I love to style my table for special occasions and holidays. I have recently been writing for the Urban Barn blog "Right at Home" as a guest contributor and my latest post is all about how to style your table for Thanksgiving. I borrowed some items from my local store and created, in my opinion, a beautiful Thanksgiving tablescape and I wanted to share it with you here on my blog.
Using basic white foundational pieces combined with some festive seasonal decor items (hello cute min-pumpkins) I created this warm but elegant Thanksgiving Table:
Let me walk you through how I did it, I promise it's not that complicated!
Gather your Dinnerware and Serving Pieces
Think about how many people you are hosting for dinner and then gather the dishes, cutlery and glassware you will need. With Thanksgiving and then the Christmas holidays creeping up quickly , now is a good time to take inventory of your serving pieces and purchase items that you need for hosting guests. I love a classic white set of dishes, because they are so versatile and go with anything. For this tablescape I chose the Savary 16-piece dish set.
Start with a Tablecloth
I used a simple white tablecloth when styling this table because I wanted it to be a neutral backdrop for the decorative elements I planned on adding.
Create a Centerpiece
A centerpiece is a really important focal point when styling your table. This is where you can get creative and add a few beautiful elements to make your table sparkle. I love to start with a floral arrangement in the center and then 2 beautiful candle holders on either side. I wanted to create a bit of height on the table so I used a tall vase and added some hydrangeas from my garden. A simple bunch of flowers from the grocery store are just as effective. I fell in love with these warm caramel candle holders while designing this particular tablescape and they were actually the jumping-off point for my color scheme.
I filled in the remaining space around these items with some faux eucalyptus stems because I love a little extra greenery. Next up, I couldn't resist some cute min-pumpkins (which I found at Walmart) and the little "thankful" sign I have had for ages. Because chocolate is always a good idea in my opinion, I added some cute Fall chocolates from Purdy's. All of these elements come together beautifully to give a festive flair and make the table feel and look "dressed up" and on point for Thanksgiving!
Place Settings
The last, and possibly most important part of creating a festive Thanksgiving table scape is to figure out how you want each individual place setting to look. This is dependent on how many dishes you are using - are you just going to be using dinner plates, or do you want to add a salad plate in there? The place setting is where you can have fun with layers, which is the secret to styling...it's allll about the layers! I created this little animation to show you how to layer your place settings piece by piece!
Start with a placemat...I used this gorgeous faux leather round placemat in a caramel color (notice it matches the candle holders).
Next up the dishes...
Then the cutlery...
Wine anyone? (add your glassware)
And last but not least, a napkin! I love the look of a cloth napkin tied in a knot...it's casual and easy to execute, no ironing necessary!
Because I had them on hand, I couldn't resist playing around with adding some chocolates to each place setting...see note above, chocolate is always a good idea!
Dinner is Served
With a few basic foundational pieces (white table linens, white dishes and glassware) a floral centerpiece, some candles and some pumpkins, you have the makings of a beautiful and elegant Thanksgiving table. If only cooking dinner was that fun and simple!
I hope I have inspired you! Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving!
Kerri