A Purple Fall? Really?!

I approached this fall table with trepidation.  I had bought new salad plates for a fall table, but when Kathleen from Cuisine Kathleen issued a challenge for a fall table with the rules being: NO orange, lots of purple, plus a requirement that it had to "scream fall", I was in a real quandry. So, I started to plan my table.  I knew I could create a centerpiece without too much trouble, and I did have some purple items in my tablescaping stash, but I REALLY wanted to use my new salad plates that had been patiently waiting in my dish closet for recognition.  So, this is what I came up with:

Here's How It Was Created:

I started with a tablecloth I had gotten at Anna's Linens.  I had been wanting to use this colorful cloth for a while and this seemed like the perfect time.  I always associate fall with "apple pickin' time" and with the colorful apples on this cloth, it was part of my plan to have my table "scream fall"! Luckily, the apples are red, the pears yellow and the grapes purple!

Next came my purple straw placemat I found on sale at HomeGoods.  I love these round placemats that are so popular now; they act like chargers in a plate stack and really help delineate the beginning layer of the stack.

My purple dinner plates from Anna's Linens were an obvious choice for the next layer.

The next addition to my table could eliminate me from the challenge, but I just couldn't help it.  These salad plates from Hobby Lobby jumped into my shopping basket in the middle of summer!  I'm hoping the "touch" of orange gets covered by the napkins, or maybe looks more gold than orange in the photos (wish I knew if photoshop could change the color of something!) Anyway, I have been waiting to use these colorful plates (they are marked Fall Table, 2013; now I know why they were on sale this July!) for a while, and as far as tablescapes go, they don't really have a long shelf life, since these colors won't work in many other seasons!  I also thought the colorful pattern would work well with the tablecloth and add more of a "country feeling" to the table.

To top the stack I chose a green napkin from Pier One and napkin rings from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I then decided to add a band of burlap ribbon around the napkin and a faux fall leaf to make the place setting reflect fall a bit more.

I completed the place setting with my Treble Clef flatware from World Market (it matches the napkin rings well).  I also added my purple wine glasses from Hobby Lobby.

The centerpiece is grounded with an antique wooden shoe polish box I found while antiquing two weeks ago on a road trip through Ventura. It is resting on some straw from Michaels.  I placed the matching napkin from the new tablecloth on the bottom of the box and added the following to the display: faux purple flowers, faux grapes, a white ceramic pumpkin  and a grapevine wreath all found at Dollar Tree. The wooden thread spools were found while antiquing in Santa Cruz. I then added random faux fall leaves, hoping to make it look like they just landed on the table from a passing fall breeze!  I placed an eggplant in the front for some added interest, and added purple!  Flanking the box are two purple votive candle lanterns I recently found at Target!

For accents I added two pieces.  One is a wooden box I found at Michaels (for the "Apple Challenge" last year!) that I filled with a mango and apples to coordinate with my tablecloth and the fall season of apple pickin'!  The other accent piece is a flat pottery piece made by a very dear friend (actually my roommate from college: we live 3,000 miles apart, but are as close as ever after 49 years of knowing each other! Thank you, June!)  This piece holds a place of honor in my home, and I'm glad I got to share it with you on this table. My hubby just purchased the wooden spoons from our adventure to the William-Sonoma store this past weekend!

So here is my purple fall table.  I don't know if it "screams fall", but perhaps it whispers it to you.  I had fun completing this challenge and giving a unique look to a fall tablescape.

I'll be linking up to Christine's Table It!  on Monday at www.rustic-refined.com
                               Kathleen's Let's Dish! on Wed. at www.cuisinekathleen.com    and
                               Susan's Tablescape Thursday  at www.betweennapsontheporch.net

Many thanks, ladies, for continuing to host these wonderfully fun parties!! Be sure to take a look at all the creativity going on at these sites!!

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Many thanks for your comments.  Your encouragement is always appreciated.    Rosie