farmhouse holiday series | fall dining room

by | Sep 20, 2016 | All Things Home, Decorating, Dining Room, Fall, Holiday, My House | 35 comments

This post may contain affiliate links.

It’s time for another installment of the Farmhouse Holiday Series with some of my blog buddies.  And this week, we partnered with All Modern to show you our dining rooms decorated for fall.

I remember when I felt like “holiday” colors were locked in.  Christmas had to be green and red and fall had to be yellows, oranges, and browns.  That is it.

And then I vividly remember seeing an article in a magazine, featuring a home decked out for Christmas in pale pink.  That article gave me the push I needed to drop traditional colors and decorating for seasons in colors that I love.

So, my fall table is my favorite blue and white palette with some greens and a little bit of yellow mixed in.  It may not look like fall to some people, but it looks like fall to me!

I started with a piece of checked fabric as a tablecloth.  It’s the same vintage fabric I used on some of the upholstery in my living and dining rooms.  I wish I could give you a source for it, but I literally bought it out of a woman’s van.  And this was the only roll.  And I bought the entire thing.

Instead of adding a floral arrangement for the centerpiece, I used a pretty cast iron dutch oven.  I have long wanted a French cast iron dutch oven, so I selected this oval Coq au Vin Cocotte by Staub.  I have splurged on a few pieces of professional grade cookware over the years and it really does make a big difference.  I cooked soup in this pot and the heat distribution is even and the lid design allows what you’re cooking to retain more moisture.

And I’m convinced now that every pot need a chicken handle.  Not only does it look cute, but it is very comfortable, believe it or not!  Chicken handles all around!

Anyway, when I’m setting a table for a photo shoot or get-together, I like to layer plates, mixing and matching.  It’s just so much more interesting than having everything match and it makes it possible to collect used dishes from here and there and use them all together.

And each setting is topped with a mini ceramic Staub Cocotte for the soup I made.  These would also be great for baking individual casseroles or cobblers.

The green napkins aren’t an obvious choice for fall, but I love how the green plays off the blues and whites, and they work with the “smokehouse” variety of apple I bought at a local farm stand.

Aren’t these cow chalkboard place markers just the best?  So perfect for me, right?  I wrote Calvin’s name on one and he wanted to take it to his room.

I bought some rosemary topiaries a few weeks ago, so I just used them as a part of the “centerpiece.”  They are in some antique dry goods buckets I have picked up on various shopping trips.

 

My pot of soup is the main focal point of the table, but a fall “arrangement” of mini pumpkins, smokehouse apples, nuts, and preserved leaves is scattered around the table.  And antique bread board is used as a trivet.

  
farmhouse fall tablescape | mix and match place settings | mini ceramic Staub Cocotte | missmustardseed.com

Speaking of the soup, I made a no-skimping-on-the-good-stuff baked potato soup and it was heavenly.  I’ll share the recipe in another post.

The glasses are Seletti Estetico and I love the “European cafe” styling of them.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Sebastian likes to sneak into my pictures.

It’ll be like “Where’s Waldo”.

Except he’s pretty easy to spot.

Anyway, if you’ve felt trapped by “traditional” seasonal decorating colors, I hope this post inspires you to use decor in a palette you love.

And speaking of inspiration, here are some more gorgeous fall dining rooms to peruse…

Ella Claire | Miss Mustard Seed | Jeanne Oliver | Love Grows Wild

City Farmhouse | French Country Cottage | Rooms FOR Rent | Dear Lillie

Shades of Blue Interiors | My Sweet Savannah | Kindred Vintage | Liz Marie Blog |

Jennifer Rizzo Design | Craftberry Bush |

and our lovely featured guest this week- Buckets of Burlap

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by All Modern as a part of the Farmhouse Holiday Decor Series.  I curated products that were true to my style and ones I thought my readers would like.  All words and opinions are my own.

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    35 Comments

    1. Susan

      YES, I am inspired! Thank you!

    2. Marie-Helene Belanger @ Kingsbury Brook Farm

      Beautiful and truly inspiring! I love this color palette, it is so peaceful! I found gorgeous blue and green heirloom pumpkins at a local farm and they look so nice mixed with white mini pumpkins, nuts, green apples and Bartlett pears…

    3. Nicki

      I love all these ideas but stopped exploring because of ALL THE ADS!!! Seriously distracting and hard to navigate around. Bummer guys! Pizza, houses, app games…wish it wasn’t so!

      • Becky

        It seems these ads are getting worse and I too sometimes give up on reading some of my favorite blog posts bc of them.

