easy fall centerpieces
Putting together a last-minute centerpiece full of color and vintage vibes is easier—and cheaper—than you think. For starters, follow these rules of thumb:
Use a large, low base to contain flowers, candles and decorative items. A basket, tray or wooden box looks intentional and provides instant order to keeps everything tidy. It can be long and narrow or wide and round and ideally should echo the shape of your table.
Keep it low so guests have unobstructed views of one another. It’s hard to pass dishes or carry on a conversation when you’re straining to see over a big bouquet of flowers. This is a common mistake that’s easy to fix: simply cut down and separate flowers to fill several small vases and scatter them around your base. This spreads the wealth across the centerpiece so every guest has a pop of color in their field of view.
Achieve cohesion through color. Pick no more than 3 main colors and let one dominate. Mix in multiple shades of the same colors: yellow mums, craspedia (those compact, round blooms that last forever) and carnations with a few lemons, for example.
Save money by using durable, seasonal gourds, grocery store bouquets, citrus fruits and everyday containers like jam jars for petite vases.
Next, weave in items that are unexpected, playful and functional.
Add texture and dimension with oversized wooden beads, brass bottle openers and mercury glass votives that bounce around candlelight.
Introduce a favorite trinket or recent find that fits the color palette and grabs guests’ attention. I found the handcrafted leather camel and rider at an estate sale for maybe $6 and the salt and pepper shaker turkeys at Target for $3 (snap up some extras because these cuties are already selling on eBay for $20). They’re just interesting and fun, and in the case of the shakers, useful.
Build a centerpiece around a potted plant or several small succulents instead of flowers for something that can be used for weeks on end. I love Christmas cactuses and jade plants like the one shown with gourds because they require little care and my cats don’t try to eat them!
Use votives! Winter means longer, darker nights and the glow of candlelight has both a warming and calming effect. Opt for votives over tea lights for longer meals: they provide much more burn time.
Pretty in pink
Great gourds!
Brighten a primitive box with metallics and color pops