The Affordable Fall Centerpiece Decor You Can DIY That Is Hiding In The Produce Aisle

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When it comes time to put together an affordable yet stunning fall candle centerpiece, you don't need to take a trek to some specialty craft store. In fact, you don't even need to make an extra trip after your grocery store visit. When you're ready to decorate for fall, stop by the produce aisle and pick up some fine seasonal gourds – mini pumpkins, turbans, acorn squashes, and red kabochas. If the grocery store just so happens to be an all-in-one store, like Walmart, grab some tapered beeswax candles, also, to make your autumn centerpiece a full-blown wonderland of harvest colors and scents.

For this DIY, look for gourds that are firm and not overly ripe. Some of them will be purely decorative in this display. However, some gourds will become the bases for your candles, so the fall fruits need to be sturdy enough to hold the candles upright. You'll need a drill with a large bit, perhaps a 1-inch to 1 ½-inch. However, you may have to experiment to find the right size since the bit size will be determined by the width of the candles you choose.

Taper candles light up this display. Consider buying candles that vary in height. For the most visually interesting results, go with an odd number of candles. Groups of three, five, and seven are common in interior design because they encourage the eyes to wander around the arrangement. Finally, this fall centerpiece needs some items to add more height and juxtaposing shapes, like squares and rectangles. Books with leather bindings and plant wooden risers are good options, though you're not limited to those items.

Before you drill into the gourds, wash them get rid of any debris and leftover dirt. You'll also need to remove the stems from any pumpkins and squashes that'll become candleholders; the most logical place to put the hole for the candle is in the spot where the stem is. Next, choose a few that'll become the bases for your candlesticks. Ideally, the gourds should have flat bottoms to prevent the candles from wobbling and falling over. Your best bets for this purpose are pumpkins, delicatas, kabochas, and carnival squashes. You'll use the rest of the gourds that don't have flat bottoms as decorative accents in the display.

Drill holes in the candleholder pumpkins. The holes need to be wide enough to accommodate the tapers and deep enough to hold them in place. Press the candles into the bases once all of the holes are drilled. To prevent the pumpkins from rotting, drip some candlewax into the holes –  just enough to seal the opening.

Create a multitiered foundation for the candles to stand on. Make a base from a large object, like a sizable hardback book. Stack craft shelves or a MOOCA customizable wooden display risers set on top of the base. Finally, add the candlesticks, along with the decorative gourds, to the display. Don't put all of the candles on the same level, but rather, place one of them on the table, some of them on the book, and the last of them on the risers. Varying the heights like this creates a more interesting visual display.

Standout autumn centerpieces have a distinct focal point. One way to create a focal point in this centerpiece is to change up the heights, widths, and textures. Choose at least one large pumpkin to mix in with the other elements, and place it in the center of the display. It can be carved out so that you can put a candle inside, and surround it with the smaller gourds. Also consider bringing some free-standing pillar candles into the arrangement — not too many, just enough to create variety. 

You can use them to introduce contrasts to the display, too. For example, try introducing patterned candles like the MacKenzie-Childs check pillar candle. This would be another way to create visual interest in the centerpiece if you don't want to use a large pumpkin for that purpose. This kind of element has the potential to introduce pattern drenching into your fall display. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, pattern drenching is a decorating technique that mixes different patterns together. Although the patterns don't usually match, there is some sort of unifying element like a common color scheme. In this case, the checkerboard candle combined with patterns on the skin of carnival squashes or turbans introduces a few different patterned elements to this grocery store-inspired arrangement.