Five Easy Steps for a Fall Table

The home becomes a hub for gathering around home cooked meals in the fall. Not all of them are formal and fancy.

The formal dining table shouldn’t get all the decorating glory. After all, most of the meals eaten during the autumn season are in the kitchen.

How do you decorate a dining room table for fall?

Even with the smaller, more casual table, I use the same five steps in most of my tablescapes whether it’s in the kitchen or on the large dining room table that makes it so easy!

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Start with a color scheme.

To set this simple fall table, first I decide on what color theme I want to use. It helps me narrow down the things to look for in my stash since I usually pull together table decor from what I have.

See even more budget decorating ideas for fall here.

Here I went with all quiet neutrals…browns, creams, and pops of sage green. No color orange to be seen. Although all quiet and subdued, the dark and light contrasting colors bring it life.

Napkins are the best way to use pops of color. I brought in the green with these cloth napkins from World Market in a nice, soft mossy color. I added another little dash of green with rosemary sprigs from the backyard.

And there’s another small hint of green in the faux leaves in the dough bowl.

The creamy white faux pumpkins and candles, and the white plates and table runner lighten things up and keep it balanced.

Vary the textures.

I like to make sure I include elements with lots of texture mixed with smooth metals and usually some wood.

I always love the warmness and casual feel that wood brings to a tablescape. Here I’ve used the rustic wood dough bowl on top of a wood charcuterie board and flanked it with wood candle holders.

And the whole base of the tablescape brings in more wood by leaving off a tablecloth. I even set wood acorns on each plate.

The fall table centerpiece is this dough bowl filled with texture. A froofy floral arrangement would be too formal and too tall here.

The braided small pumpkins from Target contrast the smooth texture and color of the white pumpkins. The hyacinth placemats and the pinecones bring heavy, rich, coarse texture to the tablescape.

I even topped it off with a curly piece of grapevine from my fall mantel.

See how I used the grapevine on the mantel here.

And mercury glass votives, a linen table runner, and linen napkins bring in soft, smoother texture.

Use natural elements.

Almost everything in the dough bowl comes from nature, and if it doesn’t, it’s a faux version of something that does!

Pumpkins and acorns speak to the fall season. The centerpiece is filled out with pinecones, leaves, more mini pumpkins, and grapevine.

And those rosemary sprigs on the place settings are another organic touch that was free and smells so delicious.

See other cost-saving ways to decorate for fall here.

White dishes let everything else shine.

I love to use white dishes for almost every tablescape for lots of reasons. They go with all styles and themes, they add a nice contrast, and they are a great way to set the stage for everything around them.

I do love me some colored/patterned accent plates that goes with the tablescape theme. I just honestly don’t have room for storing dishes in a lot of different colors and patterns (and I’ve kind of been cut off by hubby on buying more).

All white is just more efficient!

See ALL of the reasons why white dishes make the perfect decorating accessory.

I’ve had these dishes for a while now and still love them!

See why I think these are the BEST everyday white dishes.

Let’s light this candle.

And every table of course needs candles to add ambiance! I use a mix of candles, real and battery operated. My favorite flameless pillar candles are these with the little flame that moves around. They also have timers so I can set them to come on for a few hours every evening.

I also sprinkled a few real votive candles to fill out the table runner and further set the fall mood.