Have you heard the term “tablescape”?
I hadn’t before joining Pinterest. I wasn’t familiar with setting your table to be a decor statement as opposed to setting it for function. I didn’t know that tablescaping is a serious design element in seasonal decor.
I decided to pull up my bootstraps and learn a bit more about the art of tablescaping and set a more decorative table for our upcoming family Thanksgiving.
From what I’ve learned, you need to start with a colour scheme; a friend once told me that the key to a cohesive look is narrowing down your palette to 3 colours.
My dining room table is black and my dishes are white and gold, so the colour scheme was pretty much set for me based on what I had.
Now you’ll want to start your Fall tablescape with a runner or tablecloth. I used the scarf I got from last year’s FabFitFun box because it was the right length for my table and because it incorporated the black and an off-white in a warm Fall plaid.
Next up you want to incorporate your functional pieces like knives, forks, plates and glassware, and dress them up with a charger underneath and a neatly folded napkin and/or napkin ring.
So far, this is what I’d traditionally do for Thanksgiving anyways, so no big surprises. In the past I’d leave the centre runner free of clutter to hold hot dishes, salt, pepper, dinner rolls etc – NOT part of tablescaping.
For a decorative Fall tablescape this is where you add in your centrepiece; something large in the centre, tapering down (or up and down if you have a long table) in heights.
I brought in my DIY gold lattice tray and added a candle with a large hurricane around it.
To stagger/taper the heights in my centrepiece, I brought in two shorter candles and then back-filled the rest of the tray with some faux leaves and textural balls.
You could keep going and add some small filler bits outside of your tray – which would be beautiful – but too cluttered for my tastes.
I have seen blogs where the author used a twig wreath as the base and a large pumpkin settled into it for their Fall tablescape (it was quite pretty).
The bonus of keeping your centrepiece corralled in a decorative tray is that you can easily remove it from the table in one-fell-swoop if you do need room for serving dishes and accoutrements.
It seems strange to me right now, sitting in my office writing this, to see a fully set table in the dining room behind me. On the other hand, having a Fall tablescape makes my dining room feel so warm and welcoming.
I didn’t purchase a single thing to set my table either. I “shopped my house” to find items I thought might go and took them from other rooms.
(The lighting in my dining room is very yellow. I tried to correct the white balance in the images without losing the warmth altogether)
The only potential downside I can see to setting out a Fall tablescape any earlier than the day before you plan to use it, is that the dishes and glassware will collect some dust – and then you’ll have to wash everything before you host.
Only an issue if you hate washing dishes as much as I do.
If I were to break it down into steps:
- colour scheme 3-4 colours
- central table runner or table-cloth
- functional pieces – plates, knives, forks, glassware
- accessories for functional pieces – chargers, napkins, napkin rings, place setting markers
- large central focal point
- additional decor in staggered heights to run on either side of the central piece
- fillers – small accessories to fill in the gaps and add texture and interest
I’m not posting this as any kind of expert, just as someone that hasn’t done this before and needed a checklist to work my way through.
We’re celebrating an early Thanksgiving tomorrow, so I have to run now and learn to cook. lol
Have a great one!