Interior Design Decor to Bring your Family Together for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and you know what that means – it's time for gratitude, reflection, and most importantly, gathering with loved ones! While the focus of the holiday is on the delicious food and cherished moments shared with family and friends, the ambiance created by your interior design can significantly enhance the overall experience. In this blog post, we'll share our expert designer tips to use creatively interior decor to bring your family together for Thanksgiving. As Elle Decor reminds us, Thanksgiving decor doesn’t have to be all browns, oranges, and golds. This joyful family holiday is a good opportunity to get creative so let’s spice things up a bit!

Now, we get it – you've got a lot on your plate (literally) with planning that delicious feast, coordinating travel plans, and navigating with family dynamics. So we’re here to make the decorating part as fun and easy as possible. We've thoughtfully included links to some of our favorite holiday decor items so you can craft an elevated holiday ambiance within the walls of your own home. We want you to get much more than just aesthetic inspiration from these affiliate links. When your well-appointed holiday haven warmly welcomes your family's gathering, the small commission we receive (at no additional cost to you) is a gesture of shared joy in celebrating this special season.

1. Stay Light and Bright

One of the most common home design elements that clients ask for is a “light and airy” vibe. Bring this trend into your thanksgiving decor by brightening your color pallet from a deeper orange to include peach, blush, and a heavy dose of white. It's like a breath of fresh air for your decor! Check out these subtly tinted glasses for a classy touch. This elevated look feels feminine and welcoming.

2. Make it Moody

Feeling a bit adventurous? Let's go moody this Thanksgiving! Start with a darker tablecloth like this grey linen one and layer in some dark flatware or candle sticks. We love the way light oranges, peach, or ochre are set off in contrast to the dark backdrop.

3. Bring in Floral Patterns

Granny-chic floral prints are all the rage and we’re loving this nostalgic trend! Layer your place settings with a variety of charming floral napkins (we love both these and these together as shown in the photo below) to bring the perfect cozy warmth to your fall-themed thanksgiving table. Complete the look with these sunflower napkin holders. Blooms all around!

4. Feel the Fuschia

Magenta, purple, hot pink – yes, please! In the wake of the Barbie movie, these saturated tones will give your holiday table the perfect pop this season. These khaki linen napkins with hot pink scalloped trim are the perfect addition to a fun holiday dinner table.

5. Stand out with Unique Dishware

If you’re into an eclectic look, unique dishware is the perfect way way to jazz up the setting of the main event: your dining room table. We love this Morris & Co. Cotswold Dinnerware Collection. It's all about making a statement!

6. Bring in Texture with Boucle

Pulling in warm textures is the perfect way to get your home feeling cozy for the holiday season. These boucle pumpkins add a soft neutral touch to your table or mantle decor. 

7. Soften Things Up with Velvet

Create a cozy haven by adding some velvet throw pillows to your sofa and a velvet table runner to the dinner table. Soft, snuggly, and perfect for the season!

8. Keep it Simple

Sometimes less is more. This oversized table cloth, check napkins, and a simple flower arrangement paired with white dishware would be just enough to set the stage for your family gathering if you’re going for a more minimal chic vibe.

9. Add orange and spice and everything nice

If you're feeling more of a traditional vibe this year, play up the orange with this lovely garland or orange napkins. Try keeping the palette more monochromatic for a modern look, or pull some red in with your orange decor for a look that can seamlessly transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas to save you time, money, and even storage space.

10. Weave in Natural Materials

Bringing in natural elements like woven placemats or even these woven pumpkins creates a casual vibe that feels grounded and earthy yet refined.

11. Bring in Seasonal Blooms

Whether you drape a garland of greenery, spread out small vases across the table, or opt for a dramatic large arrangement, fresh flowers are a must! We especially love bringing in seasonal blooms like dahlias, mums, or even sunflowers.  Don’t forget to decorate the buffet table, your entryway, and even guest bathrooms with floral arrangements to give greet guests wherever they turn.

12. Gather Outside

And hey, if you're in sunny southern California like us, you know the weather's usually on your side. Take the party outside! Light up the space with candle sand string lights if you can. And if the forecast looks a little chilly, consider adding blankets to each chair to keep your guest comfortable. It's a fantastic alternative, especially if you're short on indoor space!

So, there you have it – our tips for decking out your home in style this Thanksgiving! We hope you find these ideas as exciting as we do. And remember, it's not just about aesthetics; it's about creating a warm and inviting space where your loved ones can come together and make cherished memories.

If you love these holiday design tips be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get home decor and interior design tips for every season and all the days in between. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving, everyone!

