Our Thanksgiving Table: A Vintage Difference

Have you ever started a project with a plan in mind only to switch gears before it's finished?  I know I certainly have and this table setting was one of those times.

My usual Thanksgiving table celebrates the colors of nature during the fall season:  red, orange, rust, yellow, brown, and a little green. This year I wanted something different and I found it on Pinterest! Yes, I am a fan of Pinterest, and this year's centerpiece was inspired by a pin "picked for me".

There they were...white pumpkins with a blue/green/blue green color palette.  Muted tones and the use of faux succulents.  It was completely different from anything I had done before. I loved it the instant I saw it! It was the first week of November and I wondered if I would have difficulty finding faux white pumpkins.  I did.  However, my sister found some pumpkins on sale on Michael's.  Instead of a pretty antique white they were neon, glow-in-the-dark green!  (No wonder they were ridiculously on sale! And they really did glow in the dark!)  The first order of business was to prime and paint the pumpkins.

Once the pumpkins were painted ("Thank you, Lynn!") I began to plan each table setting.  It was during this process that I remembered some dishes our family had when I was growing up.  I wondered if my mother still had them.  My memory of them was that there was a wheat pattern in the center. That would be perfect for a fall table!  I called my mother and she had no memory of the pattern. Flowers, she guessed?  Then I called my sister. Her memory was of a futuristic, star-shaped design.  Only a box in the attic knew for certain.

And all three of us were wrong!  The pattern is flower-like with berries. However, the color palette would work well with the pumpkin centerpiece so I used them.  I coordinated the colors in the dishes with the colors in my inspiration "Pin".  They blended beautifully. There was one thing I did want to change.  One of the pumpkins should be painted blue to bring out the fading color in the plates.  Once that was done the toppers for the white pumpkins were put together:  faux succulents, silk hydrangeas, faux berries, and leaves were hot-glued onto small grapevine wreaths.  Using the grapevine wreaths gives me the ability to easily change color schemes and themes.

For height I rummaged through my stash of candle holders and candlesticks and found a tall bronze-hued pillar candle holder.  I used a mid-height pedestal pewter bowl for another pumpkin.  The third pumpkin sat on the table.  A gray table cloth, a burlap runner, woven chargers, and a brown satin ribbon brought the color palette together.  Scattered succulents, greenery and faux berries completed the look I wanted.

My brother was able to come for Thanksgiving this year; for which my mother, sister, and I were grateful. What fun it was to eat off of the same plates we had years before as children!

(We spent Thanksgiving day with extended family at my cousin's house.  Amy had created two beautiful arrangements honoring the colors of fall and the bounty God provides.  Thank you, Amy!)