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Fall Centerpiece Ideas to Brighten Your Table

Fall Centerpiece Ideas to Brighten Your Table

Looking for fall centerpiece ideas? You’re in the right place.

We’re home design and decorating experts, so we’ve scoured the web for the best and most inspiring décor ideas for your table. Read on to see our picks.

Fall Centerpiece Ideas You’ll Love

The perfect centerpiece is the best way to tie your table together during the holidays.

We have 10 unique fall centerpiece ideas that are guaranteed to create a bright focal point for your next autumn feast.

Fall Fruits and Leaves Centerpiece

Fall Fruits and Leaves Centerpiece Idea

Lazhko Svetlana/Shutterstock

This simple table runner is decorated with autumn produce like pumpkins, grapes, and apples. It’s elegant and eye-catching, but it’s also easy for anyone to achieve. 

This interesting centerpiece forgoes the idea of decoration in the center of the table and opts instead for a table runner. It’s a great way to add some visual interest to your table; it’s almost as though the whole party is gathering around the same conversation piece. 

This centerpiece gives everyone a front-row seat to the decoration and divides the table neatly. It also adds the extra visual appeal of including lights scattered throughout the centerpiece, providing some intimate lighting for your table.

There’s also plenty of opportunity to swap out elements that you prefer while sticking to the central idea. For this centerpiece, you will need:

  • Black table runner 
  • Fallen leaves (real or fabric)
  • Various small pumpkins
  • Pinecones
  • Apples
  • Grapes 
  • Wheat
  • Dried citrus fruits 
  • Tea lights or other lights 

Colorful Fruit Cornucopia

Colorful Fruit Cornucopia shown as a fall centerpiece idea

Milleflore Images/Shutterstock

Cornucopias aren’t an uncommon sight on a table in the fall, but this one takes it to the next level. Overflowing with fruit, flowers, nuts, and leaves and surrounded by bright candles, it automatically puts you in a cheery mood.

This cornucopia conveys a sense of abundance, with fruit and nuts literally spilling out onto the table around it. The bright colors of the apples, grapes, and cut figs are impossible to ignore.

Meanwhile, the surrounding foliage adds a comforting element of natural beauty! But what really ties the whole thing together are the bright candles. They automatically make it feel homey, which is exactly what you want at a table.

Meanwhile, the flames reflect on the bright colors of the fruit and make them really shine. For this centerpiece, you’ll need:

  • Cornucopia basket
  • Fruit (apples, figs, and grapes)
  • Nuts 
  • Leaves
  • Sunflowers
  • Candles

Pumpkins and Wheat Sheaf

Fall Centerpiece Idea Made of a Pumpkins and Wheat Sheaf

Candace Hartley/Shutterstock

You don’t have to have a bunch of complex elements to make a great fall centerpiece. This one just uses a simple sheaf of wheat, some bright seasonal berries, and a small pumpkin to make something that definitely sets the mood and makes you think of fall.

This is a great choice for any minimalist (or someone who doesn’t have a big table!). Unlike most centerpieces, you can even find most of these elements in nature, or at least at a grocery store or farmers’ market. 

The simplicity of the centerpiece offers the perfect chance to add a few more pieces if you want to. You can add candles, lights, flowers, or other fall fruits if you want to make it more complex.

Or you can keep it just as simple and tasteful as it is here! For this centerpiece, you’ll need:

  • Mini pumpkin
  • Bundle of wheat
  • Fall berries
  • Acorns, beechnuts, or other elements, as you prefer

Pumpkin Bouquet

Pumpkin Bouquet fall centerpiece idea

Tinatin/Shutterstock

Whoever said you needed to use a vase for a bunch of flowers? This intriguing centerpiece dumps the vase for a pumpkin holder, and it’s easier than you think!

This is a great centerpiece for a small table. It plays with some very simple elements, resulting in a minimalistic but attractive style. What’s more, it won’t take you long to complete. All you have to do is hollow out a mini pumpkin and cut the flowers to size.

