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Hello friend, Thanksgiving is creeping up on us, and it will be here before we know it! This is one holiday celebration that I love to embrace and celebrate every year and I love creating a beautiful Thanksgiving table! This year, I'm enjoying how the mixed metals look with some natural foraged finds from our yard.

Now I'm not gonna lie...there will be Christmas decor going up very soon over here, but our family has always celebrated Thanksgiving and I think it deserves its place because it is so important to celebrate our blessings, don't you agree?

My Thanksgiving table came together very quickly because I just changed a few things from how I had it decorated for Fall. Normally I completely strip the table down and start over, but I really loved my Fall dining table decor this year (see it here), so decided to just add a few things to it for Thanksgiving.

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I was inspired to add some natural elements to our Thanksgiving dining table after I created a foraged Fall vignette on the side table I recently added to the room (after I restyled this space for $0).

Fall here in Texas isn't really characterized by leaves changing color...it's more like they die and then fall. We have self pruning trees in our backyard and they drop whole branches! It can be a little startling when they land on the roof! 😲

I used some of those branches and other elements from nature to decorate my side table, and carried some over to the dining table. I'm learning that brown can be beautiful, LOL!

My tablescapes follow some of the same simple rules each time I decorate. And when I say RULES, I don't mean that I don't feel the creative freedom to break any of them at any time 😃 I'm a true believe in decorating how you feel inspired! However, these are some things I find myself repeating because they just work.

I find that if I just place stuff on the bare table, it lacks depth and things don't seem to relate as well to each other.

I always start with some kind of foundation, whether that's a table runner (see my striped one here), or a large bread board or even just a pretty piece of fabric like I did on my table last Christmas (see that here). The table just looks more put together when it has a foundation! Plus, I'm honestly not a huge fan of the color of our dining table top, so I like to cover some of it up, LOL!

Growing up, my mom used placemats at every meal. My job was to shake out the crumbs and replace them after we ate. I think the grown up version of a placemat is a charger. A charger grounds each place setting and gives it more ommph. Does that make sense? It also serves a function by protecting your tabletop from a hot plate!

You can find chargers at the dollar store and paint them or decoupage them to match your decor for very little! I love personalizing them. You can see the blue and white floral chargers I made in the Spring here.

I like to add a napkin (love these Thanksgiving fabric ones) and then my dinner plate, salad plate and some kind of decorative element on the top. You can't go wrong with a great set of white dishes!

For my Thanksgiving table, I wrapped the silverware in some pretty moss green velvet ribbon (similar here) and included a maple leaf place card. I'll be sharing the easy tutorial for the DIY place cards in a couple days.

I also added a dried lemon slice and what looks like a tiny pumpkin (anyone know what this fruit it? I was thinking kumquat or quince, but a Google search didn't agree with me!) to the opposite side of the charger for some additional natural color. These came from a mixed bag of decorative dried fruit I found at HomeGoods last year! You can find dried orange slices here if you don't want to go to the trouble of drying them youself.

Creative Idea: Click here to watch my video for easy fabric napkin roses!

There are no hard or fast rules to apply here, although I do like to keep the centerpiece low so as not to impede conversation. If the centerpiece can be easily moved off the table, then I might go taller, but normally I try to keep it fairly low.

I used a raw wood charger to elevate my centerpiece which consists of a large vintage copper flour canister filled with dahlias and dried leaves. Then I couldn't resist adding this gorgeous silver footed bowl that I scored at the thrift store for $1!!!!!! Nobody wanted it because of the tarnish, but I fell in love with that beautiful patina! I can't wait to decorate with it this Christmas!

I piled the silver bowl full of white pumpkins with a little greenery and a couple of dollar store copper pumpkins for a little pop of color.

I added an ironstone bowl with a metallic pumpkin, a silver creamer with toothpicks and a mercury glass votive on the other side of the table to give it a little balance. You can see that I even used the lid of the copper canister as a decorative element! These were all thrifted pieces that I've found over the years! I love mixing metals for a collected and unique look!

I'm someone who really prefers a more carefree table than one that is totally structured and achieves perfect symmetry! If you know what you like, then you can play around with different looks until something resonates with you.

Meals should be fun and enjoyable, and it's always nice to add a little something fun and unexpected to the table decor as well!

For my Thanksgiving table, each place setting got a vintage teacup and saucer, with a tiny white pumpkin inside. I found these vintage pieces at the thrift store, and loved the colors that are so perfect for Fall. 

Are we diehard tea drinkers? Not really (at least not hot tea). But how fun would it be to serve an appetizer or salad (or even dessert) in these pretty tea cups? So fun, right?

What is something you could add to your Thanksgiving table this year that is a little unexpected and fun? Maybe you set the table with brown kraft paper and include a Sharpie at each place setting so everyone can doodle and write down what they're thankful for! You get the idea...think outside the box!

A few weeks ago when Hurricane Nicholas blew through town, it took down a lot of our tree branches.

While we were cleaning up the yard, I decided to enlist Mr DIY's help to cut some of them down for candleholders. I held the branch while he chopped them into pieces, and then he drilled a hole to fit a taper candle. I love how these rustic pieces look with all the metallics. The branches were FREE and they added some gorgeous Fall texture to our table!

What do you have in your backyard that you could use? Maybe acorns or pinecones or bittersweet branches. If you do bring something from the outside in to use on your table, be sure to treat for critters first. The easiest way to do this is to simply seal your items in a zipper plastic bag and stick in the freezer for awhile! 

If I've inspired you in some way today, please let me know! I love hearing from you and your comments keep me motivated to continue bringing you inspiring decor ideas and DIYs!

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