a different take on thanksgiving colors

Who says Thanksgiving décor has to be all earth tones?

Those muted fall tones usually are my go to for autumn, but today I thought I’d put together a few more colorful ideas for the Thanksgiving dinner table.

How about a little coastal charm added to Thanksgiving?

Beautiful blue and white transferware can be

quite adaptable, especially if it has a hint of fall pattern to it,

that’s why I chose these blue and white salad plates

with the wonderful fruit harvest design.

When I spotted these pretty Passaro

earthenware plates with the cute little bird on them,

I immediately thought of Thanksgiving.

The bright earthy hues of these Portuguese patterned plates are the perfect inspiration piece for the table, and they work beautifully with other accessories

in green or blue. 

This turned out to be a whimsical table setting idea

 that would be great for whole table or

as an extra special fancy kids’ table setting.  

To add more earthiness to this look,

it’s important to add lots of different textures.

It helps to keep the whole vibe more interesting,

and looks less planned and more “curated”.

Do you remember the light blue toile fabric

I showed you earlier in the week?

I found a bolt of about 3 yards at my favorite

local thrift store and thought it would be perfect to use

for my Thanksgiving table.

These little twig wreaths compliment

the brown in the fabric perfectly.

All I did to make these little embellished wreaths

was to add two tiny sprigs of rosemary, from the garden of course,

and the “Be Thankful” silver charms from last year’s tablescape.

Which one do you like best?

ciao! fabiana

Blue and white Tablescape details:

Blue and white Italian plates: vintage

White Plates

Blue Gingham Napkins 

Shell Embellished Placemats

Raffia Table Runner

Bamboo Silverware

Blue Glasses: vintage Avon found on Ebay

Green Tablescape details:

Passaro Bird Plates

Amber Portuguese Plates

Wood Acacia Charger

Woven Placemat

Hammered Silverware

Amber Glassware

Squirrel Place Card Holders

Linen Napkins
Unfinished Wood Slice

Be Thankful Tablescape details:

Gold-Trimmed Salad Plate: vintage Wedgwood

Dinner Plate: vintage Wedgwood

Wood Acacia Charger

Wood-Handled Flatware

Small Twig Wreaths

Pheasant Feathers

Be Thankful Charms

Wine Glass
Mini White Pumpkins

monday morning and a fall preview

Happy Monday! 

Returning home after being away for two weeks has given me a new perspective on my home, so this morning I decided to rearrange a few things. It’s pretty typical for me anyways to be reshuffling things around the house, and today, I tackled my family room mantel.

This portrait of my husband's great grandmother is one of our most treasured possessions. Today I decided to put her up front and center above our family room mantel surrounded by some other little vintage goodies I've found recently at a few flea markets and estate sales. The beachy white lantern is from Home Goods.

I know it's still summer, but we're already starting to see fall decor magazines rearing their pretty little covers all over the supermarkets and book stores. In addition to magazines, websites are also starting to feature autumn décor.  

My alfresco Thanksgiving tablescape is currently being featured online at Romantic Homes. It was such a fun table to set and best of all, it would be easy it is to recreate this look indoors or out! You can read all about how I put this table together at RomanticHomes.com. 

I’m also thrilled to share that a couple of my photos are appearing in the latest issue of Country Sampler Autumn Decorating.

You may remember the centerpiece from my table last year that featured a wooden crate filled with white pumpkins, soft green moss and dusty miller plants. 

You can spot these little white gems on a couple of pages in this fall issue. I’m truly honored to be included in this amazing magazine that’s filled with tons of pretty autumn décor ideas!

Also included is my recipe for instantly aging this wooden planter to a soft grey tone. No nasty chemicals used here!

Country Sampler also included my “Be Thankful” tablescape from last Thanksgiving. I nearly fell over when I saw that it was featured on a full page! 

Country Sampler Autumn Decorating will be on newsstands starting on August 21. You’ll love the fall home tours, fun pumpkin ideas and cozy ideas for back to school.  

This place setting idea is a snap to put together, and if you’re interested in recreating this Thanksgiving tablescape for your own home, the same Be Thankful charms and mini grapevine wreaths that I used are available on Amazon. Please see the links below. 

 ciao! fabiana

rustic chic thanksgiving tablescape

My thanksgiving table came together as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! Five inspiring items created my dream tablescape for this Thanksgiving. It all started when I spotted these Burlap Charger Plates (3). I knew they’d set the perfect tone for a rustic but chic dinner table. 

And I couldn’t resist the beautiful Thanksgiving Silver Charms (4) that I wrap around each napkin. They read “Be Thankful” and add an elegant touch to the place setting. Gorgeous Pheasant Feathers (5) add an organic look and I love their leopard type pattern! I just slipped those in under the silver charm for a beautiful juxtaposition of textures. 

A set of Silver Lanterns (1) add height, drama, and ambiance to the table, while the Orange Glass Votives (2) add color and fun to the whole look. 

