9 Centerpiece Ideas for Every Season

If you’ve got lots of playful Halloween decorations but don’t love the idea of having to take each piece on and off the table before it’s in use, try a tray. It helps create a focal point that’s easy to move at a moment’s notice. Give it the Hamlet treatment by adding a skull, small pumpkins, spooky vines or feathers. Use what you have. Consolidating it all in one place makes an even bigger impact.

Give monochromatic floral arrangements an edge by incorporating dried florals. They offer a vintage, sculptural feel that feels delightfully appropriate for Halloween. Their texture and shape add interest too. Clustering three low-lying neutral vessels gives the centerpiece a bigger impact, while creating a small white pumpkin border makes it feel finished. One of the best parts of this idea is that thanks to its neutral colors this centerpiece works well into November.

Let copper pots, vases and candlesticks steal the show. Combining a cluster of all these objects feels bright and festive, plus it pulls emphasis away from having to buy expensive flowers. Instead fill the vessels with simple evergreen or holly. If you want to mix it up, try adding small succulents and green herbs like rosemary into the mix.

Don’t spend a ton of money on fancy vessels. Ahead of an event, start cleaning and saving interesting glass jars instead of recycling them. A little adhesive remover works wonders on stubborn labels. From there add your own decoration. Colored craft paper, ribbon or fabric all help elevate a simple glass jar.

There are so many great spots for a wreath that aren’t a front door. Even a store-bought wreath gets elevated when it’s added to your tablescape. To add more color to a simple green wreath, work in clusters of bright red berries or even small red ornaments. Place tapered or tall pillar candles around the wreath to add more ambience. It mimics the look of cultural staples like an advent wreath or a St. Lucia wreath.

One of the best parts of summer is how easy it is to find beautiful centerpiece materials right in your own backyard. While there’s a tendency to think that a centerpiece needs to have some sense of uniformity, filling glass vessels with wildflowers is easy and feels unfussy. Put a bright, patterned tablecloth on to help bring the whole look together.

A galvanized garden caddy looks elegant when it’s filled with fresh flowers and plants. To make this yourself, use small jars or vases to group living plants together and provide them with water so they won’t wilt. Not only does the caddy keep the smaller jars hidden, it offers room here for you to tuck in dried plants or flowers that don’t need water. Placing it on a top of a pretty table runner makes the whole look feel finished.

Lend a little spice to your centerpiece. A circular wood cutting board topped with a simple grapevine wreath looks especially cozy when you add white candles. Work in scented cinnamon pinecones and dried orange slices for a subtle scent. Drying orange slices is an easy DIY project, bake them on low heat in your oven for several hours to remove all the moisture. Finish the look with neutral holiday ornaments.

One of the best things you can do to create an interesting centerpiece is to use elements in unexpected ways. Cake stands bring beauty and drama to a table even if there’s not a cake in sight. Stack two different sizes or decorate a simple cake stand with flowers or other seasonal items. They add height, color and interesting textures to your tablescape.