It’s hard to believe that fall is right around the corner! 2023 sure has flown by. Like many of you, I love entertaining friends and family throughout the year, especially during the crisp fall months when the weather is cooler, and it is enjoyable to dine al fresco! Creating a simple fall tablescape is right up my alley, as the pressure of cooking a delicious main course, making appetizers, and baking dessert can be stressful! One of the many great things about autumn is that you can use fresh pumpkins (I love mini pumpkins on tablescapes!) or faux pumpkins, branches with fading leaves, and gorgeous flowers as decor and centerpieces.
Over the last few years, I have invested in gorgeous woven, velvet, and terracotta pumpkins from Pottery Barn that are just as perfect for an outdoor tablescape as they are for decorating my home. My beautiful homegrown pumpkins should be ready in the next few weeks to a month, and they will be fun to decorate as well! That’s the great thing about pumpkins: they are readily available at grocery stores, pumpkin patches, and farmer’s markets) and are fun to grow as well) and make a statement on a tablescape!
Today, I’m excited to share a few simple fall tablescape ideas that you will love and are easy to recreate for autumn entertaining, fall brunch, a Halloween party, a Friendsgiving soiree, and a Thanksgiving dinner party!
You may also like: Rustic tablescapes // Garden Party Tablescapes // Brunch Tablescapes
Simple Fall Tablescape Ideas
Create a beautiful fall tablescape with a rectangular dining table and neutral table runner
One of my best things this summer was investing in a rectangular outdoor dining table. I currently have four Pottery Barn Westport Outdoor Dining Chairs adorning it. There is ample space for more dining chairs, perfect for hosting a large event or a dinner party. Another great thing about having a rectangular outdoor dining table is that there is plenty of room for decor items, food, my herringbone glasses (with black and white stripe paper straws) and my handwoven pumpkin-shaped placemats, which take up a bit of space.
I created two simple fall tablescapes with this gorgeous rectangular Pottery Barn Mirada Outdoor Dining Table so you could see the different vibe a cozy textured neutral table runner evokes versus an elegant paisley print tablecloth in fall colors.
This neutral, simple fall tablescape is perfect for a cozy autumn evening with friends in your dining room, in your garden or on your patio! I used this 15″ x 108″ DII Farmhouse Braided Stripe Table Runner, available in many colors and a few sizes. I adorned it with my pretty fall Pottery Barn Decorative Rattan Pumpkin, my Pottery Barn Terracotta Jack-O-Lantern. And my Velvet Pumpkin Shaped Pillow, which looks great on a tablescape. I made them the table’s focal point, and I couldn’t be happier!
Neutral Fall Table Setting
I featured my trusty 15” Better Homes & Gardens Woven Round Chargers for the fall table setting. I placed my beautiful looped La Porcellana Bianca Firenze Dinner Plates on the charger/placemat (they’re currently out of stock and these white scalloped dinner plates are a beautiful alternative). Then I created the perfect fall tablescape with these beautiful Pottery Barn Harvest Pumpkin Stoneware Salad Plates. I love to be as sustainable as possible and used these 18” x 18” white cloth napkins from Amazon. They come in a set of six and look great adorned with various napkin rings. I used these rustic DII Basic Farmhouse Napkin Rings in black rub finish for this fall tablescape (they’ll also look amazing on your Thanksgiving table!). They are a must for fall and make a statement. As for flatware, I featured my beloved gold Flatasy faux bamboo flatware set, which is elegant and timeless.
Decorating My Fall Tablescape With Traditional Colors
Call me old-fashioned, but I love decorating with a traditional fall color scheme. While shopping for a gorgeous and budget-friendly paisley tablecloth for fall, I stumbled on this elegant and timeless Maison d’ Hermine Kashmir Paisley Cotton Tablecloth in varying shades of orange and fell in love with it instantly. It is available in 12 different sizes. Perfect for a fall dinner, Friendsgiving brunch, Thanksgiving dinner and that is just the beginning! It complements my fall tablescape essentials (featured above), pumpkin shaped placemat, and amber goblets beautifully!
One of the many great things about this colorful tablecloth is that it makes a statement on its own. You don’t have to have an elaborate fall centerpiece or an abundance of table decor items unless you choose to! It will elevate any table regardless of size or style!
Fall Table Decor Ideas For Your Small Table
If you have invited a few friends for dessert, a bistro or card table is ideal! I created this tablescape a few years ago, and it was perfect! The table looks great adorned with my classic DII Thankful Autumn Cozy Picnic Plaid Tablecloth and my homemade chocolate pecan pie. I had enough room for my rustic Heritage Lace wood charcuterie board, four gold plates, fresh mini pumpkins, and gourds from my garden.
If you love craft projects as much as I do, and you have an abundance of pumpkins and gourds that don’t match your color scheme, you could try painting pumpkins! This would also be a fun craft project for the kids (or the entire family). You could use craft paint or spray paint in the color(s) of your choice! They’ll look great in blue and white, black and gold, pink, lavender and that is just the beginning!
