Home interiors: The Halloween decor tricks that work a treat
The Designed Table's pumpkin runner (€74.50) is an alternative to a full tablecloth. The colourway is picked up in vibrant orange napkins (four for €48, six for €72) with white tableware and rattan placemats keeping the look cool and sophisticated.
No sooner have temperatures dived and Halloween decorating ideas start filling our newsfeeds.
Of all the decorating occasions, this one has the greatest potential for tackiness, especially if family members insist on fake cobwebs and grimacing pumpkin faces.
But there’s room for elegance and tablescaping is one way to achieve it, avoiding spooky notions altogether and focusing on a harvest theme.
Tara O’Connor, the founder of The Designed Table, an Irish company selling table linens and tablescaping ideas, says to set the scene with a tablecloth. “This creates a great foundation and base for your table. If tablecloths are not for you, add a runner down the centre.”
She also says buying new isn’t necessary. “I love to reuse what I have. I have linen for over 20 years, and I look after it, washing after use and putting away for the next time. If you buy good quality linen and look after it, you will have it forever. For a change in seasons like autumn, I simply change one thing like a napkin or a napkin ring.
“White tablecloths are so versatile and are a great canvas for any table,” she adds. “Use it each season and if you have a stubborn stain just place a vase or candle over it to hide it. You don’t need to go out and buy a new tablescape every time you entertain.”
When it comes to adding accessories, we might think the garden has nothing left to offer but Tara maintains there are still flowers and foliage to utilise.
“Decide whether you want to go with floral arrangements or just add foliage along the centre of the table for your centrepiece,” she says. “Foliage always adds a statement and you can run to the garden for last-minute emergencies as autumn leaves are perfect scattered along the centre of the table. There are some great autumnal pumpkins and squashes available in stores now, too, that look great dotted along the centre of tables with foliage.”
After a summer of eating outdoors, embracing darker evenings can add something new according to Tara, helped by taper and pillar candles at different heights to add drama without overcrowding the table.
“If you are hosting a dinner,” she says, “keep the lights in the room dimmed or just use lamps and create an atmosphere at the table with candles.
“I love entertaining all year round, gathering friends and family around the table, but there is something about autumn that just sparks this new energy for bringing people together to share a feast and good company,” she says. “Tablescaping is something to be enjoyed, to allow your own creativity to take hold. Don’t be afraid to try new looks to see what works for you and your home.”
Nicola O’Dowda, deco gift and seasonal buyer at Meadows & Byrne gets dramatic with linens. “See what you currently have and then, perhaps, add some newness in the form of napkins or placements. We dressed our napkins with black feathers, ribbon and sprigs to show how you can add interest without a traditional napkin ring.”
She also advocates dining by candlelight, adding “Our black candleholders are both dramatic and non-seasonal. They will carry you through well beyond just the autumn period, which is what we are all looking for at the moment.
"We used some of these with glass pumpkins placed on top to create some interest with height. It’s always worth thinking outside the box. You can fill up your favourite candle jars with conkers and acorns and sit your candles within.”
One of the tablescaping additions trending on Instagram and Pinterest this year is decorating the backs of chairs, and Nicola has employed faux foliage which is reusable, but you could just as easily forage some from an obliging wood.
“We tied some of our autumn bundles around the back of our dining chairs,” she says. “With some sheer black ribbon cascading down to show how you can use an item like this in an unexpected way.”
And if you can fight off the rest of the family who want skeletons at the front door to encourage tricker-or-treaters, Nicola says, “It’s the first place your friends and family are greeted with when visiting and should set the scene for what lays beyond. Our autumn harvest wreath is my star purchase this season.”
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