Autumn tablescape: capture the season with sophistication

I love to throw dinner parties, and in my circle of friends and family I am occasionally referred to as the Dutch Martha Stewart. What I love about entertaining is to create a theme or concept and execute it to the smallest detail. I have an obscene collection of table runners and -cloths, napkins, napkin rings, cutlery and dinnerware. Not to mention the decorative accessories to create center pieces. Most of my collected textiles and napkin rings were acquired on my journeys as extravagant dinner parties and entertaining are much more common in other cultures than in the Dutch culture. And as I hardly ever use the same concept twice, my collection grows steadily.

As the autumn has set in, and we are more inclined to stay inside, there is no better way to spend time together than by inviting friends over for dinner. Over the weekend I had one of my dinner parties.  I opted to capture the season with elegance and sophistication. Here’s how…

I used rust brown, silk table runners and napkins I bought three years ago at Havelli on the Indonesian island Bali.

DIY autumn napkin ring

Although I have plenty of napkin rings, I decided to make them myself. It’s very easy:  1. You just take any natural find you stumble upon outside your home, like e.g. a pine cone, leaf.  2. You make a small hole with a tooth pick or safety pin. 3. Attach enough wire thread to make a napkin ring. 4. An optional step is to tack the wire thread with beads. 5. Bend the wire thread around your napkin like a ring. To make it extra autumny (that’s not a word is it?) I tucked in a twig of autumn currant from a bush outside.

I completed each place setting with a golden brown translucent glass water goblet, and a cute mini milk bottle filled with freshly picked rose-hips.

For the centerpiece I always use natural elements like flowers, fruits, or branches. You could say that is my signature style. In this autumn tablescape I used a cake-stand which I first layered with different leafs I picked up in the woods. On top of the leafs I put pumpkins, freshly picked red apples from the orchard, Chinese lanterns,  and natural finds like pine cones, chestnuts, chestnut shells, birch nuts, and acorns.

Then across the table from and to the centerpiece I lined up more of the same natural elements combined with dried corn and silver decorative acorns.

The autumn tablescape was a big success, as was the seasonal food on the menu. Later this week I have another dinner party planned. I already have a concept in mind embracing fall to the fullest, but differently. Check back regularly to get more inspiration or to steal the style for your next dinner party or Thanksgiving tablesetting.

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