22 Scary Halloween Office Decorations 2025: Easy Ideas for Desks and Doors

Have you ever entered the office on the Halloween day, and felt underwhelmed? This is because our desks in the previous year resembled a birthday party more than a spooky celebration. This is when I concluded that our working place needed something a little more daring, and creepy but also entertaining.
If you’re ready to go beyond a plastic pumpkin and bring real haunted energy to your space, this guide to scary halloween office decorations 2025 is for you. Whether you’re decorating cubicles, planning a front desk theme, or entering an office contest, I’ll share easy DIY ideas that turn ordinary desks into eerie eye-catchers — all without breaking the budget or the team spirit.
Transform Your Office Into A Haunted House Of Horrors
An office that makes the atmosphere of a haunted house is more than hanging cobwebs and plastic skulls. My attention was on developing a design that would accommodate scary halloween office decorations and still have the flow of a productive working environment. Walls were covered with torn black netting, and orange mood lighting gave flickering shadows to everything. Fake chains and hanging bats adorned the ceiling and the fog machines were blowing tiny clouds of mist to create an eerie atmosphere. The reception and the hallway were the highlights and they led the visitors to a world of fear as they proceeded further into the office.
The main items that I employed were gothic candle holders, old fashioned desks with claw feet and a worn faux-wood reception desk. I put a black candelabra centerpiece behind the main desk and a custom backdrop mural of a foggy graveyard. With furniture that looked like ghosts were sitting on it (distressed leather chairs with netting draped over them), it is a place that looks haunted. The open area was divided into cubes with faux stone wall dividers, which immediately transformed the area into a haunted crypt-like area. The materials were all safe and flame-retardant, which made them fit to be used in commercial interiors.
In my experience, the most effective technique of making this layout really work is to incorporate theatrical design and clever placement. Once, Apartment Therapy featured a Halloween makeover of an office which involved motion sensors to create sound effects around the front entrance- I was inspired by that and created a creaky door type sound effect which frightened every visitor. It is the surprise of the senses that makes this kind of design come alive.
The next thing I would add is a more interactive part of the experience, maybe a haunted break room with themed food presentation or a secret escape room hidden behind a false wall.
Scary Office Door Halloween Decorations That Terrify From First Glance
The trick is to make your point of entry spooky, engaging, and harmless when preparing a scary office door halloween decoration. I made every door of the offices an entrance to a scene of horror–some of the doors were like the front doors of haunted houses, with the boards nailed over the windows; others like the entrance to an asylum, with blood all over the door. A variety of textures (like weathered wood decals, faux chains, and barbed wire stickers) helped deliver a convincing look, and I used sound modules with thunderclaps and creepy whispers for added realism. The general color scheme was based on matte black, crimson and metallic grays.
Each door had a unifying visual narrative. As an example, one featured a theme of a Biohazard Lab and was decorated with green strips of light, caution tape, and clear panels with fake brains and jars. There was another with a possessed doll house with a little child sized rocking chair fastened to the door and a weird porcelain doll looking at the people walking by. The magnetic door wraps were easy to put up and take down, which was ideal in the case of a professional who did not want to mess around.
I think there is no place that attracts more attention than a frightening front door. These were up the first week and coworkers actually hesitated to enter my office. It was reported in a recent article on Halloween office trends in Better Homes & Gardens that effective entry decor boosts employee participation in themed holidays. I think that is the case, people were eager to discuss and vote on the best door.
There was a lack of unified lighting they could have used the bottom of the doors to line them with LED strips or motion-sensing lanterns to create a larger impression at night.
Ghoulish Halloween Cubicle Decorations To Scare Your Coworkers
One of the best approaches to ensuring that creepy halloween decorations in the office come to life is to turn the cubes into creepy nooks. I turned regular cubes into little haunted settings with the help of removable panels and lighting gels as well as prop bones. Every workspace was something different in horror: Witchs Apothecary, Zombie Lab, and so on. Spiderwebs, black netting, glow-in-the-dark handprints made an excellent background texture and fake ravens on partitions provided an unnerving touch.
The theme of the Witch Apothecary involved vintage glass bottles of colored liquids, artificial herbs, and mini LED that pulsed very softly. A witch hat was suspended above the cubicle with clear fishing line. To make the Zombie Lab memorable, there was green tinted light, fake caution tape and jars labeled brain tissue. The semi-enclosures of cubicles were made with black-and-purple fringe curtains to create the impression of privacy and surprise.
