As fall approaches and the weather starts to cool, entertaining makes its move indoors. Elevate your next occasion with a centerpiece inspired by the harvest season.

For a low profile that encourages dinner conversation, set a block of floral foam into a shallow pewter dish and created a dome of sedum flowers, filling in the spaces with purple Queen Anne's lace, mauve hydrangeas, round star scabiosa, fuzzy foxtail grass, and spiked sea holly.

Birds' castoff plumage can add interest (and a shot of fall color) to an arrangement -- or make one all on their own. The striking graphic patterns on this collection got us thinking about new ways to use a bell jar. Stand feathers up in a little vase, and add a few acorns. Another easy fall combo to display under a dome: a bird’s nest and some dried oak leaves.

During the last months of the gardening year, the color palette is more limited than in spring and summer, so texture becomes key. In this tall display, impressive on a buffet or a drinks table, Kevin Sharkey paired feathery heads of rust-red amaranth with pale-green protea, a more muscular tropical flower. Both stand out among lanky millet grasses, and lady's mantle fills in any gaps like a wispy green cloud.

Pointy green-and-russet sweet gum leaves star in this earthy arrangement, with support from the vegetable garden. Kevin Sharkey added contrasting shapes and textures with prickly deep-purple artichokes and smooth green (unripe) persimmons. This would work well on a coffee table where people are hovering over a cheese board.

A basic cornucopia basket gets a glamorous makeover, thanks to sparkly paint and fabric. Fruits and vegetables in rich shades of ruby and amethyst spill out like jewels.

A quick trip to the market yielded this fall centerpiece, an informal arrangement of kumquats, squashes, and a bell pepper in a ceramic compote. Use whatever orange fruits and vegetables you find, such as baby pumpkins, carrots, persimmons, and, of course, oranges.

A molded candle can light up a room even after the flame is out. These arrangements draw from the natural beauty of the season, whether the candles are whimsical or realistic. They're ideal as a fall centerpiece.

A white-pumpkin shell becomes the vase for an arrangement of roses, daffodils, ranunculuses, calla lilies, tulips, and hypericum berries in fall colors -- yellows, peaches, and shades of orange. Smaller pumpkins and votive candles in orange-glass holders fill out the centerpiece.

A cluster of towers made from stacked patterned ceramics forms a graphic, sculptural centerpiece that will decorate your table day in and day out -- no green thumb needed. If you don't have an extra set of dishes lying around, you can buy great inexpensive rice bowls at an Asian outlet or pick up mixed sets at flea markets.

You don't need to spend hours to re-create the designs of early American samplers. We used a paint pen to "stitch" designs onto glass, imprinting leafy motifs on large candleholders for a centerpiece and monograms on votive holders for favors.

Lemon, mountain laurel, and rhododendron leave delightful impressions on homemade wax candles.

We anchored tapers inside mini pumpkins to make easy yet elegant centerpieces.

The jewel tones and cascading abundance of these arrangements are an ode to the season.

Dressed in sumptuous garlands and filled with a profusion of winter finds, modest baskets become centerpieces and decorations with a romantic old-world appeal.

Wrapped in dried cornhusks, votives cast a soft glow fitting for the harvest season.