A Beautiful Fall Table Setting to Welcome the Season

Fall is on its way, and today I’m joining the Welcoming Fall Table Setting Blog Hop hosted by Rita at Panoply!

Whether you’re joining us from The Bookish Dilettante or found us on your own, I’m so happy you’re here! Be sure to check the other stylists’ tables through their links at the bottom of this post.

Come In Out of the Rain

I saw a movie a long time ago – I don’t even remember what it was about now – that had one scene where the couple had been out shopping, the wind and rain came up quickly, and they ended up running with their shopping bags, and laughing their way into a little café to get out of the weather.

I’m not sure why that scene popped into my mind as I was thinking about this table, but that’s the picture I used to create my cozy fall café vibe. I could imagine this little table in an out of the way Paris alley, and how fun it would be to just find it while shopping, then have a lovely little meal by the fire.

Creating the Setting Before Setting the Table

I chose this setting for a couple reasons, but mainly because it’s one of the few reasonably photogenic places in our house!

But you may be wondering about that wall.

Well, our house is really old, and has had multiple layers of wallpaper over its 100+ years. We’ve been removing it room by room and wall by wall. When we removed it from the fireplace wall, we got this! A practically virgin expanse of lath and plaster! And we sort of liked it! A little bit of old European-looking texture. My husband did touch up some of the particularly annoying patches, and there might be a little bit more to go, but we’ve decided to let it stay. And it’s a beautifully textured background for photographs.

The lovely little marble table was one my mother designed and had built when I was young, so there are some memories there. And even more with the chairs – they belonged to my grandmother, then my mother. When they came to me, we really didn’t have anywhere to put them, so they’ve been squished into the far corner of my hosting closet for the last 6 years!

But I decided to wrestle them out for this fall table setting, and I like them so much, I think I’ll keep them here and find a new home for the chair we displaced.

Plus, it was actually quite cool that day, and the fire was really nice.

Bringing Fall Inside — Through an Upstairs Window

I usually build my tables around the flowers, but this time, I used leaves. I didn’t have any fall flowers, didn’t feel like going to the store, or using faux, so I went out to the yard as I often do, looking for inspiration. There were some beautiful maples in the side yard whose leaves were just turning. But unfortunately, those leaves were level with the second story of the house! There was no way I was reaching up there.

So I grabbed a pair of clippers, then — Upstairs. Screen out. Lean through window. Reach out and grab branch. Pull branch toward me. Cut. Throw it backward onto carpet. Repeat. Vacuum.

After all that, I was so happy with the results of my little clipping adventure! The maple branches were really sculptural, and I knew they’d look lovely and interesting on the table. I often use the same flowers or greenery in other places in the house, so the mantel was a great spot for another batch of branches. It connected to the table in a nicely organic way. Just what I would have done if I’d been the florist in a Paris café.

Letting the Table Tell Me What It Needs

I considered a tablecloth, but I love the soft marble of this table. And being able to see its octagonal shape more clearly felt more café-style to me. After that, the pieces for this setting suggested themselves naturally. I wanted it fairly neutral, and the wall itself inspired the sand-colored linen napkins.

These lovely plates have always said fall to me. They were a gift from my generous cousins, and were my first thought for a fall table setting. The table was really too small for chargers, and I like the look for a casually elegant late afternoon table.

Most of the pieces were gifts – isn’t it nice to have friends and family who know what you like? As I’ve said many times before, that’s one of the things I love about table setting, so many things have meaning and stories. The brass vase was my mother’s, and the little pomegranates were a gift from a friend for Christmas one year.

She and I and two of our other longtime friends have lunch together to celebrate the holidays, and one year she gave each of us one of these little gold fruits. I think I went off about how wonderful they would be in a table setting, and then for the next get-together, friend #2 gave me hers as well! So now I have a pair, and here they are, making their Mantel and Table debut!

