One of my favorite things to do is to gather around the table with friends and enjoy a meal- it’s just a plus if the table happens to be a really pretty one. When thinking about what we wanted to do for this table scape and where we wanted it to be, we knew that we wanted to try our best to keep it simple and practical.
My parents live in an early 1900s house in Brentwood. There house has a lot of history and I’ve always loved that about it. Many of their neighbors houses are the same way. In the 1800s the land the houses are on now was originally owned by one person and it was a large farm, the land has since been broken into smaller slices of land, but slices large enough that it still feels like you are out in the country. Many of the houses on their street have small houses in the backyards which were originally used to house people who worked on the original property. Many are now run down- the one in my parents yard, for example, has been used for storage for many years.
One Halloween when I was younger, the parents all made mini haunted houses in these small houses in their backyards. All the kids hopped on a trailer that was hooked to a four wheeler and went from “haunted” house to “haunted” house. I always think about that experience around Halloween time, and all the nostalgia comes rushing in… the childhood memories, the history of the homes, all of it.
When I was thinking about this shoot, I knew I wanted to clear out the little house in my parents back yard and use it. I felt like it was the perfect setting for a halloween inspired dinner.
I knew I wanted to have some type of hanging installation over the table- My original idea was branches with leaves that were changing colors, but Tennessee’s leaves aren’t doing much color changing yet. Then I thought of corn stalks. I arranged two bundles of corn stalks in an organic, asymmetrical formation and suspended them from the ceiling. I was really pleased with how it all turned out.
I knew from the start that I didn’t want to use flowers for this shoot, and pumpkins seemed like the perfect, appropriate substitute. I used only white pumpkins in varying sizes to almost act as a runner for the table. I also used a single, small white pumpkin at each place setting.
The plates, water glasses, wine glasses, candles, and candle holders all came from Target. I chose the plates because I loved the hand made feel of them. The black wine glasses (which aren’t actually the glasses I decided to use for wine) are also a favorite. They are funky (I love a little bit of funk) and a nice change from the traditional wine glass. The water glasses ( which are holding wine ) are also a new favorite. I love using them in my house because they stack for storage, they are a good size, and I love the shape…I also really loved them as a wine glass. The black speckled taper candle holders had a bit of a spooky look to me and I wanted to incorporate them somehow. They also add a bit of a modern twist, which I’m a fan of. I always love using as much candle light as possible. It just makes everything feel better.
The flatware is vintage from the local flea market, and the napkins are flour sack towels that I hand dyed with Ritt dye. I love mixing different dyes to get the colors I want. Flour sack towels absorb the dye really well and can be used for lots of things. I use them for napkins, hand towels, dishtowels, etc. For the color of the napkins- I mixed Tangerine and Dark Brown dyes. I can do a tutorial on this later. It’s super simple! I also gathered a few leaves from around the yard that were showing a bit of color and placed one at each place setting, and a few scattered on the table and in the pumpkins. The chairs and table were ones that we had.
This table was simple to put together and would provide a great stage to come together with some loved ones for a Halloween or Fall dinner. Be sure to tag us on Instagram (@theneweclectic) if you decide to incorporate any of these tips into your Halloween or fall tables!
