Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower. – Albert Camus
…and this ideal is exactly what inspired this seasonal table styling. The frilly petals that bloom from summer’s end and welcome autumn by dancing in its golden breeze. The harvest of grapes and plums, rich in their unique colors, textures and sweet aromas. As well as the last burst of fresh green herbs blending with the slow drying stems, still worthy all the love…
This Autumn I’m not driven by one particular detail or color. Instead, I’m finding a newfound inspiration in the little things I find a soothing joy in embracing every year; the elements I hold onto and celebrate as I navigate the quieter, less full seasons I often struggle with.
More than ever before, I’m appreciating the Textures that only expose themselves this season — the greens now soft yet rich. Yellows, oranges and reds delicately subtle not vibrant, and deepened with brown undertones I so love. It’s the comforting flavors and scents the season is unequivocally known for. Shorter days made better with the flicker of warm candlelight.
“All the ever-changing colors, textures and tabletop details…that evoke these autumnal days.”
Come Autumn, my style becomes even more textural, and it doesn’t mean it doesn’t include flowers. When the garden was, and is, still blooming with an array of Cosmos, Roses and Zinnias, one must showcase them and the natural progression of the season. Sure, there could’ve been orange and yellow mums, but that’s not what my natural world was painting. And the beauty of this season is that it too has no bounds with what colors and flower designs one brings to life.
Still Life :: art that represents inanimate objects like fruit, cut flowers, utensils, and other everyday it elements, ems. These objects can be natural or manmade. The composition can be simple with just one or two objects featured or more complex, with a variety of different items.
One can take the concept of Still Life and reinterpret into a table styling however it best fits your aesthetic and the season. Not only did I want to incorporate the in-season blooms and herbs from my garden in a slightly wild yet lushly arranged way — I too wanted fruits to play a key role in this storytelling. And not just any in season edible elements, but the green, even black spotted grapes abundantly picked from our vines. Plums in a rainbow of yellow, red and orange that had been gifted by a neighbor with an orchard.
Visually, they carried the color palette and textural details, but so did their flavors tell the story of an Autumn still life. Cut fruit when feasible to do, adds another level of depth and richness that draws one even closer to the authentic realness of a centerpiece.
Then there were the stems, that when in bloom are my favorite in Spring, but as they take on different whimsical shapes and begin their last stage of life — are just as beautiful! Clematis buds are the epitome of texture with their curly lines. And when leaves are shriveled and brown, remind us how beautiful nature is in all its stages.
This table design has a range of contrasting textures, from it’s natural elements to the vases and candle holders — ceramic to glass, smooth and rough, fluted and spotted — it creates a tactile quality to both the eye and touch. These details are important to any seasonal table styling, it’s what makes us want to lean in, observe and feel every detail of an arrangement.
“Texture is what draws us into any design — the indescribable detail that adds depth, feeling, and dimension to any flowers, particularly come Autumn.”
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