My Tablescape Inspo: Transitioning decor from Summer to Fall

Sep 18, 2023
4 min read

Updated: Oct 25, 2023

The transition from summer to fall is welcomed by many as we are able to bring out the autumn decor and have cozy nights in. For this 2023 season, the summer in the U.S. was the hottest it has ever been, so personally, I am ready for some Fall temperatures and autumn coziness. The months of May through October were our busiest traveling seasons of the year. This Summer welcomed adventures to South Africa, Botswana, Colombia, Colorado, Savannah, and Cape San Blas, just to name a handful.

When we are at home, I love making our dining room table a reflection of the seasonal mood. I pull inspiration from our travels and try to blend in a little of Southern hospitality with European charm plus a dash of Sonoma wine country.

I tend to mix neutrals with some pops of color that showcase the months we are in, and I love to mix various textures. I always have to be mindful of the dining room mural to make sure I am not using decor items or color palettes that could potentially clash with the mural.

But that being said, I chose our mural particularly because it is a perfect marriage of themes and colors (greens, blues, golds) that can be found around our home, so nothing I would choose for the table would ever clash too much with the mural.

A Fresh & Inviting Summer Table

This summer, I opted for some natural water hyacinth charger plates as a base for our china. I typically do not change out our china throughout the year unless for an event, because our Fortessa dinnerware is so complementary with any season. I wanted to bring out some of the blues and whites this summer, so I used the linen napkins that we found in downtown Sonoma in 2022 and paired them with some silver napkin rings.

This table runner is one a fun addition to the dining room decor, and I love that it lists out different types of wine varietals around the world. It adds some personality to the table and is a fabulous dinner party conversation starter. We also own the oyster-themed runner, too, from Sir| Madam!

Adding another pop of color (and yes, more texture) are the green moss balls sitting in the beautiful hand-carved olive wood display bowl. The moss balls and olive wood bowl were both found at an antique store in Madison, Georgia called Madison Market, but you can find a similar bowl online.

Lastly, the glassware is a combination of antique green glass I found in Monroe, Georgia (highly recommend checking out Monroe, Georgia if you are into antiquing - so many stores to choose from!) and some beautiful glasses from Fitz & Floyd and Godinger.

Welcoming Fall to the Table

As we enter the autumn season, I wanted to accentuate the warm tones that you can find around my home all year round, especially in the dining room and living room. To play in harmony with the mural, I exchanged the natural charger plates with some antique bronze charger plates I found at an estate sale. You can find similar chargers here.

I chose some beautiful linen copper-colored napkins for the place settings, and I put the silver napkin rings in storage and brought out some wooden napkin rings to add a nice wooden contrast to all the glasses on the table.

I was torn between keeping the beautiful green moss balls in the olive wood bowl as a centerpiece or really lean into the autumn spirit and adding some muted-toned faux pumpkins & flint corn bundles to the olive wood bowl (you can find these at Homegoods, too!). I am not a huge fan of decorating for Halloween, so I decided that the golds and coppers on the table could be my happy-medium decor choice to celebrate Fall.

For comparison, I have a photo of what I styled in 2022 (below) so you can see that keeping the natural water hyacinth charger plates with a clear, gold-trimmed charger was also a nice option, but I wanted to switch it up this year! I also had black candlesticks last year because in 2022 we had a black chandelier that has now been updated to our current antique-looking chandelier.

For 2023, I wanted the table to be a little bit more colorful, so I had a lot of fun styling different candlesticks (from mostly Homegoods & Hobby Lobby) with the green, blue and gold glasses. I added some decorative wheat bundles for some varying height on the table as well.

I also recommend experimenting with the candle color choices and do not stick with just white candles for the season! To bring the whole look together, around the kitchen and when serving meals, I enjoy using my copper accents like my copper water pitcher and cheese trays to bring the whole autumn look together.