If you plan to host a fall gathering and Thanksgiving this year, you want your table decorated for both the season and the holiday. But do you want to decorate it from scratch twice? Probably not. And you don’t have to. I designed a simple fall tablescape that easily transitions to Thanksgiving with a few additions and subtractions, starting with faux flowers as the centerpiece.

October and November are two of our busiest months. Fall entertaining leads right into Thanksgiving, which can make any hostess a bit frazzled. But if you make the most of your seasonal tablescape (think two for the price of one), you can enjoy your own parties and keep your dining decor as tasteful as your Thanksgiving turkey.

Faux flowers are the secret to making it work. Unlike fresh blooms, they look just as pretty at your November dinner as they did at your first fall get-together, with no wilting and no last-minute trip to the florist. Pair them with natural textures, neutral colors, and a few pieces you already own, and you have a table that feels relaxed now and festive later.

In this post, I’ll show you how I set my simple fall table, how to choose and arrange faux flowers that look real, and 10 easy ways to transition your fall tablescape to Thanksgiving.

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An Inspiring Outdoor Fall Tablescape

The idea for my fall tablescape is part of our monthly Design Challenge. My sweet friend Cindy of County Road 407 chose an outdoor tablescape all the way from Montana as our inspiration.

Do the participating content creators copy the inspiration photo exactly? No, it’s an inspiration that allows us to interpret it in our individual style and setting. That’s the fun. Join me as I share my interpretation and you can see how my blogger friends did, also.

If you are joining me from Barb of French Ethereal, you’ll enjoy her autumn garden setting.

This month’s fall tablescape comes from Karen of Sanctuary Home Decor. The setting is a covered porch on her 500-acre Montana ranch. Lucky girl. This is an outdoor setting, and, as you can see, it’s very simple, almost minimalist. Nothing fussy or cluttered. Plenty of room for good food and conversation.

We have done outdoor tablescapes in the past, such as this outdoor fall tablescape (aren’t the sunflowers amazing?) from a few years ago.

My Problem with Styling a Fall Tablescape This year

Our estate-sale teak table finally met its match after a very cold winter and very hot summer. It was really looking ragged. Instead of throwing it out for bulk pickup, we had our handyman repurpose it as a potting table on the side of the house. It’s been a great addition to our gardening efforts.

Although I’ve been shopping online, I haven’t yet found a backyard dining table that meets my criteria. So, unfortunately, just as the weather becomes perfect for outdoor dining, we don’t have a table.

Instead, our dining room becomes our fall tablescape venue. In good news, it allows me to easily transition the fall tablescape to a Thanksgiving one.

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Elements of an Outdoor Montana Fall Tablescape

Here is what I immediately noticed on Karen’s table styling:

• wood table – darn, my teak table would been perfect
• large galvanized milk container – don’t have one of those, but I do have a couple of galvanized pails that are not being used
• woven placemats – yeah, I have a set of those
• galvanized chargers – no deal
• cream linen napkins – check on that
• decorative pumpkins – another check
• orange faux foliage – check
• plaid throws – check
• white plates – check
• glasses with woven holders – glasses, but no holders
• metal lamps – I do now. I ordered this set in brushed gold, which arrived just in time to be included on my table.

Elements of My Indoor Dallas Fall Tablescape

That is supposed to be funny. Here is what I’m including in my fall table. My style will be like Karen’s: simple and not fussy, with natural materials and neutral colors.

• wood table – our French-style dining table
• burlap tablecloth – I intended to use our round woven placemats, but they are hiding. I looked everywhere for them. Even sweet Sweet Shark went through every fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving bin. I went through every drawer, cabinet, underbed storage bins (even upstairs in the guest rooms) twice, and we can’t find them. I know they are here. They will show up when we are decorating for Christmas.

Instead, I used my burlap tablecloth, which I bought years ago in Atlanta at the Queen of Hearts Antique Store (I can’t remember if it was the Marietta or Alpharetta store. Both are awesome.)

• Since I couldn’t find my woven chargers, I used my decoupage fall chargers that I made last year. See, I really do have those woven place mats.