        • Rachel

          Most ads I have found have a little “x” in the corner that you can close out of them. Also, you have to remember that this is a job in addition to being something that Marian loves to do. Ads are simply put, how many bloggers, including Marian, make the blog sustainable. They are part of her family’s income. They allow her to continue blogging and investing money in her blog. There are so many high costs to maintain a blog when it gets large, like a dedicated server (so that her site doesn’t go down from high traffic), email newsletters management, tech assistant, web designer, etc etc. So much behind that scenes that the typical reader isn’t even aware of the high costs. It’s like when you watch your favorite show on TV, you have commercials. I get that commercials can be annoying sometimes, but that is what pays for that show to be able to spend the money to make quality programs. It’s the same way with blogs, only we don’t have a program that has little segments for ads.. instead we have ads that appear at the bottom of images sometimes, or on the sides, etc. I’ve been a blog reader for a lot longer than I’ve been a blogger, so I completely empathize with what you are both saying, but please try to understand things from the author’s point of view too.

        • Cammie

          I use an extension on my browser called Adblock. It works great!

      • Paula J Runyan

        I use a free ad block and never have to see one 🙂

    4. Karen

      It’s lovely Marian, I’m in love with that beautiful pot. The chicken handle is so adorable. Sebastian is a sweetie great seeing him in your pics.

    5. Rachel

      LOVE the little pots, the blue and white dishes, and those clear glasses you chose– so timeless! Can’t wait for the soup recipe– it sounds like something my family would love!

    6. Kristen

      Marian! I love the color combination and the mix of old and new. I completely agree that splurging on key pieces of quality cookware is so worth it (and I love that we picked the same cocotte)- I think it makes all the difference! And so hilarious that you bought that beautiful fabric from the back of a van. haha. love it!

    7. Kitty

      Gosh, Marian’s blog is so great and informative. It’s easy to stay focused and ignore the
      ads. If they pop up, hit the x in the corner and move on to see what Marian’s go going next !
      Love, love, love the fall color combinations and the break from the traditional colors !

    8. Jessica | Petal + Ply

      You did a great job achieving the cozy fall feel while still staying true to your style. Very pretty!

    9. Elizabeth

      “Chicken handles all around.” I love it. It would make a great title for something. I just don’t know what.

      You are inspiring to give permission to go with what we love, even when it breaks with tradition. It actually requires more creativity.

      The other dining rooms are nice, but yours is the best.

      Sebastian is so sweet. Thanks for including pics with him in them. His presence helps warm up the pictures and ground things in reality.

    10. the uncommon pearl

      Have always loved these colors anytime of year. Everything looks so warm and inviting. I love the glasses, soup bowls, and the cookware. …too cute on the chicken handle!

    11. Linda

      I agree with you, Marian. It is such a warm and inviting atmosphere when the holiday decorating blends in with the every day look. Having the presence of the season without the shock value…I love finding those little surprises tucked in here and there!

    12. Sheri

      What is the name of the wall color? Looking for something just like this.

      • marian

        It’s called Pearly White by Sherwin Williams.

    13. Mary Crozier

      Beautiful and so serene. It’s too hot in Phoenix still to think about fall decorating so we hold off until October 1. Thanks for all the inspiration. I have been following you for quite some time and have learned a great deal.

      I just wanted to let you know that you were one of the bloggers who inspired me to create my own. I just launched it last week (a bit scary), but if you have a moment to look at it and let me know what you think, I truly value your opinion. My style is different from yours but I seem to love it all!

      Thanks.

    14. Anne Aulbert

      I decided years ago that I did not want to use traditional red and green at Christmas because it just does not go with my colors/decor. I love all the fall colors: orange/rust, golds, yellow greens and that is what I have throughout most of my house. So for fall decorating, I’m good. At Christmas, I use golds and greens (but yellow based greens) and I think it is beautiful!

    15. MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA!)

      Marian, your table is beautiful with all the blue & white! Love it! Blue & white are my favorite colors in our country kitchen and dining room!

      So nice to see Sebastian making himself quite at home! Such a nice dog! Happy that you have given him a wonderful home!

    16. Teresa

      I love embracing “non-traditional” colors in my seasonal decor. I especially go with lots of non-trraditional” colors in my Christmas decorating. I will use a teal color any day over a standard green.

      I really enjoy the Farmhouse Holiday series. Lots of great inspiration from so many talented folks!

