Autumn is a really special time of the year to invite friends and family to your home for dinner. It’s a time to celebrate the forthcoming festive period, prepare warming and delicious home-cooked recipes, and bring your home to life with a welcoming and cosy atmosphere.
Creative table décor can make all the difference to the mood of your dinner party, as well as help to make the occasion even more special for your guests. So, here we have prepared some interior décor ideas for autumn to share with you, which we hope will help you to create a memorable evening for everyone to enjoy.
Autumn colour palettes
The colours that we usually associate with autumn are brown, deep red, orange, and warm yellow – just as we see outside in nature during this season. You can incorporate these colours on your table setting using placemats, napkins, crockery, and table decorations. Ensuring that the colours are kept tonal and complimentary with each other. Adding a white backdrop against these warm colours is often a good idea as this will keep things fresh, light, and not too overbearing. For example, you could opt for a crisp, white tablecloth to help your autumnal colours really pop out.
Shades of green are also lovely to use this time of year when entertaining on either a daytime or an evening. A dark green table setting showcases a natural connection with the seasons and the outside world, and lighter green shades work well as a contrast with the dark. Again, green works well with a backdrop of white, as well as softer shades such as cream and beige. Rustic fabrics such as wood, linen, and rattan work well in collaboration with this theme to complete the natural aesthetic.
Flowers & foliage
The change of season offers plenty of inspiration to work closer with nature and all its charms, which we can incorporate into our dinner party tablescape.
Foraging in your garden or local woodland for foliage can be a great way to make an impressive (and well-scented) décor that draws from a completely natural palette. Take a walk outside to pick up some leaves in various shades, fallen pinecones and acorns, and broken twigs. Clean and dry these off in your kitchen, and then intersperse them on your table around candles, place settings and glassware in order to make a real impact.
Alternatively, small glass vases filled with autumnal blooms such as chrysanthemums, anemones, and dahlias can be dotted around the table for a sophisticated and relaxed feel.
Atmospheric lighting
The lighting around your dinner table is really important when you want to create a cosy and sociable setting. Try to keep the main room lighting as low as possible, using primarily ambient lighting to give just the right amount of light.
Fill your table with candles of various heights and sizes to offer an interesting depth to your table setting and use fairy lighting wherever possible to provide that extra sparkle. Battery-operated fairy lights can be draped around a fireplace, threaded between floral displays, or rolled up and placed in glass vases to add plenty of magic to your space.
Floating candles can be displayed in pretty glass vases in the centre of your table. These give a really contemporary and relaxing vibe to any table setting and are a great addition if you prefer something a little more minimal.
In addition, if you have an electric fire or log burner, it would be a nice touch to have this on a low setting during your dinner party. Not only will guests remain warm and comfortable throughout their stay, but nothing looks more cosy and appealing than a soft glowing fire.
Cutlery & glassware
Once you have set the scene of your dinner table with your table linen, foliage, and lighting, you can complete the look using just the right tableware and glassware.
When it comes to cutlery, using gold, brass or bronze utensils blend really well with an autumnal colour scheme, or black works well if you are trying to achieve something a little more glamourous and dramatic. Vintage cutlery adds a beautiful touch, and you can usually pick up pre-loved sets quite easily, and cost-effectively from your local antique store or charity shop.
Coloured wine and water glasses will really help to bring your whole colour scheme together, whereas cut-glass vessels tie in well with an antique vintage feel. You can also complete the association with nature using wooden serving tools to share autumn salads or rustic wicker baskets to serve out bread or crackers.
We hope that we’ve given you some autumnal inspiration for your forthcoming dinner party. Don’t forget to take a look at our other articles for further home and interior ideas from Peter Ward Homes.