Thanksgiving Tablescape…Tips for Styling & Setting a Stunning Tablescape

Yesterday was a very special day in The United States of America…a holiday aptly named “Thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving is celebrated every year in America on the fourth Thursday in November. It’s the day we set aside to thank the Lord for all He has blessed us with and brought us through in the past year…a grand day celebrated with feasting, family, and friends!

Today, I’m going to show you how I decorated our Thanksgiving table and give you some tips that will help you style your own table beautifully for any occasion.

A table runner festooned with beadwork and pumpkins is the first item I placed on the table. The runner sets the stage and was my foundation piece for the rustic elegant tablescape I had in my mind.

TIP: To begin “building” your tablescape, start with a foundation piece…a table runner…tablecloth…placemats…a centerpiece or other focal point before filling in with smaller, accent pieces or setting the table with dishes.

Three brass candlesticks, all in different heights, add glimmer and shine to the table arrangement. A gilded turkey presides over all, setting on top of a small cake stand with a branch of bittersweet twining throughout the arrangement.

TIP: Use decorations in different heights for interest and repeat the same colors throughout the tablescape. In this setting, gold coloring is repeated in the candlesticks, the pumpkins on the table runner, the gilding on the turkey, and the berry bowls.

Antique berry bowls are stacked and ready for Cranberry Apple Salad. Sweet Pilgrim salt and pepper shakers are placed around the table and are another reminder of our heritage and America’s past for this special day of thanks-giving.

The dinnerware, “The Friendly Village” by Johnson Brothers adds a nostalgic touch to each place setting with autumn leaves fringing the edges of the plates and scenes depicting “times remembered.”

Rustic napkins rings made of grapevine and trimmed with leaves and bittersweet encircle the sage green napkins and are placed on each plate.

TIP: Mix different elements in your tablescape. I’ve added brass pieces, crystal, mini grapevine napkin rings, and bittersweet. Combining natural elements with glassware, china, and crystal pieces adds variety and interest to the table. Also, notice how the golden chargers and goldware added to each place setting emphasize and tie in with the gold colors of the candlesticks, gilded turkey, berry bowls, and the salt and pepper shakers.

Expectantly waiting with candles glowing and thankful hearts. (See the tea cart in the background…Richard bought this Italian tea cart for me when we lived in Germany. ❤ It is a trolley and can be rolled anywhere and serves beautifully as a mini coffee bar, perfectly positioned between the dining table and the buffet.)

The silver loving cup is overflowing with blackberry branches in beautiful autumn hues. The Art Deco coffee service looks resplendent against the backdrop of the scarlet leaves and the inlaid wood of the tea cart and makes a decadent setting for the extra cups and saucers needed for coffee.

I come before You today
And there's just one thing that I want to say
Thank You Lord
Thank You Lord
For all you've given to me
For all the blessings I can not see
Thank You Lord 
Thank You Lord

~ Song "Thank You, Lord" by Don Moen

After setting the tablescape in the dining room, I always enjoy setting another smaller tablescape on the buffet. All the pies, cakes, cookie trays, and other yummy things are placed here. Using the buffet in this way frees up more counter room in the kitchen and I love the cozy look of this little dessert and coffee nook where everyone serves themselves after dinner.

To protect the top of the buffet, I spread out a table runner in vivid autumn colors and placed cranberry tapers in the crystal candlesticks. The sweet candelabra to the left added the perfect warm glow and the jeweled colored votive cups matched the colors in the table runner perfectly!

TIP: Repeat the same colors throughout the tablescape for unity.

A crystal biscuit barrel, candlesticks, and pumpkins tucked here and there add whimsy and glimmer to the setting. I love how this silverware looks all bunched in this crystal champagne bucket and think it adds whimsy and cottage charm to the elegant setting.

TIP: Add unexpected touches to your tablescapes for interest and intrigue. For example…I tucked this miniature pumpkin in an ornate silver bowl, stacked silverware unceremoniously in a crystal champagne bucket, and perched our dessert plates and napkins in a silver champagne bucket.

More pumpkins, crystal, and candle glow.

TIP: Place candlelight, IN ALL FORMS, throughout your tablescape, for interest. I used different candlesticks with tapers…scattered votive cups throughout the tablescape…have a candelabra…and placed a glowing pumpkin luminary on the cake plate.

Turkey paper plates and napkins look extra cute, tucked in an antique silver champagne bucket.

TIP: Display items in unusual ways. On the buffet I used both of my champagne buckets in unusual ways: the crystal bucket is filled with silverware…the silver champagne bucket holds seasonal paper plates and napkins for the dessert bar, and a cake plate holds extra paper napkins under a pumpkin luminary. On the dining table I used an inverted cake plate as a pedestal for the gilded turkey and twined bittersweet among the candlesticks.

I love designing tablescapes and hope these tips will inspire and give you confidence in decorating your own tables, for all those special occasions in your lives!

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits.” Psalms 68:19

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda