Dining Table Centerpiece Ideas for Everyday

Sizing Your Centerpiece to Your Table

While there are definitely exceptions to the rule, a good rule of thumb is to match the shape of your centerpiece to that of your dining table. Round tables tend to be easiest to decorate because a large round bowl or vase centered in the middle can do the trick. These are a few favorite decorative bowls that are 12″ or more wide:

Sources: 1. 13.6″ white fluted centerpiece bowl  |  2. 12″ Scalloped wood bowl  |  3. 16″ footed black bowl  | 4. 12″ Textured white bowl | 5. 16″ Whitewashed footed rattan bowl |  6. 12.5″ Glazed ceramic bowl  |  7. 16″ White footed bowl |  8. 12″ Rattan scalloped bowl | 9. 18″ White four handled bowl | 10. 14″ Rustic footed bowl | 11. 17.5″ Ruffled melamine bowl

Two of my favorite vases include {these handled vases} that come in two colors and three sizes:

and {this large round concrete vase}:

Note that neither of these vases is watertight, so if you’re using them with fresh florals, simply slip a cylindrical glass vase inside.

With rectangular tables, you’ll typically want to cascade individual elements down the middle of the table or use a centerpiece that’s rectangular or some other elongated shape. For a long dining table, {these Habit + Form troughs} are perfect! They come in a variety of sizes, are watertight, and can be used both indoors and out. Color options include gold and silver:

Other great options for long tables are dough bowls such as one of {these}:

or one of {these 31″ long concrete troughs} that come in four color options:

Now that we’ve talked about different vessels you can use, let’s talk about what to put in them…

Succulents

Succulents work great for everyday centerpieces because they’re low maintenance without needing frequent watering. One beautiful option is {this shade-loving succulent centerpiece} with succulents and Spanish moss in a long wood planter:

If your table gets a lot of direct sun, check out the sun-loving version with more colorful succulents {here}. You could also create a similar look on your own using one of {these troughs} that I shared earlier:

For round tables, consider {this cast stone planter}:

or one of the round bowls shared earlier in this post.

If you don’t have a green thumb and prefer to go with faux, I used {these faux succulents} in {this small fluted white bowl} on our living room bookcase and think that they’re pretty realistic looking:

Fruit or Other Fillers

Another option is to fill a bowl, trough, or other food-safe vessel with fruit. If your family eats a lot of fresh fruit, it might be as easy as placing a bowl of fresh fruit in the center of your table:

I love how they dressed it up with the addition of a frond and a few flowers that you could find as fauxs!

When using faux fruit, a simple option is a bowl of faux lemons like {these} placed in a large bowl like {this footed serving bowl}:

I also love the look of this mix of lemons, limes, and forsythia branches in a dough bowl on {this long dining table}:

You could recreate the look with {these faux lemons}, {these faux limes}, and {these faux forsythia branches}.

As another option, I used fresh peaches to create this simple fruit centerpiece, but you could use faux peaches like {these} too:

Don’t overlook veggies either! I’ve seen a bowl of faux artichokes like {these} used as a simple dining table centerpiece for everyday and love the look!

Flowers (Real or Faux!)

During the warmer months, I love to clip from the rose bushes, hydrangeas, and flowering trees in our yard to create a simple centerpiece of live flowers. There are a ton of realistic faux floral options too! Afloral (which you can shop {here}) is my favorite source for high quality, realistic blooming flowers. You can also check out my post on the best artificial flowers for more sources, including several Amazon finds!

For floral arrangements on smaller round tables, simply center a single vase of flowers, as they did in the middle of {this round dining table}:

For larger tables, a trio of vessels like {these seagrass-wrapped glass vases} filled with flowers looks gorgeous:

For rectangular tables like {this one}, you can get away with a single vase in the center of your table if it’s holding an oversized flower arrangement like this:

Or you can space out two smaller vases of flowers along the length of the table, such as we did in the dining room of our previous home:

I used wood vases similar to {this vase} with {these faux pink tulips} and {these faux white tulips} that are super realistic:

