Choose your fall dinnerware colors from a palette of traditional favorites, and you’ll easily create a harmonious table setting
For example, just this little egg cup (Chanticleer pattern by Zrike) can provide lots of color inspiration.
Three main colors to draw from as a focal point: a rich, warm terracotta in the brown to orange range, forest green and cozy cream. Then some lovely accent colors: a soft leaf green, dusty maroon, and palest blue.
Dinnerware in earthenware or stoneware, in the same colors, can mix and match to your hearts content. A pretty set of colors with a lot of possibilities!
- The rustic and hand painted motifs on this piece can also give ideas for a table setting. Strawberries in the foot can add to a fruit motif theme.
- Stylized floral motifs in the cup can add to fall floral elements.
- Autumn leaves go with the colors and can complement either flowers or fruits.
With a bigger plate, the details are more and you can get additional ideas about how much or how little of a color you might want to add to your table setting. There is a lot more green in the plate than the blue or golden yellow, for example.
Complementary Colors Harmonize in Glass
Vintage glassware can add shine to the table setting as well as play up any color(s) you like. Here are just three examples:
Shown above: Amber (topaz) 3-part serving dish in the Georgian pattern by Anchor Hocking. Plum glasses in the Madeira pattern by Franciscan. Avocado green chip and dip set in the Country Estate pattern by Anchor Hocking.
Flowers Make a Simple Complement To Your Dinnerware
Real flowers in matching or contrasting colors will work well with this table setting palette, too. These dahlias complement the tones in the dinnerware, and the white milk glass vase brings up the small white dots on the china.
Flowers such as chrysanthemums, roses, dahlias or strawflowers are widely available in the fall.
Mums bloom in a particularly broad set of beautiful autumn colors, including white, yellow, gold, bronze, orange, rusty red, burgundy, rosy pink, lavender and dark purple. They can be used as potted plants or cut flowers, depending on the event.
Further natural elements like pumpkins, gourds, dried leaves, acorns, pine cones, can be added as well.
The inspiration for a charming palette of fall dinnerware colors, can come from just one small piece of dinnerware. I found it was easy to do, once I got started playing with colors in other patterns.
If you want to try this, just start in one place and see how the ideas for your seasonal entertaining can expand.
About the egg cup photos: Egg cup purchased at the end of season from the fall dinnerware collection at a major department store, pre-2004. Danna Cullen designed the Chanticleer pattern, produced by Zrike in the early 2000s.
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