over with bright orange magic, from My Party Centre. 

Decorative Pumpkin Figurine 

If you’re looking for a decorative ornament with longer-lasting appeal beyond Halloween, this glass figurine from Noon has a sculptural, artistic aesthetic and will accent an entryway console, side table, shelfie-display or a study with a pop of colour very nicely.

Metallic Pumpkin  

From shabby chic to sparkly sequins, Creative Minds has a range of decorative faux pumpkins but if you want something a bit different, go for these contemporary iridescent Mercury pumpkins, which have a gorgeous petrol shimmer finish on them. 

Monochrome Pumpkin 

While these artificial pumpkins from Amazon.ae are contemporary as they are, you can also use them as a base for any of our DIY ‘pimp your pumpkin’ looks mentioned above. The white foam material is a great base for decorative elements like pom poms and paint, and you’ll have no worries about your pimped pumpkin mulching out with these faux alternatives. 

We’d love to see to your creative pumpkin makeovers — share your frightfully gourd efforts on Instagram and tag @HomeClubME for a repost! Don’t know where to find the perfect pumpkins this Halloween? Check out our friends at Kibsons who offer a range of pumpkins that can be delivered straight to your door.