    17. Naomi S.

      The table looks lovely, Marian. I am enjoying the non-traditional colors and decor that seems to be the trend now. I do wish I could find some of the blue and green heirloom pumpkins to decorate with. I haven’t been to any pumpkin patches in my area, so if I do go maybe I’ll find some like Marie-Helen did.

      I, too, find the ads annoying even though I understand their purpose. I just wish they could all appear at the end of the blog or off to the side or something. It’s just so disruptive to have to click the away under every photo. I won’t let them stop me from reading my favorite blogs, but it ought to be possible to present them in a less annoying way, I think.

      That’s my rant for today.

      I still haven’t really done any Fall decorating, yet, although I’ve been collecting some items to use and lots of ideas. Maybe the end of the week I’ll find some time to begin decorating. Despite the fact that I am reluctant to give up Summer, I do like Fall and I hope all of you are enjoying it’s gifts, too.

      • marian

        Yes, I do understand that, but my ads are actually less aggressive than most. I don’t allow ads over my pictures, pop-ups, autoplay videos, or ads with sound, so I feel like that’s pretty conservative. I am mindful that there is a balance and I don’t want ads taking over my space any more than my readers do. At the same time, advertisers want to be in your face and sitting quietly on the sidebar isn’t enough for them. Anyway, I do appreciate the feedback and I take it into account.

        I am in the process of a redesign and will be addressing the ads when that is implemented. I’m hoping for a more positive experience for my readers with this redesign.

    18. Olivia

      Your table looks inviting. Wish it was cool enough here for soup.
      I don’t understand why everyone is talking about the ads. I see some on the sidebar. Nothing that distracts me from reading your blog. There was one ad at the end of all the pictures. It was for Fructis. I read articles on Yahoo where the ads are really annoying. Your ads are very mild..

    19. m.j. Condon

      Looks just beautiful. The room is fresh and creates a feeling of happiness-you can feel your love for your family and the joy of what you do! Thanks so much for sharing!

    20. Marsha Kern

      It looks wonderful! The puppy on the floor is too cute!!!

    21. Sheeba Mathew

      Absolutely lovely and simple. It’s funny this was my thought this morning. What colors is everyone using for the fall season …I see the rich browns n copper colors on the Oct issue of better homes n garden n u have gone the reverse spectrum….i personally love the delicateness of blues n white n white has always been my go to…
      Sheeba

    22. Tracy

      The table is beautiful as is all your decorating! Sebastian is looking right at home. As far as ads-I see none. I use AdBlock and would recommend others to look into it. Advertisers may not like it tho. 😉

    23. Linda Rudman

      Very pretty table setting. I am about 95% sure that is a Waverly fabric from the late 80’s or early 90’s. We bought our current home in 1986 and shortly after moving here, we had several pieces covered in it. They called th color delft blue. They also made a plaid as well as that check.

    24. Jan

      Marian, Where did you find the Seletti Estetico glasses?

      • marian

        There’s a link to them if you click on the text, but they are from All Modern.

    25. Rosalie

      I’m with you, use what colors you love and what you have. Your beautiful soup pot makes a striking centerpiece. It’s what the French like to do, include beautiful cookware or platters and focusing on the food as the most important element of the holiday table, not so much a contrived centerpiece. This is what my father’s side of the family did, all being born in France.

      I like to fill a bowl or old basket with winter root veggies as a fall centerpiece. Sometimes I just spray paint dried fall leaves and plop them in a galvanize bucket with some ribbon. You can even spray paint dried corn cobs and wheat in a color that coordinates or compliments the room’s color decor and use in various ways as fall decorations.

    26. Sara Syrett

      I think this is so beautiful. That tablecloth is perfect, and I love that you bought it out of a ladys van! My most favorite fabric came form a warehouse that was going out of business. They literally had 20 bolts of fabric left on their shelves and I found the perfect one, with of course, no info from where it came from. That dutch oven is positively swoon worthy! I love it! The whole room is so good! And that pup, I have one that likes to sneak into my photo shoots too.

    27. KJMOM

      Sebastian is the icing on the cake. He represents the fact that your home is welcoming and pet friendly, and not the perfect, cold, unliveable space that we so often see in magazines. A real home with real people who love animals, willing to provide them with a safe home and love. Good going !!!!

    28. b. folk

      The chalkboard cows are too cute, from where did you get those? As a former teacher, I couldn’t help noticing that your printing on them looks just.like.mine.
      My living room is already mostly “Fall” colors (browns, greens, warm whites, and woods, with a few touches of red and gold), so I don’t have to decorate for the season:-)
      Looking forward to whenever you post again.

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