• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Sign up for our blog!

Nell Hills

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Location
  • Special Programs
  • Calendar
  • Gallery
  • Contact
  • Blog

Dramatic Fall Table Displays

August 30

Before my annual fall open house, the creative team at Nell Hill’s and I have fun creating a plethora of dramatic fall displays at the stores and in my home. We start getting giddy the moment the fall merchandise arrives from market. Then our excitement steadily builds into full-fledged creative mania as we start tearing into shipping boxes filled with the new fall goodies. Our assignment is to use these treasures in inventive new ways to create show-stealing displays.

If you’d like to perk up your home with a few gorgeous autumn displays, here is the quick four-step approach we follow when fashioning table displays at Nell Hill’s.

Step One: Think Big

To create a display that turns heads, start by picking an arresting central piece that is big enough to add vertical height and mass to your overall arrangement, yet is also interesting enough to bring in some visual drama.

When we design displays at our stores, we’re decorating large rooms with tall ceilings, so our approach is Go Big or Go Home. You could follow this same philosophy if you live in a home with lofty ceilings. The challenge to decorating big, open rooms is that they can be hard to warm up and the sheer volume of the space tends to dwarf smaller furnishings and accents. If that’s the case in your home, don’t be bashful when picking the big piece that will serve as the backbone of your display. Go for the gusto. If your home is smaller in scale, adjust accordingly.

We tend to push the envelope when creating tabletop displays at the stores. It’s not unusual for us to place pieces of furniture in the middle of a dining room table to serve as the dramatic base of a display, such as an étagère. Obviously, you’d never want a display that’s this big on your dining room table if you were going to have a seated dinner party. But it’s an arresting approach if you’re using your table to set up a buffet or simply for show.

Right now, one of my favorite big guys to use in fall displays is a fabulous wire urn we just got in—I absolutely swooned over it at market. This unusual urn is 6 feet high with a 15 inch square base so it won’t fit in every room, but if you’ve got the space, it looks amazing on top of a table. Fill the basket of the urn full of pumpkins or gourds then create a wild and natural bouquet of fallen sticks and foliage to spill out of the top of the urn. Presto, you have a great start to a display that will get your guests talking. If your ceilings aren’t tall enough to place a huge urn on a tabletop, set it up in the center of your foyer to wow guests as they come in. Or, use it as a focal point in your fall garden. I can picture the wire urn lined with sheets of moss and planted with a fern or used as a trellis with flowering vines growing up its sides. (This unique urn is priced at $96, and we have a limited quantity, so hurry in if you want one!)

Multiple-shelved serving caddies are another tool I love to use as the base of tabletop displays in rooms with normal ceiling heights. They are great on kitchen islands, dining room tables or buffets. Not only do the servers add the vertical height and volume you need to make your display stand out, the shelves offer you a world of decorating possibilities. At Garrity’s, we just created a fall dining room treatment for a wine and cheese party. We placed a serving caddy at the center of the table. First, we filled the shelves with a few fall accents, like a stack of cake plates loaded up with gourds. Then we worked in some party essentials, like an ice bucket for white wine and a few wine glasses. The caddy pictured here is one of my favorites. It measures 28 inches wide by 36 inches tall by 14 inches deep and features a wonderful rustic patina and twisted wrought iron lines that make it ideal for fall entertaining.

Step Two: Mind the Middle

Once you have the big base in place, it’s time to fill in the middle ground of your display with medium sized objects. This is your chance to bring in some contrast in color, texture and style. I think displays are more interesting if they take on the overall shape of a lopsided pyramid, slightly off-center and askew. Those in the shape of a perfect triangle feel too staged for me.

So many different types of decorating pieces work wonderfully in the middle ground of displays, so let your imagination run wild. Your goal is to combine an interesting mix of pieces. Each one should be worthy of individual attention, but they must also work well with the other pieces to create a harmonious look.

If you’d like an outdoorsy fall feel, search your potting shed for weathered pieces like galvanized buckets, garden statuary and urns. How about a primitive barrel? A lantern? Or, fill a tall, thin vase, hurricane or apothecary jar with seasonal fruits or veggies, like red apples, pears, avocados, artichokes and persimmons.

Antique olive vessels are another frequent pick of mine. I really like them placed in the middle ground of a display because you can’t beat their earthy coloring and graceful, feminine lines. At Nell Hill’s we are carrying some amazing olive vessels right now that are over 100 years old, yet priced at an absolute steal.

Step Three: Set Your Sights Low

Next, tuck a few treasures into the foreground of the display. For the wine and cheese party display we created at Garrity’s, we relied on interesting food arrangements to give the lowest level of our centerpiece some kick.

We perched cheese on pretty cake plates then covered them with cloches. Cloches are another essential for tabletop tableaus—everything placed under a cloche looks positively regal.

Instead of just lining up stemware in ho-hum rows, we put the wine glasses and ice in a fun wicker basket.  Wooden dough bowls, one of my favorite pieces to use in the third level of a display, are also ideal for holding party fixings or seasonal accents like gourds, fruits or leaves.

