The weeks between Halloween and Christmas are awkward for decorating. Thanksgiving is still ahead, but the stores are already full of Christmas, and nobody wants to redecorate the whole apartment twice in a month. The trick is to build fall decor that’s already half Christmas, then change it in small steps. What stays all season Some things work from October to January. Leave them out and change what’s around them: ...
Carved pumpkins are done by the first week of November. Painted ones aren’t. A pumpkin with no cuts in it can sit on a shelf or a table for six weeks or more, which is why I’d rather paint than carve when the goal is decorating rather than a jack-o’-lantern for one night. The other reason: if you choose your colors right, the same pumpkins carry you from Halloween straight through Thanksgiving. ...
Everyone takes a picture of the table before they sit down. Most of us set it in a hurry while the rolls are in the oven, though. A table that looks effortless is mostly a matter of layers: linen on linen, a low centerpiece, candles at the right height. None of it needs a florist. The base 1. Two layers of linen. A plain cloth in cream, oatmeal or soft grey, with a runner (on Amazon) in a different texture on top: burlap on linen, plaid wool on cotton. Too narrow a runner disappears under the centerpiece; too wide and it crowds the plates. ...