Creating A Thanksgiving Tablescape

03 Nov Creating A Thanksgiving Tablescape

I love to set a beautiful table.  Mixing and  matching items I have collected at estate sales and thrift stores with pieces I have purchased new is big fun for me.  As you can imagine, Thanksgiving is really exciting, because I get to come up with a table scheme.  In the past, I have been asked how I get my ideas, so along with showing you this year’s color palette and layout, I thought I would tell you about my process of dressing a table.

But before I get to that, I am so excited to be part of the Blogger Stylin’ Home Tours: Thanksgiving Table Edition hosted by Lindsay of the White Buffalo Styling Company today!  If you have landed here via Iron & Twine, welcome!  I am so honored to be the next stop in the tour after Michelle.  She is such a sweetheart, and her bright countenance and beautiful ideas are so inspiring!

When I am pondering a table scheme, I often mentally flip through my brain file of interesting color combinations or textures I have seen.  For this Thanksgiving season, I wanted a color combo off the beaten path, and instantly, a space designed by Mary McDonald that was shown on Million Dollar Decorators years ago popped into my head.

mary mcdonald designs monika chain’s boutique in nyc

Did anyone else love this show as much as I did?  Sigh.

I remember being fascinated by this uncommon color matchup – emerald green and lavender with flashes of gold.  It looked so chic and sophisticated, and I thought it would make for an interesting table.

mary mcdonald designs monika chaing’s boutique in nyc

I gave you a sneak peek on Instagram last week of my plan.

instagram @astoriedstyle

And here is how it turned out!

The table was covered in a lavender tablecloth for the backdrop and layered across the center with a white and gold runner.  

For the centerpiece, I wanted to keep it simple.  I used the bottom of a ceramic pumpkin and filled it with ornamental kale purchased at my local nursery.  I like this idea because I can plant the kale in my yard when Thanksgiving is over – no dead centerpiece for us this year!

The silvery green leaves accented with eggplant really enforce the overall scheme.

The plate combination is probably my favorite part of the whole design.  Classic vintage jadeite serves as the dinner plate, followed by the gold and white antique salad plate, and the malachite dessert plate.

A pretty emerald linen napkin unites the shades of green.

I love to mix flatware (rules? what rules?!), but I kept it to a minimum due to all of the different patterns happening in the plates.  Gold bamboo forks and spoons and mother of pearl knives make the perfect jewelry for this table.  I also used a dessert fork with a more flowy pattern.

For glassware, I utilized mostly new pieces – a lavender glass tumbler with a floral motif for water, and a crystal bordeaux glass for iced tea.

The elegant stemmed glass on the left of the plate is from the 1920’s and will be filled with a pretty fruit salad.

One of my favorite finds this year has been this collection of vintage hen salt cellars.  I have several different colors, and I thought they would make lovely favors for each family at my table.  I will have cute little boxes people can take them home in after choosing their favorite.

Of course, Thanksgiving is about much more than well dressed tables and delicious food, it is about the gathering of people we love and expressing the gratefulness in our hearts for all that we have.  Traditions are often passed down in a family, but assuredly, you can create your own, too.  My dear friend Kelly Kay shared one of her family traditions with me, and now I carry it on in my own little family.

Her grandmother had a little box of prayers at her Thanksgiving table, and every year, each family member would choose their favorite, and read it.  I loved her telling that story, and I was so beyond excited when Kelly Kay copied that little box and gave it to me as a gift.  Such a treasure!

This one is one of my favorites.

I place the cards on the table after the main meal and before dessert.  Everyone needs to digest a little, and I do not want food to get on them.  ; )  Then each person can choose one or two they like best.  This should be extra special this year since three of my four children can read now.

Thank you so much for joining me today!  The next stop on the Thanksgiving table tour is Claire Brody!  Click this link to see her post – I LOVE the modern style of her table!

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