You’ll want to cut the stems close to keep them tightly nestled in the pumpkin vase. For the best results, consider using fall flowers like mums, chrysanthemums, and asters.

This centerpiece has also used mini roses and let a vine trail around the centerpiece for a natural effect. For this centerpiece, you will need:

  1. Flowers (cut and tied with twine or wire)
  2. Mini pumpkin (hollowed out)
  3. Cloth or napkins for under the pumpkin

Gold Autumn Wreath

Idea for a fall centerpiece featuring a gold wreath made of pumpkins and cranberries

TasiPas/Shutterstock

A homemade wreath is a wonderful centerpiece and can be taken in many different directions. This opulent autumn wreath speaks of abundance by displaying all the fruits of the fall harvest alongside gold spray-painted mini pumpkins. 

This centerpiece is a great way to provide a focal point for your table without interrupting anyone’s sightline.

Filled with fall foliage, acorns, berries, flowers, and pumpkins, it has a pop of color that definitely imparts feelings of autumn. To provide a varied color palette, keep some natural coloring from the leaves, berries, and some pumpkins. Spray paint a few token items in gold to make them pop.

This will look even better beside some candles on your dinner table. For this centerpiece, you will need:

  • Various leaves, flowers, and berries
  • Wreath-making materials such as wire (you may also want to buy a stand from a craft store to keep it secure)
  • Acorns
  • Pinecones
  • Several mini pumpkins
  • Gold spray paint

Vibrant Bouquet

Vibrant bouquet made of apples and pumpkins and pinecones for a piece on fall centerpiece ideas

TasiPas/Shutterstock

We usually associate flower bouquets with spring and summer. But there are many late-blooming flowers that look gorgeous in a fall centerpiece.

Apples are the star of the show in this beautiful bouquet, but the whole thing is an explosion of color. From pumpkins of various colors to bright fall foliage and vibrant flowers, this wreath has endless points of interest.

It’s impossible to get tired of looking at it! Some of the pumpkins are spray painted in metallic colors, but on the whole, the bouquet relies on the natural colors of the fruit, flowers, leaves, and other elements.

You might have to get some of these pieces from a craft store, florist, or grocery store, while the rest can come from your own yard or garden. For this centerpiece, you’ll need:

  • Apples 
  • Pumpkins in various colors
  • Spray paint 
  • Berries
  • Leaves
  • Wreath base and flower wire
  • Flowers
  • Pinecones
  • Acorns

Knitted Pumpkins

Knitted pumpkins made from grey yarn and brown twine for a piece on fall centerpiece ideas

Vlasna/Shutterstock

If you have a crafty side, this knitted pumpkin centerpiece could be perfect for your table. It’s simple and attractive, and you can use it year after year. You may also be able to find knitted pumpkins like these in a craft store.

With rustic twine wrapped around the pumpkin stems and a few simple felt leaves, this centerpiece will look charming.

You can also combine it with other elements, as it has been in this example. Here, they’ve added real mini pumpkins and leaves, as well as a base of burlap cloth.

The fun thing about a centerpiece like this is that there are many ways to make it uniquely your own! Here’s what you’ll need for this centerpiece:

  • Knitted pumpkins (either homemade or store-bought)
  • Twine
  • Felt cut into leaf shapes
  • Real pumpkins and fallen leaves 
  • Burlap cloth base

Elegant Lanterns and Pumpkins

Elegant Lanterns and Pumpkins fall centerpiece idea

Vlasna/Shutterstock

Many fall centerpieces are made in a rustic style, but that doesn’t mean yours has to be! If you have a more elevated taste, this elegant centerpiece using fairy lights and a white palette might be perfect. 

This centerpiece has a lot of elements and might take a bit of elbow grease, but there’s no denying it’s got style.

Unlike most fall centerpieces that are explosive in color, this one relies on a few signature pops of orange and brown from the pumpkins, fairy lights, leaves, pinecones, and acorns. 

