A Traditional Thanksgiving Table

At Thanksgiving time, I find myself longing for tradition and a feeling of home and sense of place. It is truly my favorite holiday. I look forward to our grown children and grandchildren coming home and I want them to have warm, happy memories like I do.

So for Thanksgiving, I wanted the table to be very traditional, but with a hint of the unexpected.

I had originally planned to use the new grain sack table runner with the caramel stripe, but it just wasn't working for me. I really wanted a richer palette for the table...

Last night, after realizing the runner was a no go, I panicked for five minutes, then poured myself a glass of wine and started pulling linens out of drawers!

I found this paisley tablecloth from Pottery Barn, purchased two years ago. The right side of it is quite red, so I flipped it over and found the wrong side to be perfect with the muddy taupes and autumnal reds.

Suddenly, everything started falling into place. The colors of the tablecloth worked great with the plates and centerpiece.

I ended up mixing the old Johnson Brothers Windsor Ware plates with the new Johnson Brothers turkey plates as many of you suggested. They actually work quite well together.

The chargers are brown leather with a fleur de lys pattern. The table was beginning to come together the way I had always envisioned it to be!

Deer horn knives mix nicely with my wedding and vintage silver plate.

I made the centerpiece this morning with leftover sunflowers from our dinner party last weekend and a few bunches of mums and greens from the grocery store. The smell of the eucalyptus is wonderful!

The inspiration for the table's color palette was the Japanese Maple outside the dining room window. It's ablaze in autumn reds!

My goal all along was to create a traditional Thanksgiving table of warmth and abundance with all the colors of the season, evoking a feeling of comfort and love. I had a "Norman Rockwell" picture in my head!

Playing Peeping Tom again, looking through the same window from the outside; I love how the colors of the tree are reflected.

Dexter is wondering what in the world I'm doing!

Back inside, the morning light is making for some great photo opportunities.

At first, I was a little disappointed the caramel stripe runner didn't work, but this wool paisley tablecloth provided the look I was going for all along.

It looks better in the kitchen, don't you think?

I'm joining Susan's tablescape party at Between Naps On The Porch.

Tablescape Thursday should be amazing this week with all the Thanksgiving tables.

Be sure to check it out in between cooking and cleaning in the next couple of days!

Happy Thanksgiving!