FALLing Into Another Season

I decided to take the plunge and move into a tablescape for fall.  This table is honoring the FALLing leaves I remember from my days growing up on Long Island, New York.  I can still see the bare trees of pending winter, feel the crispness in the fall air, smell the dusty odor as we kicked through the piles of brightly colored leaves on the sidewalk ( and also smell the burning piles of leaves that were burning in the gutters: yes, back "in the old days" leaves would be raked up, piled in the streets and burned! Anyone else remember their folks doing this? Air quality was not a concern in those days!) I also remember the sound of crunching leaves under our feet as we'd walk along the sidewalk. It truly was a sensory overload as the fall season changed the landscape around us, and winter made its way into town. Memories of this season became the basis for this table.

Here Is My Fall Tablescape:

Here Is How I Created It:


I started with fall-colored placemats that I had found at HomeGoods a while ago.

My first layer of the dish stack is a new melamine charger plate I found at Hobby Lobby.  I was hoping they would work with my Johnson Bros. Friendly Village dishes I use every Thanksgiving. I LOVE these chargers with their cream color and tiny streaks of brown, but, unfortunately, when I topped them with my Friendly Village dishes, the cream colors didn't really match each other, and not enough of the brown detail on the chargers could be seen. So, my original plan for a Thanksgiving table will not work.  It's my year to host, so it's a good thing I still have time before November!

The dinner plate I chose was part of a four-design set of dishes I found while antiquing when I first started my blog. They are Royal Cauldon, England. I love the shape and raised edge detail on these plates, as well as the different pictures on them.

This is the pattern Ludlow Castle & Dinham Bridge:

The next pattern is Jesmond Dene, Newcastle-on-Tyne:

Another plate is : Glastonbury Abbey

And lastly, here is The Water Wheel, Groudle Glen:

I topped these dinner plates with leaf plates that I found at the Dollar Tree store last year. I've had leaf-shaped dishes before, but I love the detail on these plates. The veins running through each leaf are actually three-dimensional , and their colors are bright and so pretty. Perfect for honoring the colors of fall!

I also found the napkins at HomeGoods. They are reversible. One side has fall-colored stripes, and the other side is covered with leaves of bright fall colors! I couldn't leave these napkins in the store after finding them! The napkin rings are pottery pieces. I can't remember where I found them.

I completed my place setting with my Treble Clef flatware from World Market (thought they were reminiscent of tree twigs) and fall decorated goblets from The Dollar Tree store!

I kept my centerpiece fairly simple. The cream/white owl was discovered during a Hobby Lobby visit (their fall inventory is spectacular!!). The expression on his face just fascinated me. And, I thought his cream color would coordinate well with my dishes. He's sitting on a swag of felt leaves and some straw filler I had on hand. He's then flanked by two decorative votive candle holders.

I do feel fall is making its way into town. Being in CA, the Santa Ana winds will soon start blowing and that means HOT breezes, but it shouldn't be a long event. The nights are cooler and more comfortable for sleeping, schools have all started and pumpkin and other fall decor are popping up in yards, so the "BER" months have definitely begun. Here we go again!!!!

I'll be joining Susan at www.betweennapsontheporch.net for Tablescape Thursday. Please be sure and stop by her wonderful blog to see all the creative tablescapers and the wonderful information Susan shares about travel, cooking, home projects, fashion and a myriad of other topics!! I'll also be joining Dishing It! and Digging It! at www.rustic-refined.com.

I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment, and I will respond!