We enjoy hosting over the holidays and I generally serve our meals family style.  Today I am sharing my very simple and casual fall table.  To get inspired I pick up my favorite holiday magazines and also look at Pinterest.  It all looks so perfect and that brings me to my next topic.

Get Inspired 

Finding inspiration from social media is great but can also have a negative impact as we observe the perfect homes and lives that others seem to live.  Fact is much of what we see is a result of a team of people.  Photographers, vendors, editors, managers, and the like.  It’s a little overwhelming and discouraging to many of us.  Once I refocus and realize that  it’s unlikely I can pull the entire look off, I choose use one or two elements from my inspiration photo and add it to my table.  The result is a table that you or your girlfriend created to entertain.

Our Casual Fall Table

Today I am sharing my casual fall table.  Seeing perfection is certainly inspiring however I also like seeing more realistic, raw scenes as most of us do not have the time and resources for those over-the-top photographs.  I used my everyday dishes and and accessories that can be re-used for my holiday table.  Because we enjoy serving family style, I like to leave room on the table for food.   When my husband saw this table he immediately asked where the food would go.  I told him I’d be serving the guests and that we would put just a few items on the table.  Everything worked out beautifully and I like that we compromised .. pretty with practical.

Use what you already have, including fall branches and other color from your garden.

Get creative with your existing pieces.  Sometimes I use to different colors and designs. This year I plan to add a few pieces of my grandmother’s wedding china to our holiday table.  It’s fun to mix antique with modern!  I clipped branches from our yard and brought in Pompous grass for neutral fall decor (here’s the pompous grass in a vase).  For my flowers I had my local market order a few roses and then I added a few other inexpensive pieces to create a small bouquet for my simple vase. Bringing natural elements in is very important to me so I like adding eucalyptus in containers or as a centerpiece.   It’s easy to create a long, fuller eucalyptus centerpiece by laying out branches and using green twine to tie the branches together.   You can also purchase a faux olive leaf branch.  I purchased mine on a mark down here.

Buying new decor items

My table is from Restoration Hardware and seats eight.  By the time I get a charger, silverware, plates, and glasses on the table there’s not a lot of room for decor so I’m very selective.  This year I purchased a few items that can be reused for Christmas and in other areas of our home.  The velvet pumpkins are so darling and come in a variety of colors and sizes.  They look cute on the table and also on my mantle as seen in this this blog post.   I decided to use tapers on my table so I purchased brass candle holders and candles from Terrain.  Don’t forget to buy the Stick-um Candle Adhesive to hold your candles in place!  Another favorite are the napkins from Mcgee and Co. They were not too expensive and I plan to use them for Thanksgiving dinner and restyle them for Christmas dinner.  I purchased the chargers on sale from PB (I think they are still marked down) a couple months ago and decided to use them for this table setting rather than buying new gold or brass ones.   The rose gold flatware is from Wayfair.  I’ve had it for years and I think it adds an elegant look to our table.  Last, I used a table runner from PB that I purchased over the summer.

Whatever you do, I know your family and friends will love it and appreciate your effort.  At the end of the day the focus should be on laughter and sharing stories, not material things, right? My mom used to say your kids will remember having good times spent together, not whether or not the table is perfect or if the house is spotless.  Good advice mom!