3 Simple Autumn Tablescapes (round fall table)

Here’s 3 simple autumn tablescapes for you to try on your round table this fall season! From minimalist to a classic focal centrepiece to a more organic autumnal option- this post is full of tips and ideas to decorate your tablescape for fall.

image of round dining table filled with autumnal decor. text over reads: 3 Simple Autumn Tablescapes

Autumn is my favourite time of year to create tablescapes for. I’m such a fan of rich and moody home decor and autumn naturally lends so well to it.

As we start to enjoy cooler weather, we gather inside more and if you ask me, it’s the perfect time for dinner parties and autumnal tablescapes.

So today I’m thrilled to be partnering once again with the City Gardens Show Suite & Sales Center to share 3 simple autumn tablescapes for you to try.

This is the second time I’ve been able to style the City Gardens Show Suite in Kamloops, BC for the season (policies here). This spring I shared some tips on decorating seasonally without the clutter (did you catch it? it totally applies to fall as well!), and I’m back now focusing on some beautiful thanksgiving tablescapes.

Fall tablescape with tan napkins and straw flowers

Before we get into the tablescapes… City Gardens is a new development that’s being built by Kelson Group. I really love the modern, sleek design paired with those warm and welcoming wood tones. It really made such a great backdrop for these simple fall tablescapes!

This one was a fun challenge for me since my own table is rectangular shaped, so I have tons of fall tablescape ideas on Lemon Thistle already, but this is the first time I’ve played with a round table.

Honestly? The elements are all the same!

Instead of sharing just one fabulous fall table, I wanted to show how you can use the same basic elements (flatware, glassware, dish ware and napkins) and just change the decorative accents to get a different style of simple autumn tablescape… one that is best suited to your needs and what you like!

Minimalist fall tablescape in modern apartment

For each of the different styles of tablescapes, I’ve kept the base of the table setting itself very simple with:

White dinner plate
White side plate
Black flatware
Light amber glass water goblet
Tan textured cloth napkins

One of the easiest ways to make sure you’ll have a gorgeous tablescape for any season? Having some basics like this to play with. You can see that I’ve used the same elements (different glasses, though!) in so many of my past tablescapes.

If you have a base for your tablescapes, you’ll be ready for the holiday season as well, just sub in some seasonal decor or swap out your beautiful centrepiece for the season!

A great fall tablescape doesn’t need to be difficult. The three that I’ve shared here today can be tweaked to match the rest of your home decor, with different fall colours or even layer in other elements for a more eclectic look this fall season.

By keeping this base fairly simple with neutral colours, it’s really ready for any creative ideas you throw at it ;)

Ready for the three variations I’ve created on our fall dining table?

Minimalistic fall tablescape with dried grasses and strawflowers

Simple Fall Tablescape with Bunny Tail Grasses

The first simple autumn tablescape I created features bunny tail grasses. I love dried grasses any time of year, but they’re especially beautiful in the fall.

I wanted to create a tablescape that was so simple but beautiful enough to be used for a Thanksgiving dinner. I love that this table setting feels really minimal, but still so charming for fall.

Out of the three tablescapes, this one definitely suits the kitchen in the City Gardens Show Suite with the understated details and minimalistic neutral colours. It’s a simple fall centerpiece that comes together in a snap.

Bunny tail grasses in collected vases for a simple thanksgiving table

Bunny Tail grasses for a casual fall tablescape

Grouping three small thrifted vessels in the table helps fill the space but keeps it really airy and easy to fit serving dishes and additional glassware as needed for a dinner party. You can always find little glass vessels like these from thrift stores- I’ve been collecting them for years now.

Bunny tail grasses can be bought dried from florists, but they’re also so easy to grow from seed in your garden.

I actually love to use these little vases with bunny tail grasses for regular fall decor around the house, pair one with a mini white pumpkin and you have a simple vignette! Then… Gather them together for a gorgeous fall tablescape featuring natural materials for your dinner parties. So versatile, these little guys ;)

At each place setting, I used a tan linen look napkin and tied it in a loose knot to complete this simple autumn tablsecape.

Simple fall table setting- tan napkin knotted on white plates with pink strawflower and bunny tail glasses

Neutral and minimalistic Fall Table Setting

Start by folding your napkin in half, corner to corner for a triangle shape, then folding into a loose roll. Then, tie the knot and scrunch it to one side of your stack of plates for interest.

I love to add place cards or additional details to each place setting, but to keep it so simple, in this fall tablescape, I just added some natural elements with dried florals and grasses to each knotted napkin for some texture and colour.

I love how this turned out! These are just pink strawflowers that again, you could buy from a florist or grow in your own garden like I did!

I wanted to point out that this beautiful tablescape is using only dried flowers. That means it can be prepared even days ahead of time if you had a very busy season- no water needed to keep these fall flowers looking beautiful!

Classic fall tablescape with floral centerpiece and dark leaf with gold lettering for place card

Focal Centerpiece with Hand Lettered Place Cards

This next classic fall tablescape is also so simple to pull off. All you need beyond your basic table setting pieces are one focal centerpiece and leaves to use as place cards.

