OCTOBER 2021
PAGE 28
Centerpieces That Will Elevate Your Table By Alexandra Churchill and Nashia Baker
Pumpkin and Candle Centerpiece Pumpkins make for thematic autumnal arrangements that look stylish well past Halloween. To make this iteration, place tape around the base of your pumpkin stems and paint them gold using acrylic paint. Cut a leaf shape (with a long stem) out of a metal sheet; turn it face-down. Using small and large tips from an awl kit, press vein patterns and larger ridges into the foil. Wrap each leaf's end around a pumpkin stem, twisting them into a spiral. Arrange pumpkins on a tray with lit votives.
Pumpkin Vase Centerpiece A white-pumpkin shell becomes the vase for an arrangement of roses, daffodils, ranunculuses, calla lilies, tulips, and hypericum berries in fall colors—yellows, peaches, and shades of orange. Smaller pumpkins and votive candles in orangeglass holders fill out the centerpiece.
Fallen Leaves Centerpiece
Feathered Dome Centerpiece
With a gilded touch, fallen
Birds' castoff plumage can
leaves are transformed into a rustic, elegant centerpiece. Simply find leaves and bare branches to craft an arrangement. (There's no need to press the leaves; the beauty is in their natural form.) Spray them over with gold paint; let dry. Hot-glue them to the branches, then arrange in a vase.
add interest (and a shot of fall color) to an arrangement—or make one all on their own. The striking graphic patterns on this collection got us thinking about new ways to use a bell jar. Stand feathers up in a little vase, and add a few acorns. Another easy fall combo to display under a dome: a bird's nest and some dried oak leaves.
Dark Leafy Green Centerpiece Pointy green-and-russet sweetgum leaves star in this earthy arrangement, with support from the vegetable garden. Contrasting shapes and textures were added in the form of prickly deep-purple artichokes and smooth green (unripe) persimmons. This would work well on a coffee table where people are hovering over a cheese board.
Vegetable Centerpiece Here's an idea that's green in more ways than one: Bypass the florist and pick up a centerpiece in the produce section. Look for colorful root vegetables and bulbs with lush leaves on top, and display them in clear vessels of water to keep them crisp. That way, they can headline your table today, and make an encore appearance—chopped and cooked—in dinner tomorrow. Marthastewart.com