I like the way this arrangement changed boring workstations into something that is visually appealing. It reminded me of the ideas that were published in the House Beautiful magazines, and they were proposing to make people workspaces feel like a storybook experience during holidays. Companies also decorated their cubes and this gave the team members a chance to participate and personalize their cubes to express their creative fears.
What I would include next time: a sound element to each cubby, maybe creepy whispers, bubbling cauldrons, or dragging chains, preferably something motion activated so that it is quiet during work hours.
Office Desk Halloween Decorations With A Creepy Twist
In the case of halloween office decorations desks, I tried to achieve the combination of functionality and the spooky looks. I did not want to do away with desks completely but make them darkly charming. I included leather-like desk pads with pentagram stitching, miniature desktop smoke machines which sprayed mist through skull-like covers, and fake ravens that sat on top of monitors. The light was dim yet concentrated, each little clamp lamp had an orange-tinted bulb, which gave a sufficient amount of light to remain productive.
Some of the accessories I applied were bone shaped paper clips, gothic keyboard decals and mini coffin-shaped pencil holders. I mounted a haunted mirror frame on the shelf of the desk which displayed a scary moving animation when someone walked by. Mouse pads with horror prints and a small jar labeled “witch’s brew” (actually holding pens) rounded out the look. These components were small but powerful, thus they can be used in any professional environment.
In my case, this was my favorite room to decorate. I was there most of the day so it was a pleasure to work in October since I had a thematic but also functional desk. Clients also made compliments on video calls to me, which was also a way of creating a fun rapport. I remember reading in Real Simple that personalizing the desk makes one more productive and better-humored, and this season was no exception.
What I would improve next time is cord management. A few of the light wires were distracting- I would prefer to utilize USB powered objects that can be hidden in a cable channel underneath the desk.
Halloween Front Desk Decoration Ideas That Greet With Fear
Your office is your stage, and the halloween office decorations front desk area is where all first impressions are made. I went bold with a haunted mansion aesthetic. A tufted, black faux-leather desk skirt surrounded the reception counter and behind it was a tall faux fireplace with faux flames and skull candelabras. The wall sconces were turned down to a blood-red color and a looming mannequin of a reaper stood right next to the sign-in tablet.
I added spooky signage such as a sign that said, Sign in…If you dare and a motion sensor animatronic arm that would reach out when people leaned over the desk. There was a blood-streaked lamp that gave a overhead glow and antique silver trays with poisoned candies. The use of Gothic font and crimson roses contributed to the overall aesthetic that was sinister and sophisticated.
Based on my experience at work, this aspect is very important in the tone of emotions. It is seen by everyone who visits it, delivery people, colleagues, so it must be bold and tasteful at the same time. Work Design Magazine argues that the client engagement is enhanced due to the ambiance at the work place during holidays. My reception decor proved that true.
If anything was lacking, it was audio design. I ought to have had some background noises, some low howling wind, some far organ music, to round off the effect.
Budget-Friendly Halloween Office Decorations From Dollar Tree
One of the most practical budget decorating hacks is to make use of dollar tree finds of halloween office decorations. I used local discount stores to supply most of my needs and I was able to spend less than $50 per section of a room. Black gauze, plastic spiders, tombstone plaques and stretchable webs. I even grabbed some flickering LED candles and small pumpkins all which can be used again next year.
Every room was decorated in a Dollar Tree fashion: hanging skeleton decorations in the hall, glittery pumpkin decorations on desks and foam skulls atop window ledges. The fake-rat dolls turned out to be a success- they gave a perfect amount of creepiness with leaving the explicitness out. Colored plastic potion bottles with water in them were also fantastic filler pieces.
I would advise this to any person who decorates on a budget. It shows that it does not have to be expensive to get scary halloween office decorations. According to HGTV, some of the most effective Halloween decor is created using basic materials layered creatively, and I couldn’t agree more.
The only thing I’d add is better adhesive. Part of the wall hangings collapsed overnight, so next time more sturdy mounting strips are a necessity.
Creepy DIY Halloween Decorations For Your Office Space
My route of choice this year was DIY when it comes to halloween office decorations diy. I made spooky curtains out of cheesecloth dipped in tea to give it an aged effect, handmade paper bats that flew around the walls and made a fake spellbook out of an old binder and air-dry clay. These are personal details that made the office custom-haunted rather than store-bought.
