You don’t have to spend a lot to create a beautiful tablescape! This thrifty Thanksgiving tablescape was created using mostly thrifted and gathered items.
A simple, thrifty Thanksgiving tablescape inspired by nature is what’s on the menu for Thanksgiving this year at our house. Everything on my Thanksgiving table is something that I have thrifted over the years, purchased at the dollar store, or gathered from my yard or refrigerator. The best part is that it can all be reused year round to create different seasonal tablescapes.
My Inspiration
For months, I had dreamed of collecting thrifted brown transferware dishes to use as our everyday dishes in the fall. With everything going on this year, I hadn’t been able to get out much and had only collected 3 dinner plates and one bowl. It definitely wasn’t going to be enough for our family of eight, but it was a good start to my collection.
In late October, my mom called me while we were out of town on a picking trip. She asked if I might be interested in a set of brown and white dishes she found while cleaning out my great uncle’s house. I couldn’t believe it when she sent me the pictures! It was an almost complete set of brown and white ironstone transferware! There were 16 dinner plates, several salad plates, a few soup bowls, serving ware, and 8 sets of cups and saucers! All of this time I had been trying to pull a set of mismatched dishes together, the whole set was already there all along!
My great aunt and uncle were really into nautical antiques, so it was only fitting that the pattern on this transferware, Fair Winds, is ships. How much more perfect for Thanksgiving could they be?! The inspiration for my thrifty Thanksgiving tablescape came from these brown and white ironstone transferware plates that didn’t cost me a penny.
From the bottom to the top
Now that I had a color scheme and theme for my tablescape, I worked from the bottom up. When designing any space, I like to try to balance out my mix of wood tones and light colors. Since my table is a warm wood tone, I decided to use a light, neutral table runner to brighten up the table. I chose to use vintage player piano rolls as runners because of the beautiful color and subtle texture they add. I also love that they are an unexpected choice for a table covering. They add an element of surprise, which I always find inspiring. I ran the runners across the width of the table so I could use 3 runners for more impact.
For another layer of lighter color and texture, I added this whitewashed pallet tray (that Rich made) to the center of the table. It provides a little more height to my centerpiece and brightens up the middle of the table.
The metal chargers are the only store bought pieces on this thrifty Thanksgiving table. They are actually dollar store pizza pans that I bought years ago. (You can find similar ones here.) I use them year round. I love the smooth, glossy texture they add to the table. They always contrast so nicely with the wooden tabletop.
Thrifty Cloth Napkins and Napkin Ring DIYs
The idea for these cloth napkins came to me a few years ago when we had some friends over for dinner. I was setting the table when I realized that I had forgotten to buy napkins. We were out of paper towels, so I decided to quickly make some cloth napkins. I didn’t have time to sew, so I cut some squares from the cotton drop cloth I had in my fabric stash and tossed them in the washer and dryer to give them a nice frayed edge. They’ve been my favorite cloth napkins ever since!
My daughter came up with the idea for these napkin rings. She made them by tying a piece of twine in a bow around each napkin and placing a dried orange slice on top. You can also tie the twine through the center of the orange slices if you want to make sure they stay in place.
You can find my tutorial for making dried orange slices here.
Thrifty Thanksgiving Tablescape Glasses
My first thought was to use vintage amber glass goblets for my place settings. They looked beautiful, but I only had two and I didn’t want to mix and match different colored glasses for this tablescape. Then, I remembered that I had a box of vintage quart-size wire and bail mason jars out in the shed. I love the rustic touch that the wire adds to the traditional mason jar glass. These jars will look so pretty filled with sweet tea or water.
A Natural Centerpiece
This thrifty centerpiece definitely makes a statement! Being a South Florida girl, there’s not a lot of fall foliage around to choose from when trying to bring natural elements indoors this time of year. These dried palm fronds are one of the few fall colors I could find outside in my yard.
(The only other native fall foliage I’ve used inside this season are the dried sea grape leaves I used in my handmade wreath you can see here in the background. You can find the tutorial for that wreath here.)
Making this dried palm frond arrangement for my centerpiece was simple. I cut the leaves from the stems of two palmetto palm fronds and placed them in my favorite, old galvanized bucket. That’s all there was to it! Easy peasy!!
This arrangement adds plenty of color, natural texture, and height to my tablescape. When it’s time to eat, I usually remove the centerpiece from the table and replace it with serving platters and bowls filled with all of our favorite foods.
Why choose a Thrifty Thanksgiving Tablescape?
The reason I love the idea of a thrifty tablescape this time of the year is that it’s one more way to take a step back and appreciate the beauty and the blessings that are already all around us. These lovely, brown palm branches have been in my yard in the fall for years, but I never really paid any attention to them. The gorgeous, natural coloring of dried orange slices is another example of the beauty that exists all around us.
Being able to create a beautiful tablescape with my thrifted finds always fills me with gratitude for the gift of creativity. Knowing that this table will be surrounded by the people I love gives me so much more to be thankful for. This thrifty tablescape is a visual expression of thanksgiving for the beauty of nature, God’s provision in my life, and the family that I love. I can’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year!
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How to make dried orange slices
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