Thanksgiving Tablescape 2010

Not sure what it is about this year, but I am just thrilled that the holidays have arrived.  Perhaps because it’s been a year of bad news, cutbacks, and tough decisions now I just want to focus on creating happiness and coziness, and enjoying the (still so many) good things in my life.   Let the holiday table-scaping begin!

I’ve compiled some tips for creating a little Thanksgiving ‘set drama’ and also pulled up some photos for inspiration.

• Have fun with it. Your tablescape only lasts a few hours!  This is not the element to spend more than an hour crafting.  Save some creative energy for the cooking!
• Take advantage of the season.  Use seasonal foods like pumpkins, squash, gourds, fall leaves, pinecones, acorns, eucalyptus nuts, etc to bring the outdoors in.
• Pull out those special occasion bowls, plates, glasses, and silverware –if not now, when?!  Thanksgiving is a time for being grateful for all our blessings, including our material ones.
• Don’t worry about trying to create a photo-perfect tablescape.  Character is born in imperfection.
• Keep in mind your guest’s comfort and try to include details that will welcome and delight them.

What I like about the place setting below:

• The somewhat unusual gold silverware.  It's a bit 80's, and a bit 'Babylonian'.
• The mix of patterns, which is tied together by a common black & white scheme.
• The simple plates and bowls paired with the extra-fancy silverware.
• The salt and pepper cellars –traditional and personal. 

http://www.casasugar.com/Thanksgiving-Tablescapes-6276871?more=true

What I like about the tablescape below:

• The collection of pewter or silverplated teapots, candlesticks, bowls, and pitchers.  Few things say Colonial America to me like a great pewter pitcher.  I like how that representation reminds me of how the Thanksgiving tradition began.
• The use of seasonal berries and leaves to echo the warm reds, yellows, and oranges of the tablecloth and charger plates.
• The white taper candles.  White candles are eternally chic and offer a nice foil to all that color on the rest of the table.  They are also usually scentless and so don't compete with the aromas of that feast you slaved to create!

http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/thanksgiving-table-5-de.jpg

Things I like about the tablescape below:

• I love how the orange hanging lanterns recall pumpkins.  Floating pumpkins!  The whimsy is charming.
• The rustic natural white tablecloth (an antique grain sack cloth perhaps?) paired with the rustic, natural finish table.  Simple.  Comfortable. Accessible.  Your guests will thank you.
• The cozy plaid blankets on the backs of the chairs.  Ahhhh.  Not only do they invoke the romance of an outdoor meal, but they also suggest that you curl up for a nap after dinner. 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1ptaVdNB97zlGlyzrlfUEcH9ogHs700sVqOSj84QR-XaJ_93f0d1V5BqBYZMDO2-m4AcX1O2s8jcEFPgG-ZJ7t81Pr7XBc31hQuKmIEt46JqBlffuTLTfsckKwFY1gFJyCfpKVQp9g4/s400/tablescape_thanksgiving+outside+paper+lanterns+orange+pumpkins_James+Carriere+Photography.png

And now something of my own… Below is a photo from our Thanksgiving tablescape from last year at Lake Tahoe –before we got the food on the table.  It was better looking with the feast spread out and our friend’s smiling faces around the table, but you get the idea.  

Happy table-scaping and a very Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Love,

Lauren