I also created centerpiece jars filled with floating eyeballs (ping pong balls), moss, and fake worms. I cut out haunted trees on black construction paper using a craft knife and backlit the trees through frosted windows. Desks had DIY cursed files that were bundled in red string and had evidence tags that had fictional names.
DIY decor adds soul to the design. It’s budget-friendly, but more importantly, it’s conversation-starting. I picked up a tip out of Martha Stewart Living (and she once recommended it as a way to create blood vials in glass tubes using food dye in water). They were fantastic in the window with the sunlight.
One thing I lacked was time. Had I known, I would have started making it a month earlier to factor in drying time, assembly and superimposing.
Haunted Themes To Set The Mood For Your Office Halloween
When choosing halloween office decoration themes, I would always want to have cohesion in the space. This year I have tried Victorian Gothic and Abandoned Hospital and Mad Scientist Lab. The themes covered various departments to give teams a chance to be creative and connect all the areas of the office with a single feeling of fear. The color schemes were important too- deep crimson, slate gray and pale green were the colors that dominated the palette, as well as aged metallics and antique finishes.
In the section titled, Victorian Gothic, I employed the use of black velvet curtains, brass candle holders and old books piled on top of each other as cursed books. The Abandoned Hospital had blood-stained bed sheets used as curtains and old signs stating that it was a Quarantine Zone. In the meantime, the Mad Scientist Lab was full of test tubes and green bubbling beakers as well as chalkboard with weird formulas. Every theme was accompanied by a respective lighting, flickering bulbs, underlighting with green or red strobes to add to the mood.
Themes are where your imagination meets structure. I was inspired by Elle Decor, who advised that the design of a holiday should be consistent in the way it looks to prevent clutter. Themes idea also helped coworkers to organize costumes, contests and decorations in their teams.
In the future, I would like to add soundtracks per theme zone, such as classical music and ghostly piano parts in the Gothic zone or distant beeping monitors and hospital sounds in the hospital wing, to make it even more immersive.
Contest-Worthy Halloween Office Decorating Ideas
The decorating contest is one of the most thrilling points of Halloween at work. In 2012, I developed some of the best ideas of halloween office decorations contests that would have the best visual and thematic effect. Whether it was the best cubicle transformation or creepiest breakroom, all categories were creative and united teams. The prizes were coffee gift cards, a PTO day, and bragging rights, of course, a favorite.
Entries to the contest included a lot of set-ups: one group had constructed a pirate ship out of foam boards around their cubes, with treasure chests and dry ice effects. One of them was a play on a horror movie theater with blackout curtains, red lights, and candy tickets. In my own field, I made a Monster HR Office that has pretend personnel files of Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman. The judging was anonymous and on the basis of things such as creativity, realism, effort and team participation.
Contests always bring out the best in workplace morale. According to the Inc. Magazine, gamified decorations enhance collaboration and reduce the departmental silos. This was true- colleagues were working together who had worked very little with one another. It brought about discussions and increased vitality on the office floor.
The only thing that I would have changed in the contest structure would be to add a people choice vote through Google forms and an archive of all the photos to look at in the future.
Simple But Spine-Chilling Halloween Decorations For The Workplace
The easiest halloween office decorations ideas are some of the best ones, especially when you have little time and space. I concentrated on little, spine-tingling details such as backlit posters, silhouette decals and floating ghosts. They were fast to install, budget-friendly, and highly effective. I put these in places people would pass by a lot such as elevators, stairways, and coffee bars.
I applied adhesive decals in the form of rats, bats and dark characters, which I could remove. Orange LED strip lights under cabinets and fake spider eggs made of cotton balls wrapped in mesh were placed in the breakrooms. In the case of floating ghosts I covered inflated balloons with white cheesecloth and hung them by fishing wire. They swayed lightly with the air conditioning, which gave them a spooky moving effect.
This technique shows that you do not have to spend a lot of money or spend your time to make ambiance. The Spruce has recently suggested the use of backlighting and shadows in order to enhance low-cost decoration- which I used with a lot of success. The effort to effect ratio was the perfect ratio to use when teams had little time to prepare.
Next time I would hang paper lanterns that are shaped like skulls or pumpkins. They are also easily put up, cheap and would add more height to the area.
Easy Halloween Office Decorations That Look Professional
It can be challenging to come up with simple halloween decorations in the office without jeopardizing the professionalism of the working environment. I gravitated towards neutral colors, light use of themes and use of decor that could serve a variety of purposes. An example of this would be to decorate filing cabinets with bat garlands out of matte cardstock and use miniature pumpkins as paperweights. The concept was to celebrate but not to divert attention to normal activities.