• galvanized pail – this is the larger of the two that aren’t being used. I set it on a woven trivet to protect the table and the tablecloth. This one is pretty old and we drilled holes in it years ago for draining.

• linen napkins – off-white – set of twelve from an estate sale

• white plates – our everyday dishes – Villeroy and Boch in Manoir
• bread and butter plates from 180 Degrees – bought in Boone, NC at the Mast General Store. Unfortunately, they are no longer available.
• crystal water glasses – Kylemore by Waterford
• flatware – Buttercup by Gorham – belonged to Sweet Shark’s mom
• my new gold battery-operated lamps

Setting My Fall Indoor Table with Flaux Flowers

The first thing I added to my fall tablescape was a collection of faux fall flowers and foliage to the pail. Rather than a formal arrangement, I made a very simple one, gathering four different fall foliage stems that I had not yet used in the house.

I basically stuffed them into the pail. I started bringing in a few decorative pumpkins.

The pail seemed so tall that I wrapped it in a garland of green ivy to soften it.

Then I added small ceramic pumpkins and DIY yarn pumpkins that I made a few years ago to both sides of the center arrangement.

I added the melamine bread and butter plates with fall deisgns.

Then the chargers and placed the dinner plates and napkins on the table

BUMP in the ROAD: I planned to set the table for six. When I began to place the chargers on the table, I realized that I only completed four of them. I still have four more plates from Hobby Lobby that I never made. I have plenty of time to make those for a friends’ luncheon I plan to host.

With the chargers in place, I began to “build” my place settings.

I always want to make a handmade project for a table. Last fall I bought two packages of various fall-colored felt to make leaves and turkeys.

This year I made “leather-looking” napkin rings with felt and twine. Super easy and I already had the felt and the jute twine.

I picked three colors that complemented the colors of the design on the chargers. I’ll show you how I made the napkin rings in a later post.

The leaves will serve as coasters. They have a leathery texture to them.

Next, I added the sterling silver flatware and the crystal glasses.

Do you notice something different about the galvanized pails here? I switched out the first one on the left, which I thought was too big. The second one on the right has a silver look to it. I guess I painted it at some point. It’s a couple of inches shorter than the first one on the left. I

This simple fall tablecape with the faux flowers was ready for prime time OR maybe not. I was still not happy with the size and color of the galvanized pail. It seemed out of place with the soft, neutral colors of the fall flowers and the colors on the rest of the table.

What to do? I went searching. In my home decor closet, I found a vintage basket with a darker color and lots of texture and interest.

This time I was more deliberate with the placement of the faux flowers. I wanted the arrangement to look like I carried my basket out to the yard and gathered different types of flowers in a natural way.

Here’s the back side of the basket

The basket looks much better: it’s not as tall as the galvanized pail and the basket fits the natural materials of the rest of the tablescape.

As the final piece, I added the gold metal battery-operated lamps to the table.

I also have to show off our newly reupholstered dining room chairs. I love the blue velvet side chairs and the blue pattern on the host chairs.

Why Faux Flowers Make Sense for a Fall Tablescape

Fresh flowers are lovely, but they don’t last from early October to Thanksgiving. Faux flowers do. Set your centerpiece once, and it looks just as good at your November dinner as it did at your first fall gathering. No wilting, no cloudy vase water, and no last-minute trip to the florist the morning of Thanksgiving.

They also work beautifully outdoors. Wind, sun, and chilly porch nights are hard on fresh blooms, but a faux arrangement holds its shape whether your table is on a Montana ranch porch or in a Dallas dining room. I acutally used faux flowers in two planters by our front door this year. I picked some that look very realistic, and you can’t tell up close. Best part? I don’t have to remember to water them.

And here’s the budget-friendly part. A good set of faux stems is a one-time purchase you can bring out year after year. Store them carefully and they become part of your fall decor collection.

