Ideas for decorating tables in autumn
What noble peace in this detachment from everything; oh beautiful meadow that pulls the petals from your flowers … this is how the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez described the autumn. Autumn, a time of the year as romantic as it is melancholy, a time when we do less [...]
What noble peace in this detachment from everything; oh beautiful meadow that pulls the petals from your flowers… this is how the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez described the autumn. Autumn, a time of the year as romantic as it is melancholy, a time when we do less things outdoors and enjoy more time indoors, seeking the warmth of the home and our loved ones.
Thus, after the summer holidays and once the new school year has been overcome, autumn arrives as an ideal moment for reunions with family and friends, without forgetting the celebration of festivals such as Halloween or the traditional Castañada with chestnuts.
Below we explain some hints and ideas so that the decoration of tables in autumn results in a warm and pleasant meal..
Placemats and cotton napkins: a landscape of colours
The change of colour in the landscape is one of the most characteristic elements of the arrival of autumn. The trees are transformed into hypnotic yellows, oranges, reds, browns and some greens that resist, with all their chromatic nuances.
A good way of reproducing this autumnal atmosphere in the dining room at home is to pass on these tones in the decoration of tables with placemats and cotton napkins in cream, ochre, orange, chocolate, dark greens…
In this sense, we recommend you combine elements of 2-3 harmonious colours, more or less close in the colour chart. An example could be to decorate the tables superimposing cotton napkins in brown and yellow, such as the colours taupe and curry.
We recommend white crockery, in order to highlight the different-coloured textiles and provide brightness to the table decoration.
Cotton napkin rings
A detail that diners will love is to create natural cotton napkin rings. This involves picking dry leaves in attractive forms and colours and tying them together delicately to the cotton napkins, with a string of esparto grass. This autumn ingredient will highlight the atmosphere of colour created with the placemats and cotton napkins.
Candles: a touch of warmth
Candles have a magical power, and can easily turn an everyday meal into a special supper. Just try one day to turn out the lights and light the candles: you will achieve a relaxing atmosphere in a very noticeable way. The faint light, the warm colours of the flame, predisposes us to feel calm and to be more at ease with the other diners.
In the decoration of autumn tables they bring warmth and we recall those colours of dry leaves, that twilight of summer, that period of introspection, that mystery of death to which we pay homage with All Saints Day (1 November).
As well as all these effects, candles are an element which we can play with in the decoration of tables, since we can find them in very different formats and sizes. As well as the classic candelabras, which will also help us dress the table, we can present them with centrepieces in the most autumnal style.
Steps to create an autumn centrepiece with nuts and dried fruits:
- Use a candle (if you like it can be perfumed).
- Use a glass recipient that is larger than the candle.
- Prepare nuts and dried fruits such as chestnuts or hazelnuts.
- Place the nuts and dried fruits in the recipient and the candle on top. Another option, if the recipient is bigger, is to place the candle in the middle and surround it with the nuts.
Other elements for decorating tables
The colour of the placemats and cotton napkins is undoubtedly a key element when giving this autumnal touch to the meal we are preparing. However, as well as counting on this colour base, we can add some seasonal food to the table, which we can use as decoration for the table too.
Pumpkins
Without doubt, one of the ingredients of autumn, with special significance in the festival of Halloween, is the pumpkin. This orange-coloured vegetable, of which there are many varieties, shapes and sizes, can be placed on tables as an element of decoration, if we want.
Chestnuts
If the pumpkin is the queen of Halloween, the chestnut is the unmistakable star of the Castañada, the festival traditionally held in Catalonia and Aragon with roast chestnuts, sweet potatoes and panellets, almond-based sweets.
Chestnuts, rounded on one side and flat on the other, are an attractive shiny brown colour, and can be used for decorating tables in many ways:
- You can scatter some at random around the table on the tablecloth
- You can place 3 or 4 chestnuts delicately around the glass, for example
- You can use them to create the autumn centrepiece
- And all those ideas that your imagination suggests!
Pomegranates
If up until now we have seen the orange of the pumpkin and brown of the chestnuts, we need a fruit that proudly shows off the other colour of autumn: red. This is the pomegranate, considered by some peoples as the symbol of love, prosperity and fertility.
Its external appearance is unique, unlike any of the common fruits, and inside we find juicy seeds with a very curious texture and flavour.
Natural pomegranates are also a good idea for decorating tables in autumn, and you can create pretty centrepieces that can also sometimes be adapted for Christmas, since the red and the roundness of the fruit (which reminds us of the Christmas tree decorative balls) are perfect for this celebration as well.
