These speedy centerpieces and pretty place settings are a feast for the eyes
From Good Housekeeping
LINE ’EM UP
Photo by Wendell Webber
Seasonal simplicity doesn’t get any faster than this streamlined display: Just parade small white pumpkins along a wooden platter, and—to play up the gourds’ paleness—add a runner or fabric remnant in autumnal orange. In five minutes, you’re done.
BRANCH OUT
Photo by Wendell Webber
The patina of tarnished pewter contrasts with fall foliage in this rustic-meets-refined grouping. Tuck acorns, viburnum, and crab apple cuttings (find at a florist or gather from the yard) in a trio of staggered-size containers corralled on a tray.
RIPE FOR THE PICKING
Photo by Wendell Webber
In this fresh update of the classic cornucopia, clear glass vases overflow with apples, pears, tangerines, and both ripe and green pomegranates. Accent with ribbon curling in and around the fruit, and invite guests to grab some produce post-dinner.
RAKE IT AROUND
Photo by Wendell Webber
More colorful and longer-lasting than lawn-gathered leaves, these paper look-alikes—cut from a crafts store garland—make down-to-the-wire decorating doable. It takes three minutes to trim a length of garland and wind it around a hurricane-shielded candle on a plate.
SKIP THE VASE
Photo by Wendell Webber
To create this bold bouquet, trim the stems of a dozen roses to 10 inches and strip leaves; with a rubber band, gather the stems just below the heads. Splay out the stems and snip to form a sturdy base; finish with a ribbon. Flowers will be fine for a few hours without water.
LEAF PEEPING
Photo by Kate Sears
To set this festive table, scatter reusable parchment leaves or free foliage from the yard around your best china. Cloth napkins look extra charming cinched in mini grapevine wreaths.
FLIGHT OF FANCY
Photo by Kate Sears
A sophisticated way to signal the season: with rich russet-toned pheasant plumes. Continue the theme with feather-stamped name cards, and tie it all together with a 1 1/2-inch-wide gold satin ribbon running from plate to plate.
WORTH NOTING
Photo by Kate Sears
Guests will love this monogrammed place card that doubles as a take-home gift. The notebook’s parchment-like cover complements the Pilgrim-era initial (find free Gothic fonts on fontsquirrel.com; print out letters using your home computer). Cut out each initial as shown and, with a glue stick, secure it to a 1/4-inch-wide satin ribbon; press firmly onto the book.
GOOD ON PAPER
Photo by Kate Sears
Want a bold-patterned tablescape but don’t have the right linens? Try this chic trick: Lay lengths of graphic black-and-white gift wrap across the table and place plates on top. Write each guest’s name onto a black cardstock rectangle with a white gel pen; slip into fork tines.
THE KIDS’ TABLE
From Country Living
Photo by Addie Juell/Studio D
To accommodate your youngest guests’ abbreviated attention spans (and your desire to linger over dessert), cover the children’s dining surface with Kraft paper and set out pots of crayons for tic-tac-toe. Bonus: This tablecloth is a cinch to clean up. Stamped birch name cards ensure kids feel as special as the grown-ups.