Beautiful Fall Centerpieces

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
Updated September 01, 2020

Decorate your fall table with pumpkins, gourds, nuts, fall flowers, fruits, candles and other seasonal materials.

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Autumn tin

Vintage tins work well as containers any time of year. For a fall arrangement, look for a tin in an autumn hue that will complement your flowers.

Here, a yellow tin holds white ranunculus, red-rimmed orange ranunculus, a spray of white roses, gold alstroemeria, pinecones, oranges, variegated pittosporum and magnolia leaves. Floral foam holds most of the centerpiece; wire the oranges and pinecones to wooden kabob spears to give them height.

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Dried beauties

Many flowers, such as hydrangeas and sunflowers, dry beautifully on the stem. For a dried arrangement, acorns in a glass add a fall touch as well as act like marbles to hold stems in place. Get creative with what you have in your yard for an easy DIY centerpiece.

Plants used here include sunflowers, hydrangeas, the black pods of Baptisia, long thin okra pods, yucca, oak leaves, a dark red sumac (Rhus) bob, an evening primrose seed stalk, Scabiosa, and hibiscus pods.

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Succulent pumpkin display

Top a pumpkin with sphagnum moss and an assortment of succulents for a striking, long-lasting display. See step-by-step instructions for this project.

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Vintage appeal

An antique Roseville vase combines with shades of brown, green and white to give this centerpiece a striking vintage look. Tan and brown pinecones set off white tulips, Calla lilies, white rice flowers and green eucalyptus. As the flowers fade, you can replace with fresh blooms or keep the cones, rice flowers and eucalyptus as a dried arrangement for the rest of the season.

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Color surprise

Blue bottles add a bright color surprise to this fall display. Dahlias, berries, moss and a miniature pumpkin complete the scene.

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Woodland centerpiece

This centerpiece, inspired by a walk in the woods, includes a 24-inch-long old log filled with soil, miniature plants such as begonias and small ferns, moss (from your yard or purchased) and seedpods. See what you can find near your home to get a similar look! (One alternative for the base: Collect pieces of bark and hot-glue them together to make a loglike shape.)

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Center of attention

For a bountiful centerpiece, cover a cake stand with fanned out corn husks. Then pile on gourds, leaves and ornamental corn.

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Dressed-up fruits

Add sparkle to autumn colors with this easy centerpiece idea. Choose a few pears or apples and decorate with adhesive decals in silver, bronze, and gold tones. Group together in a bowl or place along a table runner.

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Corks and candles

This super-easy centerpiece showcases the rustic, natural texture of wine corks inside a footed clear-glass candleholder. For more fall color, add leaves or berries among the corks. Make sure any flammable materials are protected from the candle, or use a battery-powered candle for safety.

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Flowers under glass

Just flip unused flutes and wine glasses over flower buds for this easy last-minute centerpiece. Place on top of a decorative charger or tray. For a long-lasting arrangement, use artificial flowers.

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Wheat and corn centerpiece

Create a simple fall centerpiece using wheat and dried corn. Start by filling a container with floral foam. Insert wheat stalks so they fan out around the edges of the foam, then top with ears of corn. For special-occasion place settings, attach a name card to an extra cob set on each plate.

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Natural display

A pumpkin "basket" makes an imaginative centerpiece for a fall table. Hollow out the pumpkin, then place a block of wet floral foam inside. Position a pillar candle in the foam and surround with fall blooms and berries to complete this DIY fall decoration.

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Paper cornucopia

Instead of the traditional wicker cone, make your own cornucopia from wrapping paper by folding into a cone shape and securing with tape. Fill with shredded paper and arrange fruits and vegetables.

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Pumpkin color

Fresh fall branches and Jack-Be-Little pumpkins in the bottom of tall glass vases showcase a pumpkin color scheme. Twine passed through holes drilled in Sweetie Pies lets these smaller pumpkins hang from a chandelier.

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Harvest table

An easy grouping of seasonal items and colors brings autumn to your tabletop.

Orange and white pumpkins plus yellow chrysanthemums in a sunny yellow container create an eye-catching centerpiece. Elevate some of the pumpkins for added flair.

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Mummy-look

Fashion a spooky tabletop display that starts with easy-to-make plaster-cloth spheres.

Wrap plaster-cloth strips (from a crafts store) around a balloon, following the directions on the plaster-cloth package. Leave open spaces as you wrap. When dry, remove the balloon and use a crafts knife to cut an opening for inserting the light. Place sphere over an orange or white battery-operated votive. Set your spheres on clear glass cake stands or similar displays.

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Creative candleholders

Use repurposed candleholders for easy fall displays of small pumpkins and gourds. Look for inexpensive candleholders in varying heights at a garage sale or antiques store, then spray-paint black for a unified look.

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Floating display

Clear glass containers highlight the seasonal beauty of smooth pumpkins and frilly flowers in this unusual--and ultra quick--display.

Fill an assortment of glasses with water and float mini pumpkins along with Teddy Bear sunflowers or other autumn blooms.

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Colorful collection

A papier-mache hatbox, mums and pumpkins create a bright orange centerpiece. Glue fabric and rickrack to the hatbox, and add rickrack or ribbon to pumpkins to get the look shown here. A bowl of candy corn adds a festive touch.

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Naturally simple

Pears, nuts, fall leaves and wheat grouped in a wire bowl form a pretty centerpiece that celebrates autumn's bounty. Accent the display with a solid-color table runner and chartreuse Hypericum berries grouped in small glass vases or cups.

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Cornucopia

Small pumpkins and gourds spilling out of a cornucopia create a lush seasonal look on your tabletop.

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Uplifting arrangement

Put white gourds on pedestals for a fun last-minute autumn table topper. Repurpose old table legs and balusters as low pedestals (shown here), or try candleholders, cake stands, goblets or clay pots. A bright table runner ties it all together.

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Bountiful tabletop

Create a beautiful table display that shows off the bounty of the season. Cylindrical vases filled with birdseed provide a sturdy base for branches from which small pumpkins dangle on bits of twine. Between the vases, hollowed-out gourds hold candles as well as berries. Finish the look by arranging berries, pinecones, gourds, branches and moss around the vases.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com