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Wouldn’t this be a great time to escape to the French countryside? I’m picturing a little stone cottage with wooden shutters, glowing light shining warmly through diamond paned leaded windows, and covered in climbing vines. I love the relaxed, warm elegance of French Provincial decor. And I’m a little obsessed with the set designs of the lastest live action ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Disney films. 🙂 which both feature stunning Old World interiors.
If you want to add a little provincial charm to your space, I have some great finds for you! This is an excellent look if you’re already starting with some natural rustic elements in your interior, such as a big stone fireplace, exposed beams, or plaster walls. If you’re going for a French country look, consider using a muted yellow-gold, gray, gray-blue, or muted sage on the walls. Adding gorgeous toiles on pillows, curtains, or wallpaper is also a surefire way to bring in some Old Country charm.
Other great looks for your Provincial space include whitewashed and weathered wood, comfy upholstered furniture, dried flowers and herbs, traditional candlesticks, and gleaming chandeliers.
I don’t know about you, but I love Thanksgiving! The traditional recipes (in our house, that’s turkey, mashed potatoes, baked yams, juicy stuffing, and something we call seafoam salad, made from pears, jello, and cream cheese–trust me it’s delicious), the family, and of course giving thanks for all of our many blessings.
In the last few years, I have taken over hosting from my mother-in-law, which has actually been a lot of fun. I relish all the planning, and especially decorating the table creatively with a unique tablescape every year. This year, I’m not sure how many of us will be together because of the pandemic, but I’m still planning and we will definitely still be as thankful as always and celebrate as much as possible under the circumstances.
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I have a gorgeous quilted table runner made for me by my mother in law from beautiful Mode Rue 1800 fabrics that will set the theme for my table this year. From there, I’m going with a shabby chic farmhouse feel combining soft colors and various textures. Here are a few of my favorite ideas for a shabby chic holiday table.
Start with a subtle color scheme. My table runner is a blend of shell pink, taupe, ivory, and subdued sage green. While not traditional for a fall tablescape, the light colors shine in farmhouse decor.
Let your tabletop become part of your decor. We have a big distressed oak table that can seat a crowd. I like the look of the wood, so I often use seasonal and decorative placemats instead of a tablecloth that would completely cover the surface. As an added benefit, placemats make for easy cleanup.
Layer elements at each place setting. I love to use a few layers of decoration at each place. I have combined solid woven placemats with copper and silver cut-out maple placemats. I also love to mix up a couple of napkin patterns. Here, each guest has a metallic polka-dot napkin and a traditional turkey napkin.
Use pastel floral china for a shabby chic feel. I love the light pink florals with my other colors. Pink and Thanksgiving are not two words you would normally associate, but I love the combination this year!
Find a versatile Thanksgiving decorating piece. I love my white gilded turkey. My little gobbler goes with everything. No matter where I place him, he’s always at home. I remember the day my son with special needs picked this out at Home Goods (and he rarely wants anything from stores) and now I’m so glad he asked for it!
Bring in some natural elements. I love using twig spheres, cotton, pine cones, small pumpkins, and gourds on the table. They definitely remind us of the season we’re celebrating.
Add a showstopper centerpiece to the table. A gorgeous display of blooms at the center of your table will be the crowning touch to a beautiful table. Here I have used large floral orbs you can make yourself (see post here) as a focal point for my centerpieces.
Break out the good stuff. In our home, we have a ton of items that are especially for the holidays. For example, it’s our tradition to use stemware on holidays but it stays in the sideboard for the rest of the year. Everyone looks forward to seeing those special items each year, and I’m so glad we started these traditions many years ago. Crystal candleholders are another item we love for a holiday table setting.
Add some mixed metallic details. I love the look of the copper and silver leaves, rose gold orbs, gold-rimmed china, and gilded turkey all together on one table.
I hope you find a few ideas here as you begin your Thanksgiving preparations! If you are interested in creating a similar look, please see my Shop the Look on Amazon! Contains affiliate links; thanks so much for supporting my blog. 🙂
Click links below for details on my Thanksgiving table picks. 🙂
Make a charming little hanging planter from a vintage teacup
Oh, vintage teacups! I can never resist them! My mom had a collection of pretty, old teacups on shelves in our dining room, and to me they were like a colorful flower garden at every mealtime. Yellow roses, delicate lily of the valley, and red holly berries joined in a kaleidoscope of cheer.
To this day I love old dishes and am always trying to find a use for them. Today I’m making a vintage teacup into a cute hanging planter. I think a whole group of these planted with succulents or trailing greenery would be spectacular at an event like a bridal shower, wedding, or themed birthday. This little treasure could also hold goodies for your backyard birds!
To make a teacup hanging planter, you will need:
Vintage teacup
Plant hanging kit (chains, S hook) sold in a package in hardware for about $3
Thoroughly clean the bottom of the cup and the top of the saucer
Glue the two pieces together using clear gorilla glue
Put the pieces between wood or two books and clamp to dry glue
Thoroughly clean the bottom of the saucer and glue the chain to the bottom. Put the glue in the saucer groove and place the chain so each chain will be at the one third mark of the saucer.
Use small clamps to hold the chain in place
Put a dab of glue on the saucer where you want the chain to hold the side of the saucer
If you want beads hanging from the bottom of your planter, Put your beads on a short length of wire. String the beads to the center and put a twist in the wire to hold the beads in the right place, the center of the bottom of the cup. Attach the wire to the cup by threading it through the chain and bending it in place.
I hope you enjoy making one of these as much as I did! It was a fun little project!
Blue Willow Lane 