Get inspired by crisp autumn days and bring the weather's ambiance inside the dining room. Prepare a cozy atmosphere with comfort foods and brightly colored decor to infuse fall into your next dinner party. Put away your bright summer palette of dining wear and turn to autumn's golds, browns, and bronze colors. Try these ideas in your dining room!
Decorate with organic materials. Fallen leaves, acorns, and garden vegetables gathered and displayed in a large, clear vase or wide, shallow bowl to decorate your table for fall very literally. Make your centerpiece edible with apples from a local orchard sliced with nuts and festive candy in orange, brown, yellow, and red. 
Branch out from the dining room table, and decorate the entire space in which you plan to entertain. Collect fallen branches with colored leaves in a tall vase by the entry way, or next to the buffet. Bring nature indoors creatively throughout your home.
Seasonal place settings tie the room together. Label guests' names on fallen leaves with a golden pen. Use smaller leaves for children, or a collection of leaves from the same tree for families or couples. Scatter unlabeled leaves on the table and the sideboard. Choose a tablecloth or place mat made of burlap to carry a natural color theme throughout. Little touches like these show guests you've taken time to notice of every detail.
Serve frothy cocktails like warm apple cider with cinnamon sticks or hot chocolate piled high with whipped cream. Spike your cider with caramel liqueur, and add a splash of Baileys Irish Cream to hot chocolate or after dinner coffees.
Base your menu on seasonal foods like artichokes, apples, carrots, and figs. These not only make wonderfully seasonal decorations, but also add flavor to any meal.
Start brainstorming your menu and make a guest list. Autumn evenings spent with family and friends are a perfect way to watch the leaves turn from green to brilliant.
Source: Decoist Photos: Justyna Furmanczyk, Robert Linder