One of them was full of white pumpkins that were painted with metallic colors and placed on desks with glass jars that contained orange candies. I substituted generic office signs with sophisticated Halloween-themed ones with a black-and-gold look. The wall behind the front desk was covered with a sleek LED-lit spider web and meeting rooms had small black vases with dried florals and dark feathers.
I found this approach the most HR-friendly. According to Fast Company, too graphic decoration may turn away some members of the team. Keeping things tasteful ensures participation without discomfort. All of them were made to feel involved and the design did not stand out like a sore thumb in our contemporary office style.
To enhance this idea, I would incorporate more interactive items, which could be color-changing smart light bulbs or motion-sensitive wall art, to provide a playful element without making it too costumey.
Creative Pumpkin Decor Ideas For A Spooky Office Vibe
Pumpkins are a staple part of Halloween and the uses of pumpkins as an idea in halloween office decorations extends way beyond carving. I have used pumpkins in a manner that is spooky as well as in a sleek manner. Fake pumpkins were painted either matte black, gold, or white and then adorned with lace appliques, rhinestones or dried moss. They were sold in odd numbers, and were excellent corner-fillers, or table decorations.
Mini pumpkins were turned into desk decorations, some were used to hold pens, other were carved out to hold LED candles. The bigger ones were opened up and placed as fake planters with black succulents and air plants. They served as signage by being painted with typography such as BOO and TRICK on their surfaces. I even put hollowed plastic pumpkins on the ceiling upside down like spooky pendants.
I believe pumpkins are the most versatile Halloween element. Southern Living says that pumpkins create a warm but scary focal point of decoration- and they are right! They are of different shapes and types, which makes them suitable in any workplace theme, rustic to industrial.
Next year I would attempt carving out pumpkins to put drinks or snacks in jars with the lid on, this would be ideal in themed meetings or Halloween potlucks.
Halloween Door Ideas That Make A Statement At Work
Any Halloween office decorations that are done on the door must give an immediate impression to the person coming in. This year I chose character doors, one department had to dress up as a vampire, mummy, mad scientist, etc. I embellished flat surfaces by making them expressive faces using colored felt, foam and printed features. These figures turned the working place into a ghost town.
The vampire door had fake fangs and blood dripping window stickers and the mummy was covered in strips of white fabric with googly eyes. The fur accents and glowing eyes of another team were made by the use of battery operated LEDs. We applied command strips and removable adhesives to avoid damaging and to make it clean to remove at the end of the season.
This playful setup brought smiles and photos every morning. Domino once recommended decorating the doors as an interactive art in order to increase participation, and I believe that this was the ideal one. It wasn’t too scary but still festive and unique.
Next year I would incorporate more 3D effects, like sticking-out props, like arms reaching out or a bubbling cauldron sound module behind the door just to make it a bit more dramatic.
Cute Yet Creepy Halloween Office Decorations For A Balanced Look
In case your department likes flirting with fear more than being scared to death, halloween office decorations adorable but spooky is the theme to choose. I combined fluffy Halloween figures, dim light, and pastel decoration to make the aesthetic friendly yet keeping the Halloween vibes. This was ideal in HR, administration, or lounges where visitors and customers meet.
I employed fluffy pumpkins, plastic skeleton people in pink hoodies, and pale banners with the words, Happy Haunting. The area had character in the form of light-up ghost lamps and framed artwork of smiling bats. I used tulle, soft lavender and peach to cover desktops and shelves instead of spiderwebs. Chair backs were decorated with floating balloon ghosts, to be gently whimsical.
This arrangement was relaxing, celebratory, and accommodating, particularly to employees who may not like the usual horror imagery. In fact, Apartment Therapy even listed the trend as one of the best seasonal decor trends in 2025. I was delighted to find how this arrangement encouraged people to mingle without scaring them off too badly.
I would add aromatherapy diffusers that change based on the season such as pumpkin spice or clove- another touch of atmosphere without compromising the visual.
Scary Halloween Office Themes That Scream Team Spirit
The aspect of decorating the office halloween that I enjoy the most is the idea of coming up with halloween office decorations themes which incorporate the whole team. A unified theme such as Zombie Outbreak Zone, Witch Department or Haunted Startup enables every part of the office to add to a bigger story. The staffing effect makes it exciting, but not too informal, as the decor remains professional. Thematic cohesion is a small trick that can make your halloween office decorations look much more scary and yet still feel work appropriate.
