Sophisticated Pumpkin Decor

October 4, 2017

Text by Karin Lidbeck Brent

The first chilly day finally came and I just could not help myself. I grabbed the first white pumpkin of the season, a small cabbage, a few gourds and went straight to my garden to forage for foliage in my favorite palette of soft greens.

Photo by Karin Lidbeck Brent

The resulting arrangement sits on my kitchen counter where I can enjoy it when I’m cooking or sipping my morning cup of coffee. I love this pale green color combination with the white pumpkin vessel—not the typical fall colors we all expect—yet still autumnal. I always think about where I will display the arrangement to determine the color story and these soft colors work beautifully with my kitchen palette.

I cut and scraped out the pumpkin insides and placed a wet brick of floral foam inside, then went to town adding cuttings from my garden. You can also use small jar of water and cut flowers if you don’t have floral foam.

Photo by Karin Lidbeck Brent

I fell in love with artisinal pumpkins years ago when I created this centerpiece for a table decor story. Orange pumpkins are great for Jack-o’-lanterns, but I prefer a more sophisticated palette for the dining table. No carving needed— just lay beautiful pumpkins in grapevine wreaths and wind extra grapevine around, to look like they were just transported from the pumpkin patch!

Photo by Michael Partenio

During pumpkin season you can go the easy route and just place your pumpkin creatively here or there —or you can go to town and stack them. This little trio was carved so the three pumpkins fit atop one another with the smallest pumpkin being the vessel for beautiful fall dahlias and Queen Anne’s lace. I couldn’t resist the wrapping of some bittersweet for good measure!