A Fall Tablescape, and the Poetry of Small Things
The light changes first. It softens, turning everything the colour of toast.
Then the breeze shifts—woodsmoke and windfall apples. And just like that, you feel it in your bones: autumn has arrived. Also, okay, I know that Mumbai doesn’t quite have what we call a traditional fall. And yet, you can feel the nuances if you care to notice.
This season, more than ever, I’m leaning into what I call slow decorating. No fuss. No fixed rules. Just feeling your way through the textures, tones, and tiny moments that make home feel like home. At the heart of it: a table. Not necessarily one set for a feast, but one that invites pause.
A Coffee Table in Autumn’s Embrace
Take, for instance, our little coffee table this year. A linen throw in rust and oat on one sofa, a bowl of white pumpkins from the market, a single glass vase holding crimson maple leaves—just a few—but together, they hold the essence of fall. I have a simple oat and red stripe dhurrie (bonus: very easy to wash), and my grandmom’s knitted cream shawl.
There’s a copy of Simply Nigella, because nothing says autumn like a roasted onion and goat cheese galette. A little amber jar candle flickers next to it. An imperfect ceramic dish and spoon sits atop a worn book. There’s no symmetry. No grand gesture. And yet, it feels whole.
This is fall decorating in 2025. Understated. Earthy. Personal.
The Bigger Table
If you’re styling your dining table, the same rules apply. Begin with something tactile—a soft runner in mushroom or olive. Layer it up. Use scalloped placemats if you like a bit of play. Add your heirloom cutlery alongside a curved taper candle holder (because curved shapes are all the rage, and quite frankly, delightful).
Use what you already have. A brass bowl, a faded linen napkin, a sprig of something wild from your morning walk. The charm lies in the contrast—velvet next to jute, glass next to wood, a £3 find beside a cherished gift.
This bit, demands a part 2- in which I will oblige.
Let the Season In
This fall, Pinterest calls it “modern surrealism”; Target’s new line leans into nostalgia; IKEA has brought out the most beautiful rose-gold trays and paper lanterns. Trends are plenty, but your home is your own. If it feels like a sigh of relief when you walk in, you’ve done it right.
Let the outside in with preserved grasses and dried hydrangeas. Leave a bowl of walnuts on the table. Light something warm. Use books, use memories, use restraint. Fall decor doesn’t have to shout—it can hum. Here’s what’s on my table!
Fluted glass vase, amber pumpkin and maple leaves from IKEA
Books + candle holders are from Amazon India
TrumatterLiving Sonchafa candle from our own shop
Ceramic pumpkin from Curiocity By Lidwin
Gabriella cereal bowl from Pottery Barn
A Note to End
I’ve always believed that the best homes aren’t the ones that try the hardest. They’re the ones that look lived in, loved, and layered with stories. This fall, let your tablescape—coffee or dining—tell one. Of old books and red leaves. Of warm drinks and favourite recipes. Of slowness, and softness, and home.
Because really, that’s what fall is for.
Love, Rukmini