To help finish off a display, you could use a metal plant stand or terracotta capital as a mini stage for a small tableau that complements the larger overall display. Here, we created a rough carpet of moss and topped it with a gourd and a small garden bust. This tiny point of interest doesn’t compete with the larger presentation but instead is a visual treat awaiting those who study the display more closely.

Step Four: Celebrate the Season

Once you’ve tweaked your display to near perfection, add in the seasonal accents that will make it scream fall. Fill the rustic pail, garden urn or hurricane that’s in the middle ground of your display with sunflowers, fall leaves or branches.

In the foreground of your tableau, tuck in a tiny fall treasure, like a vase holding a fall bloom or a gourd under a cloche.

As a dish-a-haulic, I like to use seasonal dishes to add a feeling of fall to my dining table. If you have room in your china hutch (and even if you don’t!), get a set of fall themed dishes you can enjoy every year. Or, pick up a few pieces of fall dishware you can mix in with your everyday dishes.

My pick would be a salad plate or dessert plate you can stack on top of your white china.

Or, chose interesting fall serving pieces that will pop up your daily table setting, like a serving bowl, platter or pitcher.

How about whimsical autumn salt and pepper shakers? A big soup tureen to serve your favorite fall soups? Or adorable creamers to make your morning coffee more fun?

Next Week … Pumpkins and gourds are like tiny works of art. Come back next week and find out how to showcase these natural masterpieces in your home decorating this autumn.

Comments:
31 Comments
Categories:
Nell Hill's
Tags:
Fall, table settings, tablescapes

More Posts you may like

  • Sweet and Stylish – Our Take on the Valentine’s Day Tablescape
  • An Ode to Blue and White
  • To Market, To Market…
  • Table Makeover: What’s Old is New Again
« Pick a Rug that Will Floor You
Glorious Gourds in Your Fall Decor »

Comments

  1. Mary @ Room Polish says

    August 30, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    Thanks for all the tips! Getting v.v.very excited to decorate for fall. My favorite time of year!

  2. Patti says

    August 30, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    THaNK YOU so very MUCH!!! for blogging about fall and how to bring it into our homes. We have a family wedding trip and I will not be coming back this fall – but next year. Wait till next year. Have a blessed fall.

  3. Donna says

    August 30, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    Everything is so beautiful! Thanks for all the great ideas, I so wish I lived near one of your stores!

    Donna

  4. maureen says

    August 30, 2010 at 5:37 pm

    I with Donna…I wish I lived near your store. I would be a regular! I’m in a suburb of New York City and not too many stores of your caliber with these great ideas! Keep them coming!

  5. Sandi Preuss says

    September 1, 2010 at 5:02 pm

    Great ideas, and all of them something we can use. Thanks for sharing! Sandi

  6. Joanie says

    September 1, 2010 at 5:09 pm

    Thanks for the fall decorating tips! I will be visiting your Briarcliff store soon to stock up on decor. I’m not very creative and can use all the help I can get. You’re a treasure!

  7. Sharon says

    September 1, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    so pretty– can’t wait to try some of your ideas.enjoy this autumn!

  8. Ronell says

    September 1, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    Thank You SO Much!!…Fall is my facorite time of year and I can’t wait to come visit your store in Atchinson in October!! You are So CREATIVE!

  9. Marilyn says

    September 1, 2010 at 5:50 pm

    Thanks, Mary Carol. Please keep your lovely weekly blogs coming…I REALLY look forward to receiving them each week. I subscribe to nearly a dozen decorating blogs, but yours is unique with your step-by-step instructions and descriptions, and gorgeous photos. Thank you…we appreciate your tips for a beautiful home!

  10. Johnna says

    September 1, 2010 at 6:17 pm

    UGH! Now I have to try and work between now and the open house! I don’t think I can. Thank you so much for all the neat ideas. A friend of mine was in and got one of those awesome urns and it looks amazing in her front entry!

  11. Merit N Hellman-Funk says

    September 1, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    Mary Carol: Loving your blog. Don and I are planning a trip back to KC in early October looking forward as I always do to visiting your store. Fall in Colorado is coming quickly and our beautiful mountains are changing in to its annual photographic panorama of gold.

  12. jan cooper says

    September 1, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    Along with all of your followers, I thank you so much for sharing your talents!

  13. Suzy says

    September 1, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    When is the fall open house? I can’t wait to get the girls together and make a trip up to KC to see all of your beautiful ideas in person!

  14. Kay says

    September 1, 2010 at 7:29 pm

    Great ideas! The leaves are beginning to turn colors in Northern Michigan. Fall is definitely here. Your displays are awesome and use so many unique combinations. It’s always a pleasure to look at what the pros put together. Keep the imagination and ideas coming.

  15. Polly Duryea says

    September 1, 2010 at 8:40 pm

    What a lovely group of pictures for fall decorating. I’m giving a porch party soon and will use several ideas. Thanks for sharing, P

  16. Gail says

    September 1, 2010 at 9:01 pm

    Last year I was traveling to the East coast from the West coast and was able to include a stop in Kansas City with a side trip to your Atchinson store, Nell Hills. My car was filled to the brim with fall goodies and I read “Feather your Nest” on my way home. This post brings back memories of a fun trip and I look forward to opening my “Fall Boxes” and get decorating. Thanks for the tips.