Fall Dessert Ideas
Apple Pie
My mom and I baked quite a bit this week for this simple fall tablescape! She made an apple pie, which we baked in this white Williams Sonoma Stoneware Pie Pan! It comes in a set of three and is ideal for baking pies throughout the year. What made it perfect for autumn is the Williams Sonoma Fall and Thanksgiving Pie Punches she used with pie dough! The pie punches include apple shapes, adorable pumpkins, leaves, and an acorn! They make a statement and give the pie a unique and beautiful touch. The best part is they are very easy to use!
Chocolate-covered marshmallows
When I was a kid, we went to a fantastic place called Apple Hill in Placerville, located in Northern California! While everyone was eating caramel apples and drinking fresh pressed apple juice, I couldn’t wait to devour homemade marshmallows covered in caramel and melted chocolate! I made Ina Garten’s homemade marshmallow recipe, covered them in melted chocolate (I used these Ghirardelli milk chocolate wafers), put popsicle sticks on one end, and decorated them with crushed graham crackers, sprinkles, and chopped pecans! I then placed them in the refrigerator so they could harden and then served them on this beautiful scalloped Pottery Barn Juliana Serving Platter in white . They are so delicious and are a fun treat for fall and winter!
Fall Cake
I LOVE my Nordic Ware Baking Pans. They are so easy to use and create the most gorgeous desserts. I adore this Nordic Ware Harvest Bounty Loaf Pan I purchased last summer. It has beautiful three-dimensional pumpkins on top, which make a statement. I used a spice cake mix and doused my pan with Baker’s Joy baking spray, which ensures the cake doesn’t stick to the pan and makes all the difference in the world. This cake looks fantastic on this white scalloped Pottery Barn Juliana Cake Stand from Monique Lhuilier’s gorgeous collection!
Fall Appetizer That Makes A Statement
I was searching high and low for a cute fall appetizer when my friend randomly messaged me on Instagram with an adorable fall brie pumpkin! I thought this was the perfect appetizer idea. But I was initially intimidated because I’d never used Bakers twine and puff pastry. I purchased two brie cheese rounds so I could practice. The first time I did it, I let the puff pastry dough defrost out a little too much, which was too sticky.
The second time I made it, I let it defrost for half of the time, and it was perfect. You can use as many Bakers twine strings as you’d like as it’s your pumpkin, your creation! I love the look of Cinderella heirloom pumpkins, so I added several strings, and it came out great! For the stem, I used a Colby Jack cheese stick. It fell over a bit, so I placed a thin club cracker behind it, and it worked out perfectly! I used a few basil leaves for the pumpkin leaves. I’m not the most patient or the neatest, so if I can make this pumpkin, anyone can! I highly recommend it.
I love how adorable it looks with club crackers and salami on this pumpkin-shaped wood charcuterie board! This appetizer is ideal for any fall celebration and is also perfect for Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving!
How To Decorate A Fall Table
Real Mini Pumpkins And Gourds As A Centerpiece
Every year, I plant mini white pumpkins and Daisy gourds (in honor of my grandma Margarita = Daisy in Spanish). I love displaying them on my patio, home, and tablescapes. You can place them directly on a table, on a charcuterie board, in a serving bowl, or in a woven basket, to name a few!
Artificial Pumpkins as Centerpieces
I love Pottery Barn’s gorgeous selection of fall decor! There are countless items to choose from. I ordered this rattan pumpkin last year, and I adore it. It comes in a few different sizes. This rattan pumpkin in the photo above is the largest size. It looks great on coffee tables, my hearth, console tables/entryway tables, tablescapes, and more!
Fall Floral Arrangements
The gorgeous Galeux d’Eysines pumpkin (peanut pumpkin) is one of the most beautiful heirloom pumpkins ever! I love the lovely peach shade and the warts adorning it! This pumpkin looks phenomenal decorated with flowers as well. We cut a hole in the center and filled it with garden roses, dahlias, hydrangeas, filler flowers, and more from my family’s flower farm. It is perfect for Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, a fall brunch, a fall bridal shower or baby shower, a birthday party, and more!
Koko Loko roses are among the most popular for various occasions, weddings, and events. In fact, this tan/cafe shade is ideal for fall! This bouquet of brown Koko Loko roses in this white ceramic vase is also perfect for a fall tablescape!
You can also fill a large clear vase with real or artificial mini pumpkins! It really makes a statement and will also make a great gift for a friend or a loved one.
Fall Decor In Non-Traditional Colors and Materials
Amazon is one of my favorite places to shop for trendy fall decor in various colors and materials! They truly have something for everyone. So if you love blue and white chinoiserie decor, you will fall head over heels for this set of four chinoiserie pumpkins. They’ll also look amazing paired with blues, whites, and pinks.
If you love contemporary fall decor, you can’t go wrong with these black and gold pumpkins, which will make a statement on your modern/contemporary tablescape!
Last but definitely not least, I am holding out hope that Pottery Barn restocks their legendary Terracotta pumpkin that is more popular than ever! I bought it in late June and it sold out almost immediately. I have a battery operated faux candle in the center, which is a must when dining outdoors in the evening. You will absolutely adore this trending terracotta jack-o-lantern.
Discover even more fall entertaining and decor essentials in the Candie Anderson Halloween Section: https://candieanderson.com/tag/halloween and the Candie Anderson Thanksgiving Section: https://candieanderson.com/tag/thanksgiving
