SIMPLY FALL DIY SERIES: A Simple Fall Tray Display

I’m kicking off this season with a brand new series called “Simply Fall.” All month long, I’ll be sharing simple ways to incorporate seasonal touches into your autumn home decor. First up is this warm and welcoming Simple Fall Tray Display that’s part practical and a whole lot o’ pretty pumpkin fun 🙂

I can’t believe that summer is almost over. It’s gone by so fast! Of course, I think that EVERY year, but don’t we all?

As we prepare to say good-bye to summer (say it ain’t so!), there’s always one thing we can look forward to: fall decor.

And this year, I am SO excited about decorating for the season. In fact, I’ve got lots of simple craft and decor ideas coming up over the next few weeks (stay tuned!) which I hope will get you in the mood to welcome the season with its crisp, cool mornings (hello plaid scarves), pumpkin spice lattes (yum!), and a whole lot of warmth and coziness at home 🙂

Simple Fall Tray Display

While decorating our Great Room this year, I added new decor to the coffee table and ended up with a spare white serving tray. I love using trays to corral items together and decided to create this simple fall tray display on our kitchen island.

I love seeing small hits of seasonal simplicity sprinkled throughout the home. And while I tend to focus my creativity on our foyer and living room when transitioning from one season to the next, it’s always nice to have something in the kitchen, too.

For this autumn vignette, it’s all about layering in seasonal accessories: velvet pumpkins, vintage books, and, of course, pumpkin spice coffee 🙂

Tips for Creating Height and Texture

I often see lovely coffee and beverage displays using tiered stands. I love the height and layering effect these have. But since I don’t have one and didn’t want to buy one, I decided that I could create the feeling of height and texture using various elements from my home.

If you love the look, here are my tips for creating that same height and variation but without a stand.

Tip #1 Start With A Serving Tray

A serving tray will corral all your items together to create one neat, pulled together look.

Tip #2 Create Height Using Books

Not just any books will do. Choose books that are in keeping with the colour and mood you wish to create. I chose these three vintage books both for the nostalgic feeling they evoke, but also for their neutral colour.

Tip #3 A Tray Within A Tray

I added a bit more height by adding a small round tray under my stack of books. If I had a fourth book in the same colour scheme, I would have used that instead. As it is, the additional tray (actually taken from the bottom piece of a glass dome display) worked well here.

There are lots of ‘hidden’ ways you can add a bit more height where it’s needed. Napkins, matchboxes, plates, you name it. For this display, I also used a lid from a candle to raise the height of one of the pumpkins.

Tip #4 Layer in the Pumpkins

Besides that one large pumpkin (and piece de resistance) sitting atop the stack of books, I also layered in small pumpkins. These added height, colour, and texture, all at the same time.

Tip #5 Add Flowers or Natural Elements

I also added a punch of colour with a small bouquet of faux flowers stolen from last year’s Fall Foraged Wreath DIY (which I shared on the blog). Flowers or any natural elements will always add a nice touch of liveliness to a display.

(To see the wreath that these gorgeous flowers came from, see my Foraged Fall Wreath DIY Video Tutorial).

Tip #6 Don’t Forget the Back!

Although this simple fall kitchen display will be seen primarily from the front, don’t forget to decorate the back with a few well-placed accessories. This is a 360 degree display and should be decorated as such.

I hope you got some fall decor inspo from my simple fall tray display. Whether you choose to create simple vignettes like this one or plan to tackle an entire room, it’s all about the details.

Happy decorating 🙂