A Modern & Rustic Thanksgiving Tablescape

Decorating for the holidays is always a favorite past time of mine. I was delighted when a friend asked if I could help her with her thanksgiving spread for her family. She said that she wanted a classic theme with a touch a modern and all for a reasonable price. I love getting the opportunity to bring design to others and seeing the joy that it brings. For this particular job, I started with the plate as my main piece that I would design around. I found a collection of plates from goodwill that were a steal at only $1.99 each. Although it wasn’t a full set of eight, only having seven, it still was a perfect find.

Next up was using the classic pieces of pumpkins, gourds, and squashes that would add a perfect amount of color to the table. With these, I was able to pull from her own collection that she had gotten at the pumpkin patch but to supplement and to have some pack-up, I ordered an inexpensive package of fake gourds and leaves. Pine cones are not only great for thanksgiving but can move into winter decor as well. These can be found on hikes and sanitized when brought back into the house or you can simply go to the dollar store and buy a package or two of them. Since I opted for the dollar store version this year, I was also able to pick up some gold placemats that would match the edges of the white plates perfectly.

Finally, I ended up at target to get white cloth napkins from one of my favorite lines: Hearth & Hand™. This line is an affordable way to get the Magnolia style that fans of the TV show Fixer Upper have come to love. I was also able to find a beautifully texted woven placemat that would be the perfect contrast against the gold placement and white plate. Adding layers of texture, pattern, and color into your spread is an easy way to achieve a luxury feeling.

Classicly Simple Approach

In my first attempt at the design, I went with a simple approach that was warm but subtle. The centerpiece of the table did most of the talking and they layered table settings provided that elegant feeling she was after. I added some string lights into the mix to give it a bit of a sparkle. While she was a fan of this, she had one more request: add a little bit of spice.

With new directions, I knew that I didn’t need to go crazy with “adding a bit of spice” but I knew that I needed to bring in some more earth tones to move away from the classical feeling was presented in option one. So I opted to get a tablecloth that would bring more warmth, a simple painters drop-cloth would do the trick (P.S. these also make fantastic curtains). With the addition of the table cloth, I felt that the original woven placemats got lost, so I switched them with a more affordable white/gold woven placemat, only costing $12 for eight of them.

Additionally, I swapped the white napkins for a green cloth as well as adding a sheer green runner down the center of the table. Bunching the runner up a bit and giving it a little bit of dimension allowed it to fill some gaps between the decorations rather than just laying it flat. I was able to find a cute set of wooden homes from the Target $5 and under section at the front of the store. These were the perfect addition on so many levels; first, adding that wood texture into the mix, second, it just felt so fitting with everything that has happened this year with the pandemic.

Designing On a Budget

The final result was a hit and for a table setting of 8 the total cost of this project was only $10.62 per setting!

$14 - plates

$20 - placemats

$15 - table cloth

$20 - table runner & cloth napkins

$11 - pinecones, fake gourds, fake leaves

$5 - little wooden houses

TOTAL: $85