To unify the whole tablescape, I nestled a few olive branches around the center of the table. I just clipped those from my yard. I bought a few fragrant round-leafed eucalyptus branches at our local flower store and my neighbor Susan let me take some of her yummy kumquats to finish off the look around all the candlelight.

 I love how it all turned out and this whole look was very budget friendly! 

The fragrance of the fresh greens and citrus is amazing!

I used vintage ivory Wedgwood china and heirloom flatware.

Just a hint of orange is perfect!

Two burlap runners laid across the table add more texture.

The kumquats add a festive touch. 

These "Be Thankful" charms are my new Thanksgiving

 heirlooms and I'll use every year from now on!

The burlap on burlap look works.

A table always needs a little fresh accent or two.

I love the effect when the candles are lit!  

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

thanksgiving prep: turkey plates

With less than ten days until the big day, the countdown for Thanksgiving really begins today. While I tend to set several Thanksgiving inspired tables during the month of November, I always hone in on my favorite aspects of each table and use those favorite elements for the final reveal on Thanksgiving day.

Turkey plates are one of my favorite ways to add that special vintage Thanksgiving look to a table, and I collect them all year long. If I spot them for a dollar each at flea market in March, I’m sure to jump at the chance of adding to my collection.

Starting in September or October, Home Goods carries pretty ones for only about $4-5 each. I tend to collect the salad plates which always look pretty layered on a solid white or cream colored dinner plate.    

Here are a few of my favorites…

Turkey Plate by Royal Stafford

Turkey Plate by Maxcera

Turkey Plate by The Victorian English Pottery

Turkey Plate by 222 Fifth

His Majesty by Johnson Bros.

I don’t stop at just collecting turkey plates for Thanksgiving. Brown and white transferware is also pretty this time of year, and layers wonderfully with the little turkeys. I especially love the transferware patterns with hand-colored fruit designs.

And I go gaga for anything Wedgwood.

Drury Lane by Wedgwood

Harvest Time by Johnson Bros.

Beatrice by Wedgwood

Royal Staffordshire Windsong Ironstone by J. & G. Meakin

These brown and white English plates with the swirly floral design was found recently at the Long Beach Flea Market, and yes, these were only a dollar each as well.

You can see I’m playing around with a new Thanksgiving tablescape using those Royal Staffordshire plates and a pretty little thing I picked up in Geneva…

an April Cornell table square that looks beautiful when place diagonally across the table, and look at how perfectly these two patterns compliment each other!

I actually found this cute tablecloth at The Little Traveler, and I love that it has adorable brown tassels on each corner. The amber glassware will add just the right touch of sparkle to this look.

ciao! fabiana

for lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

falling for fall

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Fall really is my favorite time of year! I don’t know what it is. Maybe it has to do with the start of all the holidays coming up, like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It really gets me in a festive mood just thinking about it!

We had some pretty warm weather this past weekend, but that’s expected of October here in Southern California. Maybe the heat only helps the intensity of the colors of the fall leaves… I hope so! 

Pottery Barn tablescape

Last week I stopped in at Pottery Barn, and there were no signs of the Monique Lhuillier tableware yet, but they do have several pretty Thanksgiving tables set. It’s always fun to see what their inspiration is from year to year. 

Williams-Sonoma tablescape

Williams-Sonoma drew me in with the smell of their mulled apple cider that I could smell from across the way at Pottery Barn. They were serving that and some fresh pumpkin bread, mmmmm how can you not be in the mood for Fall with those aromas?    

table by Carolyn Zakryk Elegant Details

Look what I found on pinterest... a tablescape inspired by the “Be Thankful” Thanksgiving table I did last year for Oriental Trading. 

table by Carolyn Zakryk Elegant Details

Notice the same crossed pheasant feathers and the “Be Thankful” silver charm? It’s so nice when we can inspire each other. 

table by Carolyn Zakryk Elegant Details

I love these festive turkey plates!

table by Carolyn Zakryk Elegant Details

And the use of color in the centerpiece is beautiful.

table by La Dolfina

I think I was originally inspired for my “Be Thankful” tablescape by this one by La Dolfina. I love how she uses deep, rich shades of brown and then surprises us with the lovely pop of blue in the glassware.  

My husband’s cousin Lee created this lovely centerpiece in her Nashville home. It reminds me of my white pumpkin and Dusty Miller arrangement in a wooden flower box. Lee has such all-around great taste. She also has a line of yummy pickles and my favorite red pepper jelly created from special family recipes, called Oakley’s Southern Delights!

Making a trip to the pumpkin patch has been a family tradition for us for a long time, and Tanaka Farms in Irvine is the best one I’ve ever been to. They actually grow tons and tons of pumpkins here, in addition to lots of other fruits and veggies. Look at all these beautiful pumpkins! 

It’s so cute that they feature all the Hello Kitty characters here and there are lots of beautiful spots for photo ops. 

“Oh, hi there, cutie!” 

I can’t help being inspired by this season with all these wonderful things around me. Thanks for letting me share them with all of you!

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

first photo credit: Traditional Home