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Thanksgiving Tablescape

Thanksgiving Tablescape

Are you starting to think about your Thanksgiving yet? Psst…It’s just around the corner. Perhaps you have ordered your turkey and have thought ahead to your menu, but what about your table setting? We have come up with a couple of  ideas that may make you want to change up your table setting this year.

We decided to see if we could do an inexpensive approach to decorating a Thanksgiving table this year. We still just love the rustic look so we tried two variations on the rustic theme. However, this year we paired it with all white, which makes for a stunning contrast and really makes a setting looks more expensive than it may be. The white ceramic pieces are from Jai Style.

We started off with a piece of linen from the fabric store. Tina had had this for years in her pile of “going to make something with this” one day. We finally found a great use for it! Fabric is usually 54” wide so it could work well for a long rectangle table. The table we used was 38” wide so the overhang on each side was 8”. This amount works well as it is not pooling on people’s laps when they sit. Using a piece of linen from the fabric store also means two of the edges will be finished by the salvage edge so all you need to do is a couple of easy seams for the length of the fabric . Easy peasy!

Next up was a visit to Michaels’ where we found a long burlap runner for $20. We had a coupon so it only ended up costing about $12! We put it down the centre of the table on top of the linen. We also had an old piece of barn board that Tina’s husband salvaged from an alley (true story!) so we had two different “runners” to choose from.

I had gone to a local fruit and veggie market and found some small gourds and grey and white pumpkins (my fave) so we used those down the runner and they looked great!! Again, not an expensive decoration. We love using natural elements in our decorating. Flowers always add so much to any table setting but sometimes it’s fun to think outside the box and try something different.

The next thing we did was raid our own cabinets. Tina had a set of plates and glasses from Ikea that she uses as extras when she has a party. They actually worked really well. They are not high end but when you put it all together it really works! Then we added some plain cotton white napkins with a natural jute napkin ring. To elevate them we used a sprig from a silk flower stem we purchased ON SALE at Michaels.

We added a couple of vintage glass decanters we found at a second hand store, which looked so good with the very simple glasses from Ikea.

The only more pricey item we added was silverware. I used my sterling silverware and it looked beautiful with all the other simple elements.

Often the juxtaposition between rustic and simple with something more decorated or elegant can be really interesting and special. If everything had been rustic or everything had been elegant we don’t think the tablescape would have been as interesting. Remember that elegant doesn’t necessarily mean more money! Think about adding richness to your table setting. Richness does not mean more money, it means richness of colour, textures and complexities.

We think the table turned out pretty darn well! I love the idea of using what you have, add a few inexpensive touches and voila! you can have a lovely and interesting table.

So… how are you going to decorate your table this Thanksgiving? We’d love to see some pics! Send them our way so we can post them!