A nice plate, bowl, or stand/pedestal with a beautiful candle or collection of candles in it.

An ikebana (sp??) arrangement of twigs with dried berries or things that don't perish.

You could leave out fresh fruit then squeeze the juice and freeze in ice cube trays if you weren't going to finish using them. Lemon is a natural flavor enhancer, so it brightens up pretty much anything non dairy based. I love fresh lime or lemon juice in guacamole. Lemon in fresh brewed ice/hot tea. Lemon on fish. Squirt of citrus in soda water.

You could make pomanders:
http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/11/Orange-and-lemon-pomanders-537x376.jpg

I also disagree with the poster who doesn't like fake stuff. There can be some pretty realistic fake flowers for example:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/forsythia-artificial-flower-stem/s659710

An eclectic display of single flowers, e.g.:
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-room/35207612.jsp#/

Or glass pebbles in a vase can work (as long as people don't have young kids who would be tempted to eat them). Or even a few chunky candles: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30123556/

Just some ideas. Flame away.

We have this one and it looks gorgeous IRL.

http://m.crateandbarrel.com/fossili-centerpiece-bowl/s112970

I have a really beautiful bowl that I keep fresh fruits (bananas, pears, apples) in as well as things that don't need refrigerating like onion and garlic...

Anonymous wrote:I hate fake shit. Fruit, flowers, plants.

We have a silver / wire basket on the table. Right now there are apples, lemons and limes in it. Sometimes it's bananas and oranges. The fruit changes with the season.

What do you make/eat that you use up enough lemons and limes before they go bad to justify having them in a centerpiece? I've tried real fruit (I particularly like lemons and limes because fo the color), but to have enough to make it look full, we can't eat the fruit fast enough. And we certainly don't eat/use many lemons or limes in a given week - maybe one?

I hate fake shit. Fruit, flowers, plants.

We have a silver / wire basket on the table. Right now there are apples, lemons and limes in it. Sometimes it's bananas and oranges. The fruit changes with the season.

Anonymous wrote:I bought a big white bowl for my marble island, and I leave the fresh fruit for kids' snacks in it. So maybe an interesting bowl and put apples, lemons, bananas, etc.

I also have a big white bowl on my marble island.

I like the idea of the fake lemons. Worth a try!

I have a wide silver bowl/platter with edges that curve up and fake lemons in it. They are and look reasonably real. I tried keeping real fruit in it but it dwindled through the week, looked unbalanced, people would forget to go into the dining area to get fruit, etc.

Agreed a table needs something in the middle for sure.

I bought a big white bowl for my marble island, and I leave the fresh fruit for kids' snacks in it. So maybe an interesting bowl and put apples, lemons, bananas, etc.

We have a new oblong kitchen table and we received a beautiful flower arrangement last week so I kept it as the centerpiece. Now that I had to throw our the arrangement, I realize how nice it looked to have something on the table. There's no way I can keep fresh flowers there each week so any suggestions on a table centerpiece? I guess I could go the fake route but it would be so obvious. Tia!