SUSIE COELHO TURNS THE TABLES FOR FALL ENTERTAINING.

Byline: Elizabeth Smilor Correspondent

Surprise your family and friends this holiday season with something new on the table.

``Be creative,'' challenges lifestyle expert Susie Coelho. ``Use the same dishes but change the tablecloth, centerpiece or napkins. And don't be afraid to set the table in an unconventional way.''

Coelho, host of HGTV's ``Outer Spaces'' and ``Surprise Gardener,'' shared some decorating advice with us at her 1927 Spanish-style Glendale home where she lives with her husband, Bobby, and two children, 13-year-old Hutton and 3-year-old Hailey.

Coelho's latest book, ``Styling for Entertaining,'' offers eight steps for creating the perfect look and menu for any occasion. During our visit, she zeros in on a few tips for Thanksgiving and shows us the end results.

``The one key thing is choosing a sensibility and a color palette,'' she says, adding that the colors should be consistent. ``That's the easiest way to do something stylish.''

On her back patio, she's created a casual party setting with shades of green and orange for fall and lots of natural elements, such as a centerpiece with pinecones and magnolia leaves.

She points out the unconventional placement of the napkins. Each is placed horizontally atop a dinner plate with a salad plate on top. Votive candles with small seedpods are placed in the center of the smaller plates.

Another table is set inside. A billowing tablecloth and tall white vases with single-stem white lilies give a formal look to her long, narrow dining table, which actually sits in her living room and is custom-made to look like a desk when the leaves are not extended.

Coelho is quick to point out that the setup is not expensive.

``Anybody can spend a fortune,'' she says. ``The fun is in making it look like you spent a fortune.''

She had the tablecloth made from fabric she'd used as drapes previously, and the vases were $13 or less from a craft store.

Both settings reflect Coelho's personal style, which she describes as eclectic.

``I happen to have this melange of different cultures,'' she says in describing her upbringing. She was born to an East Indian family in England, but grew up in the Washington, D.C., area and in Paris. So, she loves the bright colors of Indian textiles and learned to cook in the French style.

She began her career as a model in New York and then Los Angeles, where she met her first husband, singer Sonny Bono. Together they opened two Bono's restaurants, which she helped design. Her television career began as an HBO reporter for such events as the Oscars and Grammys. It wasn't until after her second marriage and the birth of her son that she realized her true calling. While she was a stay-at-home mom on a ranch outside the city, she was not only redecorating her own space but also helping friends in their houses.

``Honestly, I didn't really want to do full-time interior design, but I loved being able to help people find their own sense of style,'' she says.

Longtime friend Maureen Feldman wasn't surprised when Coelho took her career in this new direction.

``From the time I met her, she's always had an impeccable sense of style and taste,'' Feldman says, adding that Coelho has styled her Woodland Hills home. ``When I moved into this five-bedroom house, I was nursing my baby - and next thing I know, Susie is moving my furniture around.''

In Feldman's home, Coelho applied her belief that you can change a room using what you already have. She covered an old couch by using a canvas drop-cloth Feldman had for her photography business and added throw pillows from Feldman's bedroom.

``She really appreciates the fact people don't want to spend $1,000 to redo a room,'' Feldman says.

For everyday decorating, Coelho advises people to keep the furniture and paint colors neutral, so the overall look can be easily and inexpensively changed.

``You can change any room at will by just changing out a few things. We do it for the holidays, why not do the same thing year-round?'' she suggests.

She applies the same thinking to entertaining. Use what you have first. For example, the silver on the formal table is her mother's set mixed with a few vintage pieces she found at flea markets. She picked up the green palm tree berries in an outdoor centerpiece from a crew trimming palms down the street.

``I look to use things I have outside,'' Coelho says. ``On the East Coast, I'd use fall leaves, but I haven't found artificial fall leaves that I really love, so I use magnolia and lemon tree leaves and even pinecones I found at my son's soccer game.''

After gathering items you have, buy a few new things.

``Have everything and then decide placement,'' she advises. ``If you don't use something, you can always take it back.''

All this takes a little thought and planning ahead. ``Saving time means putting in some time,'' she says.

Her advice for those who've waited until the last minute to pull it all together? ``Keep it simple and neutral,'' she advises, adding that white always works with just a punch of color. Then, just set the table in a different way. For example, put place cards in the tines of the forks or tie a little raffia around the napkins, she says.

``With a touch of creativity, it will still look like you thought it through.''

OUTER SPACES

What: Susie Coelho is the host of this show on which a homeowner is suprised with an outdoor makeover.

Where: HGTV 

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays; repeats at 11 p.m. Fridays

Party on - with style

Here are Susie Coelho's eight steps to planning a party from her second book ``Styling for Entertaining'' (Simon & Schuster; $35):

--Define the occasion. Is it a formal gathering or a casual family affair?

--Envision your ideal setting.

--Develop a makeover style. Is it earthy? Vintage? Traditional?

--Create your style board. Collect and display clippings, photos and materials.

--Paint your color palette.

--Gather your styling supplies. Start by shopping your house, then buy or borrow.

--Style the space. Start with a clean slate and add items as you like.

--Style the food and table. Think of food and drink as accessories to complement your makeover style.

- E.S.

CAPTION(S):

7 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Simply Susie

HGTV host makes holiday decorating easy, elegant and inexpensive

(2 -- color) Inside her 1927 Glendale home, above, Susie Coelho sets a more formal table with tall white vases holding single-stemmed white lilies.

A festive outdoor table features a casual centerpiece of dried artichokes, pinecones, magnolia leaves and coffee berries.

Susie Coelho's hair and makeup by Tammy Talbot

(3 -- color) Make these decorative place cards and holders, right, by buying seed pods at any craft store. Use a gold pen to write the name of each guest on a magnolia leaf, which is pushed into the pod.

(4 -- color) At left, Coelho adds seasonal decorative touches that include candles, pinecones and pears on an outdoor pation table made from a feeding trough.

(5 -- color) Above, Coelho creates spaces for entertaining beside the pool of her Spanish-style home.

(6 -- color) At left, a casual centerpiece of dried artichokes, pinecones, magnolia leaves and coffee berries brightens a festive outdoor table. Use a woven charger, topped by a dinner plate with a folded napkin placed horizontally, then topped by a salad plate and, finally, by a votive candle decorated with seed pods for each place setting.

(7 -- color) no caption (``Styling for Entertaining'')

Photos by John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Box:

Party on - with style (see text)