Festive Fall Centerpiece Ideas You Can Make at Home

With the holidays just around the corner, many of us are looking forward to reconnecting with friends and family around the table. If you’ve stepped up to the plate of hosting Thanksgiving this year, you’ve probably spent some time scrolling Instagram and Pinterest looking for ways to elevate the atmosphere at dinner with beautiful decor. Look no further, we have you covered. From an intimate candlelit tablescape to floral arrangements that look like modern works of art, here are festive, DIY fall centerpiece ideas that celebrate the joy of the season.

Before getting started, we want to urge any readers who are feeling overwhelmed by the thought of styling flowers to look at it as a creative and fun endeavor rather than a chore. As you will see, the following examples use many items that you may already have but never really had the opportunity to use until now – a statement vase, vintage candle holders, or velvet table runner. Additionally, most of the elements making up the floral recipes can be found at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and even the neighborhood bodega. And don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when it comes to selecting your flowers – Phaleanopsis orchids, anthuriums, and even monstera and palm leaves can be substituted for classic fall blossoms.

Harvest Earth Tones

For inspiration on color, types of flowers, and decorative accents, we often tell our clients to look to the season that they are getting married for inspiration. It’s no wonder then that we’re obsessed with this fall tablescape featuring a harvest inspired earth tone palette. To copy the look, combine expected earthy hues such as burnt sierra, tumeric, sage, and terra cotta with the addition of one or two bolder colors like marigold, pumpkin, red currant, and candied apple.

A Soft + Surprising Palette

This centerpiece reminds us of the still beauty sensed when walking through a forest in the final days of autumn just after all the leaves have fallen off of the trees. Cool greens, pale blues, and blush make it a surprising palette for the Thanksgiving table. Still, there’s a subtle allure that speaks to the seasonal change when fall gives way to winter.

A Two Color Masterpiece

This captivating arrangement proves that when it comes to color and high-impact, sometimes less is more. To create a similar look, gather two to three types of greenery such as eucalyptus, ruscus, and dusty miller, contrasting the leaves with florals of a distinct autumnal hue – burgundy, plum, crimson, caramel, and marigold are all excellent choices for the occasion.

Botanical Artistry

If you have floral styling experience (or are just up to the challenge), then this display of what can best be described as botanical art is for you. To replicate a similar design at home, you’ll need a few flower frogs on reserve. Placed at the bottom of a vase or bowl, flower frogs allow you to strategically place and secure florals and greenery, giving the impression that they are standing freely. For more information, check out Team Flower’s Guide to flower frogs and how to use them. While asymmetry is a hallmark of this type of design, you still want to your arrangement to feel harmonious with elegant lines and graceful proportions.

Dramatic Black Accents

As an accent color, black brings drama and sophistication to any design. Here, a greenery and white rose table garland is complemented by black taper and pillar candles, napkins, and dinnerware, creating striking contrast that seduces the eye. To warm up the tablescape, include gilded elements such as gold candlesticks and utensils along with amber colored glassware.

White Pumpkins + Greenery

Best experienced in natural light, this centerpiece is ideal if you are planning to host a meal before the sun goes down. Plan ahead by gathering an array of white pumpkins (real or faux) – we love how the assortment of sizes and natural shades shown here brings a natural sense of movement to the presentation. For greenery, you can go light with seeded and silver dollar eucalyptus or dark with Italian ruscus, lemon leaf, and ivy. Do you love this lay out, but are planning to serve dinner in the evening hours? Just add votive, pillar, or taper candles to the table.

Foraged Table Decor

Make a note in your calendar now – the day before you’re scheduled to host dinner, take a walk to gather leaves, branches, pine cones, acorns, and twigs to use as rustic accents in a centerpiece. To add notes of polish, set the foraged natural elements on a satin table runner and mix elegant taper candles and petal soft florals into the display.

Rich Jewel Tones

Our guide to festive fall table decor would not be complete without the appearance of a rich jewel-tone arrangement. There’s something about this time of the year that has us dreaming about tablescapes decked in opulent florals of deep ruby, garnet, sapphire amethyst, and emerald. Midnight blue glassware and taper candles add to the spellbinding allure.

Neutral, Modern, Minimalist

From your wardrobe to interior design aesthetic, your style is modern and minimalist. There’s no reason to shy away from your love of beige, taupe, and cream just because colors of the traditional Thanksgiving table are anything but. For florals and greenery, consider using dried elements such as bleached eucalyptus and ruscus, pampas grass, baby’s breath, palm leaves, bunnies tail, and gyposphila flower. The key to making a neutral centerpiece feel cozy and inviting is offsetting the airy florals with a variety of textures, layered textiles, and warm candlelight.

A Honey Dipped Table Wreath

A wreath centerpiece is a lovely option for anyone planning to entertain guests at a round table during the holiday season. This charming beauty features white and honey colored dahlias, verdant greenery, and wild berries – the more texture the better. For a dash of refinement, place a trio of toffee colored taper candles in glass hurricanes in the center of the arrangement.

“That’s what life is all about: Let’s have a party. Let’s have it tonight.” ~Lilly Pulitzer

Don’t let entertaining this holiday season stress you out. We hope these easy-to-do table decor ideas inspire you to approach this Thanksgiving with a creative (and excited!) mind set. And remember, hosting these once-a-year parties are really about opening up your home to loved ones so everyone can reconnect, have fun, and make memories.