You could order a gorgeous floral arrangement featuring a fall colour scheme and really… that’s enough to make even the most standard tablescape into a beautiful fall tablescape. The power of fresh flowers, I tell ya ;)

For tablescapes, I prefer to keep my centerpieces shorter than eye level. I love to be able to gather around the table chatting for hours and if there’s a taller centerpiece, no matter how beautiful… it almost always gets moved at some point in the evening. A centerpiece doesn’t need to be tall to be a great focal point!

Simple fall table setting on round dining table

For this floral center piece, I chose a black urn style vase and lots of deep burgundy foliage before adding pops of white, pink and peach.

Those almost maple looking leaves are called Mahogany Splendor- they’re my newest shrub I’ve grown from seed and I’ll definitely be growing every year from now on out- it produced so beautifully and required hardly any water (perfect for this dry summer!). They go beautifully with any autumn color palette- from jewel tones to warm colors with gold accents.

These are all from my garden, again but you could easily create a centerpiece yourself by mixing backyard foliage with grocery store blooms or by ordering a custom arrangement from a local florist. If you wanted to make it extra fall vibes, you could pop your arrangement right into a carved out pumpkin for a blooming pumpkin centerpiece.

Fall Tablescape with gold lettering on a dark leaf for each place setting

Simple autumn tablescape with a moody fall foliage centerpiece

At each place setting, I chose to fold the napkins in thirds and tuck them under the side plate. I love how the napkin hangs casually off of the table here. I left the edge showing on the napkins, but you could choose to have just the folded edges showing for this if you prefer.

You could also swap the napkin and the side plate and have the place card on top of the napkin- I know a leaf isn’t for everyone, just sitting on their plate, but that leaf is from an edible plant ;)

Fall Tablescape with deep autumn foliage

Each place setting was finished off with a leaf with gold lettering. These leaves are from my red spike amaranth (that spiky deep red flower in the center of the arrangement… it can also be dried!).

I just lettered on them with a gold leafing marker- easy and so very beautiful! I used the same place cards in my fall tablescape last year… it has a hold on me, I tell ya ;)

If you’re looking for an impressive tablesetting that you can continue to enjoy even when you’re not hosting? This one might be perfect for you. The fresh floral arrangement can be used for fall decor on your table for days (or weeks, depending how you care for them!) to come! You can actually spy them on the console table in the living room in the other tablescape options.

Want to make your thanksgiving tablescape a bit more themed? Pop some mini white pumpkins beside your centerpiece, or swap out the leaves place cards for mini white pumpkins with names. White mini pumpkins are like the pumpkin spice of fall decor ;)

Organic fall tablescape with deep red foliage on a round table in a modern apartment

Organic florals autumnal tablescape

This last tablescape I wanted to get a little bit more organic. One of my favourite ways to decorate a long rectangular table is by piling foliage down the center as an organic table runner. This is the same idea, but of course with a round table. I started adding the autumn foliage pointing out between the place settings.

For this one I used mahogany splendor and red spike amaranth, then added in some dried straw flowers to the mix. I love that these deep burgundy leaves are always ready to look like fall leaves- you don’t need to wait for them to be the perfect colour!

Fall Table Setting with dried straw flowers

Organic Fall Tablescape full of straw flowers and mahogany splendor

You can keep tucking foliage branches and leaves in until you’re happy with how it all looks. To complete this organic autumn table centerpiece, I added a small arrangement of dried florals, a faux mini pumpkin and a fall scented candle.

On a rectangular table, I would have added some votive candles and mini pumpkins, but on a small round table like this, I did want to keep the center of the table a bit more compact so there is still room for some serving dishes.

For each place setting, here I folded the napkins into almost envelopes and tucked mini bouquets for each guest inside.

The easiest way to fold napkins this way is to lay the napkin flat, spread out, then bring one edge down more than half way, then the other up to just pass it. Then, flip this over and fold the napkin in thirds. Flip it back over to reveal your ‘envelope’.

Then, just tuck some dried florals in here- for these I chose some pink and white straw flowers and some bunny tail grasses.

You could hand tie these and send guests home with them and a thrifted mini vase if you would like to have party favours without much extra cost!

Alright, I will leave it at that! I had so much fun creating these simple fall table setting ideas. I would love to know which of the fall table decor ideas is your favourite?

I think my personal favourite place settings are those first tied napkins, but I am a sucker for a simple flower arrangement for seasonal centerpieces. So maybe combining the first two ;)

Yet… if I translate these tablescapes to my own rectangular table? I’m such a sucker for the inviting atmosphere a natural table runner creates… so maybe I’d opt for that one like I have the past several years in my own home for fall gatherings.

Big thank you to City Gardens Show Suite & Sales Center for having me in to photograph these tablescapes. It’s so fun to play in your beautiful show suite full of neutral colours and perhaps most fun… a round dining room table ;) If you live in Kamloops and are interested in more details on the City Gardens Development, you can find that here!