How to Design Your Fall Tablescape in 8 Easy Steps

After this extreme heat wave in Newport Beach, California, I am more excited than usual for fall to arrive! Not only does fall bring cooler weather, beautiful autumn leaves, and pumpkin spice lattes, but it also is the perfect excuse to get out my favorite fall decor (and shop for some new items). What’s the first place I start my little seasonal home makeover? My dining room table.

A beautiful fall tablescape can really transform the look and feel of your home. It’s especially fun to decorate your table for big events like Halloween or Thanksgiving, or even an intimate dinner party. We’ve put together 8 easy steps to help you design the perfect fall tablescape. While these tips may be tailored for fall, these 8 easy steps can help you design a beautiful tablescape for any occasion or season!

1. Determine your color palette

The first step in designing your fall tablescape is to choose your color palette. You can opt for a theme like traditional fall colors (orange, neutrals, maroon, navy, ivory, gold) or nature-themed colors (variations of greens, browns, rusty orange)...

…or you can choose a more bold and moody option like deep, darker shades of purple, green, black, and orange.

Alternatively, you can pick a modern and simplified color palette—think black and white with a pop of color, or an all-white and gold table. 

Whichever design style you decide to go with, make sure to choose colors that complement each other. We’ve included a design color wheel to help remind you of what colors go well together.

2. Choose your main focal point

While beautiful centerpieces are guaranteed to steal the show at your next event, you don’t always have to make a big centerpiece the main focal point of your fall tablescape. In fact, something more simple like a patterned napkin, seasonal pumpkin, or single-stem flowers could do the trick. The best way to decide is to think about the vibe you want to create. Is it a soothing, simplified, modern look that you’re going for? Or an all-out “more is more” show stopping display? We love looks on all ends of the spectrum, so choose what speaks to you. Here are a few designs to help inspire you!

3. Go for a layered look 

How do you create that high-class designer fall tablescape? Layers! Start with a tablecloth, and then continue to add more layers—table runners, placemats, and a variety of dinnerware. Then add napkins, place cards, gifts for guests, and get creative with other decor items like cutting boards, themed tchotchkes or twinkle lights for a unique touch.

We’re swooning over this Thanksgiving tablescape by Denby Pottery. Notice how a pop of blue is layered with neutral colors. And then they topped the layered dinnerware with a mini cutting board and miniature pumpkin for each place setting—adorable!

We also love this totally eclectic table design that layers…well, everything! Check out Leaf Home Blooms fall collection of fabric pieces, candles, dinnerware, glassware, and much more. We love how they added layers and varying heights with a cake pedestal.

4. Mix and match 

We use this tip in almost every design blog we write—and that’s because it works. To avoid looking matchy-matchy or worse, outdated, try mixing and matching types of dinnerware, flatware, fabrics, patterns and materials. It’s easy to create balance in a tablescape because of the repetition of items so mix up those materials with wood, copper, glass, and various textures, sizes, heights, etc. We love the way these two fall tablescapes came out!

5. Bring in a little nature

During fall, pumpkins are everywhere! While we absolutely love decorating with all different varieties, colors and sizes of pumpkins during fall, there are a ton of other ways you can bring a little nature into your fall tablescape. Decorate with traditional flower centerpieces or consider lengthier pieces of garland, eucalyptus, or even a mixture of plants, flowers and pinecones for long tables. 

For something more out-of-the box, try decorating with fall fruits!

Depending on the mood of the occasion, we recommend adding sprigs, leaves and/or other fresh or dried plants on top of plates instead of decorating with huge centerpieces.

6. Use items of varying heights

Tip number six is one of our favorite decorating tips—and it’s especially helpful when decorating your table or other smaller spaces. Choosing decor items with varying heights helps move your eye, adds interest, and most importantly, makes your table look and feel less busy. In other words, you can fit more on your table without compromising your design style. 

Picking candles and glassware with varying heights is not your only option. In fact, one of our favorite ways of adding height variety is through floral arrangements! An airy arrangement can add the verticality you’re looking for without blocking the view of the person across the table.

7. Choose your glassware

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's important to remember to always set out a water goblet and a wine glass for your guests. If you are planning a dinner party, you may even want to consider a third glass or cup for cocktails, mocktails or coffee. The glassware can really add a little glamor to the table. Personally, we love pairing glassware with copper cups in the fall (moscow mule anyone?) and mixing and matching the style of glassware itself. 

8. Incorporate candles

Nothing creates that fall feeling as much as a cinnamon-scented or pumpkin-scented candle—at least for me! And candles on a fall tablescape can completely change the mood of the room. Decorative candles create ambiance and warmth, relieve stress, and signify a celebration or romance. Bonus: candles also help add layers, depth and varying heights to your table!

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