You are right, no chargers needed for a buffet...how about wrapping some of those berries around the naps for a ring..do you have enough??
I think I would go with a cotton type cloth..one that would pick up the color of the napkins..even fabric hemmed??

I have been searching around for more of the orange berries, to no avail. Have tried Michaels, AC Moore. I may end up making my own "natural-type" rings with something from the craft store.

I have agree about the tablecloth, but haven't seen one in gold, tan or even brown that doesn't have a full on pattern or texture similar to the one I purchased. I think another trip to the fabric store may be the answer.

Having spent the weekend shopping, I've found that the stores have skipped over Thanksgiving straight to Christmas.

How about one of those mini twig wreaths with some leaves or berries hot glued on? I got these scarecrows in a bag and just glued them on to a plain ring..maybe too whimsical for your table...but you get the idea. Michaels had boxes of faux berries and nuts..glue on to the twig wreaths or rings...

kathleen - I love the whimsy. Your table is wonderful. Great eye with the coloring and the scarecrows are adorable. I am thinking of trying Michael's at a different location today. Great idea to take the mini twig wreaths and hot glue. I can do that:))). If I can't find the orange berries to match the table garland, I may use another fall color and buy extra to incorporate into the table garland. I am going to look at the fall pics as well as they can be taken apart and glued onto the mini wreaths.

Still debating on the tablecloth/napkins (and probably will be until the day). I put the leaves in the table last night to see how the table cloth looked and I really like it. The color is the exact color I want/need. I was thinking about doing a basket of the bundled napkins with the silverware pre-wrapped. I have some nice baskets to accomodate the napkin bundles on the buffet. It may work out okay if the table is not "set" and my guests are getting their napkin bundles from the buffet?

Your colors are really pretty, they flow very well with the Fall look you want. I like the idea of napkin bundles since you are doing a buffet, they are so much easier to handle. You could just use simple satin thin ribbon in coordinating colors to tie around the napkin bundles to add color and keep the utensils from sliding around too much.

And you are right, having as many different "stations" around for guests to go to helps keep people "flowing" through the home, and not just crowding one area.

Judith we must be like thinkers. I went over to the new Michaels this morning. Since they just opened, they started with stocking on Christmas:(.

Any event, I went into AC Moore (which had nothing left for Fall) and bought both rafia and gross grain brown 1/2 inch wide ribbon. I also bought all of their remaining sticks with berries on (see pic). I am posting a pic of both with the napkins. The berries are the absolute last fall item they had left in the store. A friendly employee pointed them out to me. I only need two sticks to pull apart to accent the ribbon or rafia. At this point, I am leaning toward the brown ribbon for the napkins. I bought the rest to incorporate into the berry garland I already have on the table. So I am wondering, ribbon or rafia?

{{gwi:1451059}}

I vote raffia (more color contrast and more texture contrast).

O.K. Kathleen, where'd you get the potato boats?????

Hmm, the raffia looks good, the ribbon looks good too, but I would have added (if you can, a ribbon in a rust/orangy color) in order to bring in the rusts and oranges of the berries that will be on the table. Dont get me wrong the brown is very nice, but it fades too much into the napkin, you need the color contrast and it will also at the same time tie in the other colors that are on the table. You can always use double ribbon around the napkin..brown and rust color. And rather than leave the ends just plain, tie a little knot at the end of each bow "tails", just another little detail.

That looks super, Lab! I like the raffia best, but who asked, LOL
Old, they are from the late 70's when I went to ceramics, have the big potato with cover too. Once it gets in my house, it never gets out! LOL

Great tip Judith. I will get some rust/orange gross grain. I also like the added touch of finishing the ends of the ribbons!

kathleen - I didn't notice the potatoes, but now that I look closer, they are very interesting. We have so many pieces from when the ceramic craze was popular. Most of my Easter decor was painted by either my Mom or Grandmother. They did all kinds of beautiful things each week. All of my cousins went to paint as well. DD had a birthday party at a local ceramic studio in 3th and I think again 4th grade. It was great fun. I even got to make a few serving dishes to match my kitchen while the kids painted. I don't know about you, but we don't have the selection of ceramic studios any longer. The studio we do have is great, but extremely expensive unlike the good ole ceramic days when you could attend each week for a small amount of $$.

Luvs, that was my big night out! My friend, a fellow teacher, ran the classes in her home. She was very talented and we moved on to the extruded things, like the capadomonte flowers and such. We are still good friends, had lunch with her last week. SHE GOT RID OF ALL HER CERAMIC THINGS, AND I KEPT MINE. But I got her hooked on charger plates, LOL and she went out and bought 12 for 7 each....