It also relies on several glass jars to reflect light and color across the centerpiece. These double as holders for the lights, pumpkins, and some of the branches and leaves.

There is a lot of room for creativity, so you can take it in almost any direction! For this centerpiece, you’ll need to buy quite a few things:

  • Lantern (painted white)
  • Battery-operated fairy lights
  • Mini pumpkins in various colors (white and orange)
  • Several glass jars or vases 
  • Various leaves, pinecones, acorns, and branches
  • Berries

Vintage Soup Can Centerpiece

Vintage Soup Can Fall Centerpiece Idea featuring apricot and other fruits cans acting as a flower vase

Kristin Prahl/Shutterstock

This eye-catching centerpiece uses vintage soup cans and a mix of homey fabrics, fall flowers, and a pumpkin. The result is beautiful in its rustic simplicity.

Who said that a fall centerpiece had to be complicated? If you have a few attractive or interesting containers, put them to use as flower vases. This centerpiece uses vintage soup cans as a central focal point. 

With a farmhouse-style table runner, a rustic lantern, and bright fall flowers, this centerpiece evokes a simpler time. It’s attractive without being overbearing, and it definitely serves as a conversation piece! For this centerpiece, you’ll need:

  • A table runner in simple fabric (such as gingham)
  • Pumpkin
  • Fall flowers (here, sunflowers and mums have been used)
  • Old soup cans or other interesting containers
  • Lantern or other light

Pumpkin Candle Holders

Pumpkin Candle Holders with cranberry vines around them

Nancy A Thiele/Shutterstock

Mini pumpkins aren’t just good for pies and flower vases. They also make great candle holders that brighten up your table! These clever pumpkin candle holders look striking, but they’re actually easy to put together.

All you need to do is gather as many as you want and carve into them until there is enough room for a tealight. Insert the tealight into the pumpkin and arrange them on the table. To add even more color and light, add a wreath of vines with some colorful berries.

This version used bittersweet vines, which have bright red berries. Though this centerpiece requires a bit of elbow grease, you might be surprised to find that it comes together pretty quickly. To make this centerpiece, you will need the following items:

  • Several mini pumpkins (plus a pumpkin carving kit, a knife and large scooping spoon)
  • Tealights 
  • Vines (either real ones or faux ones from a craft store)
  • Wreath-making materials (including flower wire to secure the vines)

Things to Consider While Making a Fall Centerpiece

Aerial view of a florist making a fall centerpiece out of sunflowers and dried cranberry plants

Agnes Kantaruk/Shutterstock

So with all these ideas in mind, here’s what you should consider when setting out to make a fall centerpiece:

  • Add some light! Candles, tealights, or small lanterns all add some attractive visual interest.
  • Use multiple elements. A centerpiece should be visually captivating, so add some color variation with different fruits, flowers, and other pieces.
  • Don’t make it too big! You want it to be the main focus, but not get in the way of your guests at the table.
  • Keep the shape of your table in mind. Longer or rectangular tables do better with a table runner or long centerpiece so that everyone can see the decoration.
  • Think outside of the box. We’ve all seen plenty of centerpieces featuring pumpkins, gourds, and turkeys. Look for other beautiful fall elements by incorporating flowers, berries, foliage, fruits, and more. 
  • Remember that the centerpiece doesn’t have to be one collection of items. In other words, if you have a long table, feel free to group items in multiple places so that everyone can enjoy the view.
  • Choose a style and commit to it. Centerpieces can be rustic, abundant, colorful, minimalist, maximalist, or modern and elegant.

What’s Your Favorite Fall Centerpiece Idea?

Cornucopia made of brown wicker with plants and fruits sticking up from outside of it

Agnes Kantaruk/Shutterstock

So there you have it—fall centerpiece ideas. A great fall centerpiece provides an attractive focal point for a gathering of family or friends.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be hard to make one, and there are many different styles you can choose from.

With a few simple crafting tools, you can make your table a welcoming place for friends and family this autumn.