Autumn Leaves

After our last summer dinner party on Labor Day, it was time to say goodby to the Summer is Buzzing decor. After using the dining room for a party is always a good time to change over seasonal decor. The dishes are being washed, the table needs a good clean, so take it all away and start fresh for the next look! Maybe I should have named this article Summer Leaves?

As I mentioned in my last article Take Your Time, it is fun to finesse a look and change it from year to year. For this year’s Fall decor, I decided to focus more on black than gold. I of course brought out my autumn themed dishes (discontinued from Willams Sonoma), as well as my blown glass pumpkins and acorns. I collected these pumpkins over the years from various stores – Pier1 (no longer in business) and Michaels, taking advantage of after season sales and coupons! I decided to keep my various ceramic multi colored pumpkins in the bin and instead used black pumpkins. I retrieved my fall leaves, florals, and feathers. For more information on these with how to’s on how I built the look two years ago, check out Fall for this Dining Room.

After clearing and cleaning the table, I gathered my dishes, glassware, and decor. I set out the placemats, blown glass amber candlesticks, and generally placed the pumpkins in groupings.

I separated the florals into groups for the various arrangements, one large and two small on the table, a few for around the candlesticks, two arrangements on the side chests, and one for the side table. I set some aside to use in the Great Room and kitchen area. (check back later for more pictures of the entire house fall decor makeover!)

Once the flowers were placed amongst the pumpkins, I started placing the leaves, acorn branches, and feathers. I usually go for asymmetrical arrangments. It keeps the arrangements interesting and requires less precision in putting it together! Don’t be anxious about this step. Place them around, fiddle a little, and layer piece by piece until you are satisfied with the result. Be sure to look at the arrangements from different angles and heights to see if there are any obvious gaps.

I then finished setting the chargers and dishes with black wine and water glasses. I decided to use black napkins and place them in the water glasses. I used a simple trifold and then pinched, folded up the bottom, stuffed it into the glass, and pulled apart the exposed layers. There are many options for napkin color and placement. For more ideas, refer to last years Fall post Variations on a Theme. I decided to keep the black flatware off the table for now.

I decided to keep the black chair pads and changed the black and white floral arm chair pads to all black. I love having Fun with Chairs!

The result is a beautiful fall color dining room!

I hope you enjoy developing a new Fall Look or just finessing what you already have. Be sure to follow my Blog for more Fall Decor ideas coming soon from around my home !