Fall is in the air! While that does [currently] mean orange, smokey skies, for us here in southern California, it also means the beginning of a new season, and a transition from fresh summer decor into warm, rustic fall! This past Labor Day weekend, Tay and I hosted dinner for friends, and it got me in the mood for a fall tablescape!
I’m an August baby, and love all things summer. But when it comes to outdoor decor in September/October…I am HERE for all the neutral tones, natural textures, and warm autumn outdoor meals. I recently spent a day-off putting together this fall, neutral tablescape – created all with items I already had around the house!
Start with a backdrop with your patio furniture. For us this means a long, cedar farmtable + black, metal chairs/bench. We built our dining table, but the black, metal chairs are solid finds from Amazon! Scroll down to the bottom of this post to find links for all our products.
It truly doesn’t take much to create a functional tablescape: plates, napkins, drinking glasses, silverware. Adding in the fun, decorative pieces is what creates the table’s unique style. For fall, I envision varying wood tones, fresh olive greens, dried pampas grass + bunny tails, and rough textures like bamboo & linen.
Begin your tablescape design with a runner down the center of the table. I used a Turkish cotton tassel throw from our guest room! Fold it lengthwise, and bunch it up around your center piece to create depth. Center the focal point of your table with a wooden tray. Fill your tray with a statement vase and dried grasses or greens. Sandwich your vase in with white pillar candles – these add varying heights to your centerpiece, while serving as opportunity for warm lighting after sunset!
When it comes to the place settings, you want to think LAYERS. I started with a Crate & Barrel bamboo placemat, before laying our Walmart melamine plates on top- what a perfect blend of quality and budget! These plates, I kid you not, cost 50 cents! Linked below. Lay your linen napkins and silverware on top. [note our favorite light wood steak knives and whiskey glasses- Amazon steals! Linked below].
Once the place settings are established, and the functional pieces are checked off the list, you can move on to seasonal decor! I surrounded our place settings with woven baskets, wood serving boards, white pumpkins, and gold votives. Small bowls like the one above are perfect for condiments/sauces, toppings for your meal, or small appetizers like olives.
I then clipped some fresh sprigs of greenery from our olive trees. Placing a natural element like olive greens, rosemary, or eucalyptus freshens up the place setting, and brings in a pop of color to your neutral design. Alternatives to a sprig of greenery on top of the linen napkin would be a small baguette, a printed menu, or a mini fruit like a fresh fig or pear.
The process of designing a neutral tablescape really is so simple! These were all household items collected over the years. I’ve linked our products below to help make your neutral tablescape creation even easier. Most are the exact products we have used, but some are similar links – as these are not all new items! For example, these pillows are from a completely different set of patio furniture on the other side of our backyard. You’ll be surprised what tablescape items you’ll find in a scavenger hunt around the house!
Olivewood Board with Leather Handle
Italian Faceted Glass Water Bottle
Share your neutral tablescape to Instagram using the hashtag #newcottonblendhome
This blog post contains affiliate links via RewardStyle. By shopping these links, you are supporting New Cotton Blend at no additional cost to you . Please note that I only recommend products that I personally use or would purchase for my own home/closet; and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.