To execute this, I opt for color-coded zones, team-assigned props (like potion bottles, tombstones, or biohazard signs), and unifying decor like cobweb-draped signage or flickering orange string lights. I also have black faux leather office chairs, old-fashioned looking desks, and old book props to earth the appearance. As another example, spellbooks, old keys, crystal balls might line the desks in a Witchs Bureau. These articles are what bind the theme together and still make it operational at the work place.
Based on my experience, the themes do not only increase participation but also enable the different departments to demonstrate their level of creativity. According to Real Simple, narrative-driven decorations can be used to prevent clutter and to keep offices photogenic-this truly came in handy when we had our last Halloween competition. It also leads to some amazing team photos for internal newsletters or social media!
To improve this section further, I would consider including soundscapes (like ambient forest sounds or witchy whispers) tied to each theme, which could add a subtle but impactful sensory experience without disrupting the workflow.
Monster Makeovers For Office Cubicles This Halloween
Cubicles can be turned into spooky places, but it can also be a good idea. The scariest halloween office decorations cubes I ever did was to transform each workstation into a monster–vampires, werewolves and mummies. Each cubicle work station became a character. This will add an interactive touch to decorating and also foster a friendly competition and also motivate people to maintain a clean desk under the monster mess.
I employed stretchable gauze, battery powered red LED lights, plastic eyeballs on the desk edges and foam board cutouts of monster mouths to achieve this. The desks were themed: Vampire cubicle included faux velvet curtains, blood bag juice boxes, werewolf included faux fur, claw prints, and wooden crate storage. The trick is that monitors and keyboards can stay clean and usable as the surrounding space turns into horror.
This approach has been successful in my working experience as it makes employees more engaged without necessarily spending a large budget. Martha Stewart living has also written books on how to use textured fabrics and lighting to create ambiance and I found this very helpful. And you will be surprised how these minor design details can turn a boring cubicle into a horrifying lair.
What I would include here is greater interactivity such as the growls that can be activated by motion sensors or the blinking of the light-up eyes as someone approaches. This small technological feature actually sells the effect and impresses the guests.
Halloween Office Decorating Contest Themes That Win
When your company holds a halloween office decorations contest, you will want to be different and innovative in terms of the decoration and presentation. Our group once took first place in a year where our idea was a Carnival of Nightmares, and I really feel that what made it so popular was the little touches. A theme of a contest must be engrossing and refined and this is why I concentrate on high-concept theme and divvy up the work in accordance with a team to generate a sense of continuity throughout the office.
I would suggest having distinct areas: entrances, workstations, breakout areas, and lounge corners all have to be themed. Use cohesive props like vintage carnival posters, striped tent fabric over doorways, and creepy animatronics (clowns, fortune tellers) near the front desk. Hanging up flickering string lights and swapping out team photos with creepy versions of those also got us some points in the creativity category.
I believe that contests are a phenomenal morale booster and teamwork demonstrator on a personal level. Better Homes & Gardens suggests embracing the senses to impress the judges more by using scented candles, fabrics to touch and sound signals. The latter advice assisted us to nudge over a rival team whose idea was a haunted jungle.
To further enhance your entry into the contest, make a video or a story presentation that will be a team effort to go with the decor. It narrates something and makes judges feel engulfed even before they enter.
Spooky Office Desk Accessories For Halloween Enthusiasts
Not everyone wants to completely redesign the workplace, so it is still possible to scare people with some creepy items on their desks. I often use mini coffins as pencil holders, bat wing bookmarks, or LED jack-o’-lanterns. These little details allow Halloween enthusiasts to add to the atmosphere without being excessive, which makes them ideal to decorate communal areas or to find in the office of a minimalist colleague.
Under the mousepad, I usually put black mesh organizers, mini black cauldrons with candy, skull-shaped pen cups, and spider web placemats. There are also skeleton-hand staplers and gothic candelabra-style lamps that add flair without interrupting the workflow. Pairing it with muted fall florals (like dried eucalyptus or black-painted roses) adds balance.
My favorite, personally, is the resin skulls and amber-glass bottles of potion. Apartment Therapy claims that an emphasis on textures (velvet or matte-black ceramics textures, specifically) makes decorating the workspace more interesting without having to sacrifice compatibility with technology. It’s also a good excuse to upgrade your lighting.