Plus, they’re perfect as little soup tureens! Since they’re really just decorative, you can’t serve food out of them directly, but my little ramekins fit right in! So nice for a little fall soup surprise.

Knowing When There’s Enough

One of the challenges of setting this table was its size. It’s really pretty small, so several of the things I thought I might use were just too big. For instance, chargers. Then the large wine glasses were too overpowering, so I had to switch to small.

The table was practically begging for candlelight, but it was so small that anything tall at all was going to be right in the middle of the leaves (NO!) Or smack between the diners. Or teetering out on the edge, which was neither symmetrical nor safe!

So I tried two little gold mercury-glass votives, but they still took up too much real estate. I finally settled on one votive, and that seemed just right to me – very Goldilocks!

As I was getting the votives, I saw these ridiculous little turkey tea-light holders my husband had found on a shopping trip one time! They’re so funny, and I thought, what if our café wasn’t in Paris, but was a quiet little Thanksgiving tablescape for two by the fire?

Wouldn’t these be fun?

I think overall, this table is quite sophisticated with the neutral palette, warm metals, beautiful upholstery, those sculptural leaves, and the relatively minimal decor.

But the turkeys are so cute and fun, and a bit sophisticated in their own little minimal, one color, metallic turkey way! Plus, they’re another perfect example of turning any old table into something for a special occasion with just one or two changes.

Dinner at Our Little Café

I loved this fall table setting so much that I started imagining what I’d serve if our little café were actually open for dinner. I was originally imagining French onion soup in the little tureens, but I didn’t have time to make that, so I substituted the cream of tomato with buttermilk and basil instead. (Which was delicious, btw.)

A salad of endive and goat cheese with blackened walnuts and shallot dressing would be a great second course. Then some lamb with garlic potatoes and roasted root vegetables, plus a tiny pumpkin pot de crème for dessert. I guess it was kind of Fall French Café after all!

And After That

After my photo shoot was done, I made tea and finished the soup while I watched the fire die down. It was really as cozy a spot as I could have wished for.

And when my husband came home, he looked at our little “Portland Café” and wanted to set the fire again!

Barbara’s Boutique

Click on the pictures of the pieces I used in this post. If the exact item isn’t available any more, I chose a similar option.

* This post includes affiliate links for your shopping convenience. If you click on a link and buy anything from that site during your visit, I get a small commission and there’s no extra charge for you! It really helps toward the cost of publishing Mantel and Table, and I seriously appreciate it. (You can read the whole disclosure policy here.) Thanks so much for shopping with me!

And remember, a portion of anything you buy from MANTELandTABLE.com goes to Habitat for Humanity and Proud Ground. With our purchases, we get to help people build homes for their own mantels and tables!

Pin the Fall Table Setting Post for Later

Visit the Other Fall Table Settings in the Hop

Click on the links below for more fall tablescape inspiration!

• Panoply – Tobacco Leaf Fall Tablescape
• Everyday Living – Welcoming Autumn, My Favorite Season! 
• Hyacinths for the Soul – Rocky Mountain Vibes ~ Welcome Autumn Tablescape 
• The Cat’s Whiskerz – Transitioning into Fall with Pumpkins and Pomegranates 
• Me and My Captain – Autumn! Kansas Fowl And The Milo Fields!
• Life and Linda – Cinderella – A Table Fit For A Princess
• My Thrift Store Addiction – Vintage Harvest Time – Thrifted Autumn Table Setting
• The Bookish Dilettante – Welcome Fall Tablescape: Plum Assignment
• Mantel and Table – A Beautiful Fall Table Setting to Welcome the Season
• Thrifting Wonderland – Celebrate Autumn with a Cozy Fall Tablescape
• Corner of Plaid and Paisley – Autumn Table in Hues of Brown
• Dinner at Eight – Colorful Orchard Tablesetting Celebrates Fall’s Arrival
• Pandora’s Box – Fall is for Football
• Red Cottage Chronicles – Fall Tablescape Ideas: Nancy Meyers meets English Cottage

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