Flowering plants are another beautiful option, such as hyacinths planted in one of {these gold troughs}:

or orchids in a footed bowl such as {this gorgeous (but pricey!) one}:

I’ve also seen some great faux orchid options. The faux orchid arrangement that tops my list of finds (and also tops out way over my price point – yikes!) is {this stunning arrangement} that’s 21″ wide:

You could recreate the look with several of {these faux orchids} in your own decorative bowl

Greenery

I honestly think that one of the most stunning centerpieces is also one of the simplest: a vase with a few tall branches of greenery, as shown on {this ebony table}:

It’s a great way to bring a touch of nature indoors and create a fresh, inviting look. If you head out to your backyard with a pair of clippers, I bet you’ll find some trees to clip from that would work great for this! If you prefer to go with faux, I’ve used {these faux branches} in several spots in our home:

I’d recommend putting them in a solid vase that you can’t see through since the bottoms of the stems are the biggest giveaway that they’re faux.

I also love this look of this arrangement of glass globe vases in various sizes (similar to {these}) holding fern and palm fronds on {this charcoal dining table}:

Recreating the look with {these vases} would also be stunning! Some highly rated faux fronds to fill them with include {these faux fern leaves} and {these faux palm fronds}.

Candles & Candleholders

If you have a ton of candleholders stored away in your china cabinet, consider putting them to use as a centerpiece. It’s a beautiful look, and you can’t beat the warm glow of a candlelight dinner! For a long dining table like {this one}, it can be as simple as placing candlesticks of varying heights down the center of your table:

They don’t have to all look alike either. I actually prefer a more eclectic mix of candlestick finishes and styles. If your table is still looking a little too bare with just the candlesticks, add some faux greenery around the base of them or add a vase or two of flowers into the mix.

Other options for long tables include a candlestick trough like {this one} that holds several candles with space to layer greenery or moss in the trough,

{this similar raised taper iron trough},

or {this bronze pillar candleholder centerpiece}:

For a round table, I love this look of {this trio of rattan candlesticks} in the center of the table:

For a bigger table, pair them with a vase of flowers:

Hurricanes

There are a lot of gorgeous hurricane options, and they can be used to create stunning centerpieces! A simple but beautiful example of a centerpiece for a long table is the arrangement of {these tropical shell hurricanes} with a large hurricane in the center flanked by a pair of smaller hurricanes:

For a round table, a single large hurricane or lantern in the center of the table works well. I also like the simple style of a pair of {these scalloped capiz hurricanes}:

You could also cluster a group of tall, narrow hurricanes such as {these} on a tray in the center of your table:

When using large glass hurricanes like {these} (which I love!), you can even get creative by adding non-flammable filler around the base of the candles like shells or pebbles:

A few reasonably priced hurricane options include {these glass hurricanes}, {these woven cane wrapped hurricanes}, and {this hyacinth base hurricane}.

Lazy Susans

If you’re looking for a super functional option for your kitchen table, consider a lazy Susan! I have a 12″ marble lazy Susan similar to {this one} in the center of our kitchen table:

It holds:

• A jade plant (which is super low maintenance!)
• {This acrylic napkin holder} filled with napkins
• A salt & pepper set similar to {this}
• {This marble salt cellar} filled with our favorite seasoning (made by my friend Annie of Most Lovely Things – get her recipe {here} – it’s amazing!)
• {This desktop vacuum} that I LOVE for quickly cleaning up table crumbs:

If you prefer a wood lazy Susan, you can find them in a variety of sizes {here}.

Get Creative!

You could also create a centerpiece that is totally unique using decorative items that you already have. For example, I have {this giant faux clam shell} filled with {this sea glass garland} in our entryway and think it would look fabulous as a table centerpiece too:

And one last thought! For rectangular tables I love the look of a table runner and think it really helps breaks up a large table surface. It also helps keep your centerpiece from scratching your dining room table. I recently bought {this scalloped table runner} that comes in four colors and love it:

I also love the look of {these patterned table runners}

Phew, this was a long one! I hope you hung in there and got a few helpful ideas for decorating your bare dining tables. Let me know if there are any other posts you’d love to see with everyday decorating ideas!