Fill a birdcage with wild roses for a rustic and fragrant centerpiece.
If you're looking for a fresh way to soften your contemporary table setting, or you're looking for an appropriate centerpiece for a garden party, picnic or festive fall get-together, incorporate a centerpiece idea inspired by country-style design. It focuses on using what you have on hand, items from nature and handmade touches for warm, inviting and refreshing pieces.
Bottles and Jars
In the country, you create beauty with what you have on hand. Look for colored glass bottles in varying shapes and sizes. Snip a fresh flower for each one, or place single long, slim leaves or foliage blades in each one. Line them neatly along the length of the table, or cluster them in the center. You can do the same thing with mason jars, filling them with fresh flowers. For a centerpiece doubling as outdoor lighting, place a tea light in each mason jar. The white light in the clear jar is breathtaking at night.
Fruit and Nuts
Get back to nature with unusual centerpieces that feature Mother Nature's prized beauties. You can also always mix fruits with foliage and flowers, too. Fill an old oatmeal or tea tin with oak leaves, fresh flowers and pears stuck on skewers for a fall arrangement. Switch the oak with seasonal foliage and flowers, and use citrus for the warmer months. Hollow out a raw artichoke to use as a candle sconce, and line up asparagus spears or green beans around a pillar candle; tie a bow around to fasten it. It creates a temporary and fresh centerpiece. You can do something similar with nuts, placing candles in large glass containers and placing a few nuts around the candles.
Garden Centerpieces
Place short-stemmed carnations and wildflowers in vintage mugs between the entrees and side dishes. For a sleek look, place single tulips in bud vases along the length of a table, or carefully twist a larger tulip bouquet gathered with a rubber band and place it in a large, clear pitcher. You can also lay flowers flat in a woven basket lined with burlap, linen or patterned cotton fabric. Smaller flowers also look fresh and dainty in egg cups, and you can complete the theme with seed packet place settings for each guest.
More Country Touches
For a homey, country feel, line the middle of the table with colorful cakes, or place a bundt cake on an elaborately patterned cake stand with a bunch of blossoms placed in the ring. You can do the same thing with prize-winning cupcakes, arranging them around your floral centerpiece on the cake stand. You can also place an old birdcage in the center, and place fresh cut wild roses or daisies inside. For a fall country centerpiece, fashion a branch with a few crepe blossoms glued onto the ends, and place it in your favorite bottle or a mason jar.
Tags: along length, table, cake stand, foliage flowers, fresh flowers