  17. Denise says

    September 1, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    Fall is my favorite decorating season. I’m heading to Atchison tomorrow with girlfriends and can’t wait to see all the new fall items you previewed in this blog. Thanks for some great ideas.

  18. maria machelski says

    September 2, 2010 at 1:08 am

    I absolutely love those dishes with the sunflowers!!! Just redid my kt and those would be perfect! Who made them and where can I get them?

  19. Patti Dame says

    September 2, 2010 at 3:05 am

    So many wonderful ideas – it inspires me to do more! Thanks so much! I like the dishes with the Sunflowers too.

  20. Mildred Hoppe says

    September 2, 2010 at 4:17 am

    Mary Carol, Is the scallop-edged, iron serving caddy in the above picture the same one for sale online? Looking forward to attending your Christmas open-house and seeing your lovely home decorated for the Christmas holidays.

  21. Jean Driskell says

    September 3, 2010 at 3:42 pm

    Mary Carol,

    Great ideas for Fall on a grand scale! I must come to the open house at your home next week.

    Jean Driskell

  22. Mary Carol says

    September 3, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    Suzy–Our Fall Open house is Sept. 10-11. All the details are on nellhills.com and click on calendar–or call for more detail-877-746-4320.

  23. Mary Carol says

    September 3, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    Maria–The beautiful dishes previewed in the blog this week are from our Atchison store. Call 877-367-1086 for more details.

  24. Mary Carol says

    September 3, 2010 at 4:57 pm

    Yes, Mildred–That is the same serving caddy we sell online–one of my favorite pieces. We look forward to seeing you at the Holiday open house.

  25. Jan Miller, Scottsdale AZ says

    September 4, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    Hi Mary Carol,

    Love the Fall decor and especially the Morjorica. I always think I have more than enough of it and then you get a new pattern and it’s a “must have” all over again. 🙂

    I am definitely needing a Nell Hills “fix”. Planning to be in town the weekend of 9/17. Going to be looking for some fabric to upholster a couple of pieces of furniture. (Hope I can get an appt with you on Friday, 9/17. Will call to inquire.)

    Having my annual Halloween coffee on October 30 and of course, I will be decorating my home for the occasion. Always fun to do so because of all the fun and beautiful Halloween and Fall decor I have purchased from Nell Hills and Garrity’s over the years.

    Look forward to seeing you soon! Warm regards, Jan

  26. Pinky says

    September 7, 2010 at 2:37 am

    I love every single idea here! This is wonderful! I hope you keep doing this, wish I was nearby and could get one of those wire urns!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!! Pinky

  27. Marilyn B says

    September 8, 2010 at 11:21 am

    Was in the Atchison store Labor Day weekend. It was lovely. Had to buy a few Fall things for my home.

  28. Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage says

    September 12, 2010 at 2:21 am

    I’m sitting in McDonalds in Carthage Missouri.
    A bus just came through with lots of very happy ladies heading back to Tulsa. I asked about their trip. They’d been up to your place up in KC.
    I was enthusiastically encouraged to look up your website. I’m glad I followed through.

    Have a wonderful Fall!

    Laura

  29. Sandi Nakoneczny says

    September 12, 2010 at 5:04 pm

    Thanks for all the wonderful ideas. I am ready to decorate for fall.

  30. Lori Jones says

    September 12, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    Totally enjoyed your open house on Friday..what a gracious host you are! Your home was lovely & enjoyed meeting you and lots of other ladies. I came home with tons of treasures from you shops…can’t wait for the Christmas Open House…this was my first but won’t be the last!

  31. Jackie says

    September 12, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    Opening your home to tour was fabulous! To have you greet us personally and allow photos is really being hospitable. I have all your books and find many of the rooms in your home are featured . I had fun revisiting those rooms through your books. The Halloween decor on the dining room chandelier was priceless! All the gourds, pumpkins, etc. are wonderful decorating tools. Thank you for allowing so many women such a special day for shopping and getting ideas for decorating our own homes for the fall season.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

LET’S TALK DECORATING

One of the best parts of owning Nell Hill's has been spending more than 30 years talking with friends and customers about their homes. I love to hear what you all are doing in your homes to make them unique, beautiful, a place that fills you up.

As I talk with everyone who visits Nell Hill's, I've found that lots of us face the same decorating dilemmas and are curious how others have solved them... We love to hear about new trends and techniques in the world of interior design...and we are always looking for ideas and inspiration to infuse our spaces with style. So, I decided to start a weekly blog that allows us to dig in together and talk about our homes, decorating and life.

I hope you will enjoy Style at Home! Please, join the conversation and share your ideas, challenges and successes. My best inspiration come from all of you!



  • Home
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Sign up for our blog!

Copyright © 2019 Nell Hill's. All rights reserved. Terms & Services.