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Designers, florists, and entertaining experts interviewed by Good Housekeeping say pears are the defining fruit of this fall’s decor, appearing in tablescapes, floral arrangements, wreaths, and grazing boards. They credit the fruit’s warm ochre and green tones and sculptural shape for making it a fresher alternative to pumpkins.
Pears are the surprise decor item of the fall season, with interior designers and florists telling Good Housekeeping that the fruit is replacing pumpkins in tablescapes, floral arrangements, wreaths, and styled vignettes. According to the designers cited in the report, pears bring the warmth of autumn color palettes in a shape that reads as more deliberate and less obvious than the seasonal gourd.
The report draws on interviews with designers, entertaining professionals, and florists, who describe using pears across nearly every category of fall styling. Michelle Squire, founder and principal designer at Studio SQUIRE, said pears are “having a moment this fall” and “bring warmth without trying too hard, which is exactly what good seasonal styling should do.” She pointed to the fruit’s soft ochre and blush gradient, which she said sits in the same color family as rust, terracotta, deep green, and brass.
Practical applications range from whole fruit at place settings to sliced and fanned presentations on grazing boards. Courtney Klinger, founder of Studio Whitford, said she adds pears to tablescapes and charcuterie boards for color and visual interest, favoring sweet green Bartlett pears and, for strictly decorative use, the rustic brown tones of Bosc pears. Florist Gabby LaRussa of Flower Gypsies said she recently combined grapes, pears, and artichokes in table arrangements at the Beverly Hills Hotel, noting that a pear’s shape resembles a gourd, making it a sophisticated nod to harvest season.
The report also includes handling tips from professionals: LaRussa said she inspects each pear for bruising before purchasing and removes them from the cooler a few hours before an event because they “will start to sweat.” Diane Luna of Diane Luna Interior Design shared a technique of spearing pears with wooden s’mores sticks to create a stem that can be inserted into floral arrangements. For wreaths, Luna recommended faux pears over real ones, since lightweight artificial fruit will not spoil over a full season.
Why Pears Are Displacing Pumpkins
The shift matters for readers planning seasonal decorating or fall entertaining because it reflects a broader move toward understated, longer-lasting autumn styling. Pears ripen in season, are widely available at grocery stores and farmers markets, and serve double duty as both decoration and food — a practical advantage over ornamental gourds or carved pumpkins, which spoil or dry out.
The designers’ reasoning is also aesthetic. According to Squire, pears “read as more considered” than the pumpkins “everyone else is using,” offering an organic shape that feels unexpected. Entertaining expert Erika Gessin of The Fête Edit said pears add height and movement among flatter elements like cheeses and crackers on grazing boards, with warm green, gold, and russet tones that make a board “feel seasonal without needing much extra decoration.” For hosts, that means fewer purchased props and more edible, budget-friendly styling.
How the Trend Builds on Older Habits
Displaying fruit in kitchens and on dining tables is not itself new — Luna noted in the report that the mode of display is what makes the current styling distinctive, such as pairing ripe green pears with patinated antique silver trays. Farmers market-style floral arrangements are described as one of this fall’s biggest hosting trends, and pears are appearing in those arrangements as a longer-lasting element than flowers, which Luna said stay vibrant for a week at most.
The pear trend also follows a pattern in seasonal decor in which a conventional staple — here, the pumpkin — is nudged aside by a subtler alternative with a similar palette. The designers’ comments suggest the change is stylistic rather than a rejection of tradition: LaRussa explicitly compared the pear’s shape to a gourd, framing the fruit as a refined version of a familiar harvest symbol rather than a departure from it.
“Pears are having a moment this fall. They bring warmth without trying too hard, which is exactly what good seasonal styling should do.”
— Michelle Squire, founder and principal designer at Studio SQUIRE
What the Trend Claims Don’t Prove
The claim that pears are “replacing” pumpkins comes from designer interviews in a single Good Housekeeping report and reflects professional opinion rather than sales data or retail tracking. There is no independent evidence in the report measuring whether consumer purchases of pumpkins or pumpkin-themed decor have declined this season, and the designers themselves frame pears as a complement to fall palettes — not a total substitute. Whether the trend extends beyond design-industry circles into mainstream decorating is not yet clear, and it is unknown whether the style will carry into future seasons or fade as a one-year novelty.
How Long the Pear Moment Lasts
Readers who want to try the trend can act immediately: pears are in season now, and the report’s suggestions — place settings, kitchen vignettes on silver or rustic bowls, speared pears in floral arrangements, and grazing boards with a mix of whole and sliced fruit — require no special materials. Luna’s recommendation to use realistic faux pears in wreaths offers a lower-waste option for decor meant to last through the season. Retailers’ fall and holiday assortments in the coming weeks may indicate whether faux pear decor becomes widely stocked, which would signal whether the designer-endorsed trend is reaching a broader market or remaining a styling-circle preference.
Key Questions
Why are designers choosing pears over pumpkins for fall decor?
According to designers interviewed by Good Housekeeping, pears offer warm ochre, blush, and green-brown tones that match fall palettes, plus an organic shape that feels fresher and more considered than the pumpkins they see everywhere.
Which pear varieties work best for decorating?
Courtney Klinger recommends sweet green Bartlett pears when the fruit will be eaten, and brown-toned Bosc pears for purely decorative displays because of their rustic color.
How do you add pears to a floral arrangement?
Diane Luna suggests spearing each pear with a wooden s’mores stick to create an artificial stem that can be inserted into the vase, and using an arrangement large enough to accommodate the fruit’s scale.
Should you use real or fake pears in a wreath?
For wreaths, Luna advises realistic faux pears because they are lightweight and will not rot, letting the wreath last the full season. Real pears work better in short-term displays like tablescapes and grazing boards.
Is there evidence pumpkins are actually declining in popularity?
No. The replacement claim rests on designer opinions in a single report; no sales data or consumer research confirming a drop in pumpkin decor was cited.
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