How to Choose Faux Flowers That Look Real

Not all faux flowers are created equal. A few things to look for:

• Choose realistic textures. Look for petals with soft variation in color and visible veining. Shiny or perfectly uniform petals are a giveaway.
• Pick a fall color palette. Rust, cream, mustard, burgundy, and soft orange feel seasonal without shouting “Halloween.” Cream and white blooms are the most versatile because they work with any accent color.
• Mix in foliage and texture. Faux eucalyptus, olive branches, wheat, dried-look grasses, and berry stems make an arrangement feel gathered rather than store-bought.
• Use bendable stems. Wired stems let you shape blooms so they look natural instead of stiff.
• Mix a few varieties. Dahlias, ranunculus, garden roses, hydrangeas, pansies, and mums are all fall-friendly. Two or three flower types plus greenery is plenty.

How to Store Faux Flowers for Next Year

When the season is over, don’t toss your stems in a bin with the pumpkins (says the woman still searching for her placemats). Wrap the blooms loosely in tissue paper, store them upright or flat in a labeled box, and keep them somewhere cool and dry. A quick dusting with a hairdryer on the cool setting freshens them up when you bring them back out next fall.

How to Transition a Simple Fall Tablescape to Thanksgiving?

With a few smart choices, the same fall tablescape you love in October can carry you right through Thanksgiving dinner. This is where faux flowers really earn their keep. You don’t need a new arrangement for Thanksgiving. Just adjust the one you have. Here are 10 quick ideas to make the switch simple.

• Start with a flexible color palette. Cream, rust, mustard, and sage feel cozy now and festive later. Want something unexpected? Blue and white with copper or pumpkin accents is classic and stunning. Add a few deeper blooms in burgundy or plum for a richer, more formal look.
• Build on a neutral base. A linen tablecloth or simple runner in oatmeal or ivory works with everything, so you only have to change the layers on top. Change your fall placemats or chargers to dressier ones for Thanksgiving dinner.
• Let pumpkins do double duty. White, heirloom, and mini pumpkins make an easy fall centerpiece. For Thanksgiving, switch to velvet pumpkins, add candles and greenery to make it feel more formal.
• Go long and low with your centerpiece. A faux flower arrangement in fall colors gives you a centerpiece that lasts from October straight through Thanksgiving. Line the table with faux eucalyptus, magnolia leaves, or dried grasses to stretch the look, and keep everything low so guests can see each other. For height, place a ginger jar filled with bittersweet or dried hydrangeas on the sideboard or at each end of the table.
• Invite a few turkeys to dinner. Turkeys in wood or ceramic are one of my favorite ways to signal it’s Thanksgiving. I add about five of them to my table and sideboard, and they instantly turn a fall setting into a holiday one.
• Bring in the glow. Taper candles in brass holders or votives in amber glass create instant warmth. Add battery-operated lamps to dress up your table for Thanksgiving. They give that cozy restaurant feel with no cords to hide. I ordered the gold set and they are so elegant.
• Layer your place settings. Start with a charger, then a dinner plate and salad plate. Use simple white plates for fall, then switch to Thanksgiving patterns. Change out your napkins to ones with a Thanksgiving theme for the big day.
• Add a natural napkin touch. For fall, tie napkins with twine or raffia and tuck in a small leaf. For Thanksgiving, switch to velvet or satin ribbon to tie around the napkin. Then add a sprig of rosemary or a cinnamon stick.
• Swap in Thanksgiving details. Add a little gratitude note at each setting or a mini pumpkin with each guest’s name written on it. Or try turkey-themed place cards like the ones I made a few years ago. They’re fun, festive, and easy to make. Remove items that shout casual fall, like burlap, twine, or dried grasses, if you want a dressier table.
• Keep the extras close by. Trays, cake stands, and small bowls of nuts, pears, or pomegranates fill gaps on the table and make it feel abundant.

The best part? Most of these pieces are things you already have. Shop your home first, then add a few fresh touches as the holiday gets closer.

I hope you enjoy “touring” all these fall tablescapes. Use them to inspire your own fall tablesettings. Next up, take a look at Cindy of County Road is sharing.

Please save and share this fall tablescape on your Pinterest Boards. Here are some of my Boards to check out: Fall Tablescapes and Thanksgiving Tablescapes.