To take this concept a little bit further, I would propose organizing with desk neighbors to ensure that close workstations are a complement to a style of creepiness to each other- this will give a subtle but uniform corridor of creepiness.
Work-Appropriate Halloween Decorations With A Scare Factor
It can be difficult to come up with scary halloween office decorations that do not cross the line into being workplace inappropriate, but it is all about the tone and location. I would always advise against gore and instead concentrate on creepy, suspenseful atmosphere. It is possible to make portraits haunted, use ghostly light, and thematic props to achieve a creepy effect without breaking the professional boundaries.
For this, I use black-and-white portraits that morph when you walk by (lenticular prints), tall faux candles with flicker LEDs, and discreet fog machines near entrances. In terms of furniture, any office can be made more haunted by an antique-style bookshelf or a dark rug. I also love to trade in normal objects in favor of Halloween versions in my office- bat file dividers, spider tape dispensers.
It is based on my own experience that these slight exchanges are very impressive and not juvenile or excessively grotesque. As Forbes mentions, staying tasteful with color palettes (black, burgundy, and bronze) makes decor look mature while still on theme.
To enhance this idea, I would think of a smell component, which would be something like cinnamon-clove oil diffusers to create a fall feeling that would not be too strong or cause allergies.
Witchy Welcome Desks And Lobby Halloween Decor
The front desk is the first impression of visitors and employees and therefore halloween office decorations creates the first impression. I always say, “Go big or go bewitched.” One year we turned our receiving area into a Witch Brew Bar and it was filled with dry ice, glowing green lights and spell books all over the counter.
On the reception desk, I put a black lace table runner, and on the furniture, I put tall apothecary jars that I filled with toxic treats and I hung broomsticks on the ceiling with fishing wire. I have also temporarily changed our company logo board to a neon green sign, reading, Witching Hour HQ. Floating candles (hung with transparent thread) completed the look.
In my experience, this setup never fails to impress. Elle Decor has gone even further and pointed out a similar strategy writing that a bold theme lobby is likely to be more engaging when it is time to celebrate something seasonal. Visitors love snapping pics—and so do employees.
To add to that, I would recommend the usage of a digital cauldron screen with sound effects. It will give it a contemporary touch and will not conflict with the main tasks of the front desk.
Office Hallway Transformations With Haunted Decor Ideas
The best location to have immersive scary halloween decoration in office is the hallways. I love creating eerie transitions between departments. Among my other favorite designs was a haunted forest tunnel that contained arching black branches, flickering lanterns and ambient sound coming through concealed speakers.
In order to create the scene, I utilized flexible PVC pipes as the frame, black mesh curtains to conceal the lights on the ceiling, and the floor light-emitting diodes to create shadows. I added jump scares triggered by sound and framed posters of wanted ghosts or zombies, which do not exist in the real world. Fake trees that were tall with ravens on the branches added depth to the room.
This hallway arrangement turned out to be one of the most discussed elements in our office. HGTV explains that maximalist Halloween decor is ideal in high-traffic areas as it will ensure people notice it, and take pictures. This is in line with what I have been experiencing and it makes the effort worthwhile.
I would introduce scent diffusers with woodsy or smoky autumn blend to make it better. It would complete the sensory experience without distracting.
Themed Halloween Decor Ideas That Unite Departments
The development of Halloween office decorations themes within departments can bring the Halloween experience of a firm to a new level of awesome. I have done events where every department had its own theme of Halloween, but it all was connected with an overall idea such as Haunted Metropolis or Office of Lost Souls. This will be a collaborative activity and will help in transforming personal creativity to a grand scale decorative piece of work.
In such instances, I would organize the color scheme of every group, the decoration rules, and the centerpiece suggestions. HR had vintage office typewriters with cobwebs all over; Design had mannequin arms with sketch pads; IT had skeletons with computers and wrapped wires around them. The common areas were anchored with neutral accents items such as bat garlands or themed lights to pull together the entire plan. It is the harmony of individuality and cohesion that makes it successful.
As far as I have seen, department-specific themes ideas create camaraderie and generate lots of photo opportunities to be used in internal newsletters or even external branding. Interior Design Magazine claims that collaborative design themes increase engagement and foster a culture of creativity, and it cannot be argued with.
An improvement of this method would be to come up with a printable theme map whereby visitors or other groups can tour the facility like a haunted house and visit each concept department by department.