Tobacco Leaf Fall Tablescape

Hello readers, and welcome to Panoply! I am especially happy to be posting today** and sharing a new tablescape, Tobacco Leaf, which transitions summer to fall. I am also elated to be hosting a Welcoming Fall tablescape blog hop today. Further in this post you will see all the bloggers participating with their wonderful ideas for tablescapes to welcome this season, and links which will take you directly to their posts.

Harvest season for tobacco in West Virginia takes place in September as the nicotiana plants reach full maturity. Tobacco was historically a valuable farm crop in my home state of West Virginia. In 1909, production peaked at over 14 million pounds. In 2004, the federal government ended its Tobacco Quota Buyout and price-support system for tobacco growers, which began in 1938 as a means of stabilizing industry volume and farmers' incomes. The end of the program prompted many regional farmers to quit contract tobacco farming altogether.

I have always admired the museum quality of the Mottahedeh brand Tobacco Leaf pattern tableware. The China pattern originates from 18th century Chinese exports to Portugal and Brazil. However, The 22 karat gold-trimmed tableware's price point has always given me pause in taking the leap in buying it. Several years ago, Tuckernuck retailer offered a food-safe, stamped tin facsimile of the Tobacco Leaf pattern dinner plate, and I happily added those to my dish inventory.

The bread and butter plates I'm using today were made by Seymour Mann, a Japanese maker from the 1970s. I did splurge on those porcelain plates in the secondary market. The salad plate comes from a 2024 John Derien collaboration with Target and adds a complimentary hue to the plate stack.

The flatware I'm using today is my new favorite from Vivo Veronika. The handles of this flatware are leather-like and woven, complementing the weave on the rattan chargers. The blue linen napkins from Pier 1 are also a favorite, with hemstitch detail. I have these napkins in two or three other colors.

I chose to leave the dining room table with its wood mostly uncovered. This is the new-to-me Ethan Allen dining room set I swapped out last August with my favorite consignment shop. This apron edge of the table is detailed with a fluted design and metal trim. The only other linen on the table is a vintage runner with crocheted edge tassels which drape over the apron edge.

The glassware on the table are also vintage estate finds. The smokey blue drinking glasses pair nicely with the color of the napkins. The mid-century gold vine double old-fashioneds from Culver were a gift to me when I helped a 96 year-old friend downsize into assisted living.

For my table centerpiece, I started with three woodcut chargers used as risers. On those, I placed a vintage Asian vase and three pottery pumpkins made by a local artist. The loose flower arrangement was cut from my garden.

These were part of a grow box I purchased from a local flower farmer as seedlings in May, and nurtured throughout the summer. They include giant marigolds, zinnias, ageratum, celosia, snapdragons and gomphrena. Lastly, the real tobacco leaves were added a few days after some of my photos had already been taken to add authenticity to the tablescape. I put wax paper on the runner before placing the leaves. Even though they are cured, fermented and dried, the leaves are misted prior to shipping from the supplier. The wax paper ensures no staining on the runner or wood. 

The table was now set...well almost. I was loving all the colors on the table with the tableware and the floral arrangement. But, we tablescapers sometimes love to keep going. That's when I decided to add a little bit of whimsy to the table with a tea cozy and two hand thrown mugs which fit with this season. The tea cozy came from an Etsy dealer, and I blame this purchase as a bad influence from Nancy at Two Trails One Road blog when she shared the cutest little tea cozy in her post back in April.

We have a resident fox running through our neighborhood that neighbors keep capturing in photos. It's a young kit. Actually, several have been spotted, but this one seems to be traveling solo.

Somewhere along the line I started a another collection of fox and the tea cozy is my newest acquisition.

Below are the sources for elements used in my Tobacco Leaf tablescape. It's a memory jogger for me, nothing more (I am a non-revenue blog). For you, it could possibly be a list of places to find your own inspiration.

Source List for Tobacco Leaf Tablescape

Chargers - Williams Sonoma 

Dinner Plates (after Mottahedeh, Tobacco Leaf) - Tuckernuck

Salad plates (John Derian) - Target

Bread/butter plates (Mann Tobacco Leaf), Centerpiece woodcut chargers as risers, tea cozy - Etsy

Handmade pottery pumpkins - Brass Bell Pottery

Smokey blue glasses (Libbey), gold vine double old-fashioneds (Culver), Asian vase, teapot, hand-thrown pottery mugs - Vintage estate finds

Napkins - Pier 1

Flatware (Intreccio) - Vivo Veronika

Centerpiece Tobacco Leaves - Leaf Only

Now, I hope you enjoy all the following table enthusiasts' visual inspiration in their Welcoming Fall tablescapes. The links below will take you directly to each. 

Panoply - Tobacco Leaf Fall Tablescape

Everyday Living - Welcoming Autumn, My Favorite Season! 

Hyacinths for the Soul - Rocky Mountain Vibes ~ Welcome Autumn Tablescape 

The Cat's Whiskerz - Transitioning into Fall with Pumpkins and Pomegranates 

Me and My Captain - Autumn! Kansas Fowl And The Milo Fields!

Life and Linda - Cinderella - A Table Fit For A Princess

My Thrift Store Addiction - Vintage Harvest Time - Thrifted Autumn Table Setting

The Bookish Dilettante - Welcome Fall Tablescape: Plum Assignment

Mantel and Table - A Beautiful Fall Table Setting to Welcome the Season

Thrifting Wonderland - Celebrate Autumn with a Cozy Fall Tablescape

Corner of Plaid and Paisley - Autumn Table in Hues of Brown

Dinner at Eight - Colorful Orchard Tablesetting Celebrates Fall's Arrival

Pandora's Box - Fall is for Football

Red Cottage Chronicles - Fall Tablescape Ideas: Nancy Meyers meets English Cottage

** I mentioned I'm especially happy to be posting today. On August 10th I took a really hard fall inside my house while running down the stairs. The worst of my injuries was a broken right wrist - my dominant wrist. I had surgery on the 19th with a plate and screws to mend the three-part radius bone fracture. Not only did I think I wouldn't be able to host the blog hop, but even setting a table was a farfetched goal for the first couple weeks. 

I'm on the fast track to healing though and, with the help from Mary at Home is Where the Boat Is in helping me put together the graphic and list of bloggers and their permalinks, I was able to participate! Another shout out goes to my daughters for buying me a USB microphone that I could use voice-to-text for composing most of my post. Sadly, Mary was unable to participate in this hop, but hopefully she and few other regulars will return for our next one. 

Welcome Fall, But Don't Fall, Y'all!

Rita C. at Panoply