Sunday Dinners: Autumn Decor

When my Mom was growing up, my Grandma Nano hosted Sunday Dinner every single Sunday for whoever wanted to come. Most of the time it was family, but often the parish priest or friends were known to stop by for my Grandma’s cooking. My Dad used to talk about coming over for Sunday Dinner while him and my Mom were dating. Over the years, Grandma Nano kept the tradition alive. I even remember helping her set the table for Sunday Dinner at her house, and my sister helping her clean up in her kitchen after dinner.

Recently, I have picked up the Sunday Dinner tradition, and while we don’t do it every single week (seriously I don’t know how Grandma cooked for that many people every week), I host my family once a month.

This past weekend, I hosted Sunday dinner, and wanted to dress up the table with some autumn decor, but wasn’t really keen on spending any money to do it as I already have tons of fall decor (it is my favorite season after all). Since, Brian and I built and finished the plank table, I have been having some trouble coming up with tablescapes that aren’t dwarfed by the size of the table.

So, I called in some reinforcements. My niece, Allison, just graduated from college with a degree in Film, and she has had some experience with set design. I asked her if she would help me decorate the table.

 

She started with a red table cloth and folded it to make it a runner. Then added the beaded runner for some texture. Then she filled two simple glass vases with some river rock, a branch (which we found outside), and wrapped a little twine around the vase for some extra texture. She placed them on each end of the table.

 

Then, for the centerpiece, she placed some candles at different heights, filled a shallow glass bowl with apples and wicker balls, and placed a faux hypericum wreath around the container.

 

Finally, for each place setting she used some cloth napkins that I found on clearance awhile ago (I originally planned to use them for Christmas, but she thought they were perfect for autumn, and now I agree).

 

Voila! Simple, elegant, and inexpensive. What do you have around your house to create a tablescape? Anyone go outside and grab a few sticks? How about using twine to make something a little more rustic?

 

 

Linking up at The Lettered Cottage for their Autumn Tablescape link party.





Also sharing at DIY By Design for the Fall into Fall Link Party.

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8 comments

  1. It looks lovely! I know what you mean about wondering how our Grandmas (or Moms!) entertained so often on Sundays. How DID they do it??:) So glad I discovered you today from the Lettered Cottage.

    1. Thank you so much for stopping by! Maybe someday I will be able to host something every Sunday, but for now I'm happy that we manage once a month. Grandma's and Mom's must have super-powers.

      Take care,
      Erin

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