Is there anything better than styling a smashing Fall tablescape? It all begins with the centerpiece, of course. This is the one item on your table that fully captures and expresses the tone of your dinner. Formal or informal, modern, traditional or somewhere in between, your centerpiece will articulate so much about the mood of your feast. Today we’re talking about designing a seasonal table around centerpiece flowers. Naturally, you’ll want to take your cue from the flowers themselves. Read on for some of Billy Heroman’s Flowers & Gifts best tips for tablescaping.

Let’s say you’ve selected a design like Harvest Bounty Centerpiece to get top billing on your table. With its harvest-hued mums, approachable sunflowers and cluster of both green and autumn leaves, this is a beautiful traditional centerpiece. It’s warm and signals the season, but in a friendly, more casual way. What you build around it should keep the same spirit.

Extend the fallen-foliage look by sprinkling some leaves here and there down the table, a kind of deconstructed runner. Bookend this piece with taper candles, and build in pinecones and gourds around it to keep with the from-the-garden feel. This piece is blissfully low to the table (your guests will love being able to see each other), so you can play with scale elsewhere in the tablescape, varying candle and glassware heights, for instance. Since the centerpiece offers that rich sense of abundance, keep your linens and plate ware relatively clean. The contrast will be everything.