Dining in Delight

Do you have all the final details figured out, your guestlist finalized, and the menu set? Which, by the way, if you are still working on that, we wrote a few fun things about it here. Also, don’t forget to look at all of our sides & appetizers to fill in where needed. Some of our personal favorites are the Ciabatta Bread Stuffing and the Scalloped Sweet Potatoes.

Now on to what we really wanted to talk to you about: décor. This is a special time of year for most of us. While decorating for fall and this cozy holiday season is probably one of your favorite things to do, it might have never crossed your mind to create a beautiful dining room tablescape for your family and friends to gather around. While this may sound a little daunting, we promise, it’s actually super easy and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

When you’re decorating your table, think about three main ideas: your color pallet, contrasting elements, and layers. First think about your color pallet – we chose to use white and wood tones to create a simple take on a classic look. Next, be sure to incorporate contrast. Putting a white plate on a wooden charger helps the plate pop and stand out from the table. When we talk about layers, think table runner or tablecloth, chargers, and linen napkins. These all add texture, color, and dimension to your table.

A great way to save money and get great decorative pieces is to ask around. A lot of what we decorated with was from family and friends. (Okay, mostly just grandma’s house, she had the best stuff.) But like we said, ask around. You only need a few charming or unique pieces to really set the stage.

We started with a runner made from cheese cloth we picked up on our last grocery run. Unfolding the fabric and pulling it apart until it was one layer gave us plenty of material to work with to create a pretty, textured look down the center of our table.

Next we move to the centerpiece. Sticking to our simple pallet, we picked up small white pumpkins, gourds, and squash at the grocery store. Layering those on an old cake pedestal and some antique books gave the table a classic and elegant vibe. We also grabbed some small glass bud vases, filled them with water and put a few rosemary sprigs in them to add color, texture, and a yummy holiday smell to the table. We finished the look with white candles and brass candleholders.

For each place setting we stacked three different-sized plates on a pretty wooden charger and topped each with a linen napkin and name tag. We chose to style each napkin differently to go with the mismatched wine glasses. Pro-tip: if you don’t have enough of the same style wine glass for each place setting, stagger what you do have around the whole table. It’s charming and adding the different napkins ties the look together. For the name tags, we used old gift tags and some leftover herbs to create these little beauties. Not gonna lie, we thought the hardest part of this whole project was writing everyone’s name in pretty cursive. Don’t worry, if you don’t have good handwriting or you don’t even want to find out if you do, you could always get yourself a set of stamps. Your local craft store probably has a few versions of the alphabet in different pretty fonts.

We hope this helped get your creative juices flowing and that you have so much fun designing the perfect space for your special people to gather and enjoy each other’s company. Happy Thanksgiving!