Decorating With Metallics: Fall Tablescape Ideas

I can’t think of a more fitting way to mark the first day of autumn than to share with you some of my fall decor.

I’m thrilled be a part of the Fall Ideas Tour, organized by my friend, Kathy, of Petticoat Junktion. Four days, 32 bloggers, countless ideas for fall mantels, tablescapes, wreaths and thrifty crafts.

Today is Tablescape Tuesday, so I’ll be giving you a tour of our dining room, all done up for fall. You can follow the links at the end of this post to check out all the other fall decorating ideas from my fellow bloggers.

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I’ve been veering away from tradition this year, combining colors like aqua, lavender and dusky green and decorating with metallics. It all started with the fall wreath I made for my front door.

I decided to bring the same theme and color scheme inside to the dining room.

I’m a real glitz and glamour kind of gal — the more sparkle and shine the better.

Mercury glass. Gilding. Crystal. Silver. I love it all. And even moreso when I can mix them all together.

These handpainted pumpkins that I gilded and silvered and bronzed may be my favorite thing I’ve made this fall. (And yes, a tutorial is coming soon!)

I used them all around the table, sitting them on gold plates from the dollar store, atop candlesticks and just scattered about.

This tablescape looks fancy, but it was really easy to pull together because I gave myself license to mix and match.

For the place settings, I set out some gold leaf-shaped placemats and topped them with silver chargers, our fancy platinum wedding china and some monogrammed gold-rimmed bowls from a yard sale. (And no, that’s not our monogram, but these were too pretty to pass up!)

I rounded out each place setting with our everyday flatware and gold chalkboard place cards.

For some extra glow, I filled a clear glass trifle bowl with a lighted mercury glass garland of pumpkins.

I liked these battery-operated pumpkin garlands so much I bought two at Homegoods.

I put the second one under a cloche on the gilded bar cart.

Gold and silver striped straws even match the color scheme.

As much as I love decorating for the seasons, as we head into fall and the holiday season, I’m trying really trying to lessen the workload on myself.

This year, I think the theme of my seasonal decorating will be really be focused on adding touches that work with my existing decor and color schemes. It’s way too much work to reinvent every room for fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

By working with what I already have, it’s so much easier to decorate and undecorate.

I can pull out a tablerunner that maches my china, drop a bouquet of showy white hydrangeas in a mercury glass vase and sprinkle the table with blue, gray, aqua and white pumpkins, and the decorating is done.

It still looks and feels like fall, with nary a shade of orange in sight.

Most importantly, it still looks like me and honors the things I love and have collected to reflect my decorating personality.

For a glimpse at how others let their personality shine in their fall decor, be sure to visit the other participants in the Fall Ideas Tour.

Monday

Postcards from the Ridge | All Things Heart and Home

Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer | Domestically Speaking

Prodigal Pieces | Housepitality Designs

Mad In Crafts | My Creative Days

Tuesday

Refresh Restyle | 2 Bees in a Pod

Fox Hollow Cottage | Artsy Chicks Rule

Our Southern Home | Restoration Redoux

Savvy Southern Style | Atta Girl Says

Wednesday

H2OBungalow | Cottage at the Crossroads

Today’s Creative Life | Dukes and Duchesses

Hunt & Host | The Interior Frugalista

Sweet Pea | Petticoat Junktion

Thursday

At the Picket Fence

Town and Country Living | Cupcakes and Crinoline

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | So Much Better With Age

Art is Beauty | AKA Design