My Thanksgiving tablescape and ideas for yours

NOT a menu.

I am not making changes to our Thanksgiving menu this year. It’s solid. I’m tired. Aimée is bringing rolls and dessert, anyway.

I am rethinking our Thanksgiving tablescape. 

My taste has always had its consistent themes, but it wasn’t until recently that I’ve felt a distinct confidence in my style. Now, when adding things to our home, I feel the acute sense I am acquiring my family heirlooms. Part of it has been about an increased awareness of quality, which of course has been aided by a rise in income, but more of it is about context (education about art and design history) and values. Value is the best way I could describe it, but I mean a deep understanding of what matters to me and what doesn’t. I now know I prefer clutter over emptiness, weight over ease, and home over adventure.

This is the first year I’ve planned out my Thanksgiving tablescape. I’ll walk you through the process. 

My first tablescape, the tablescape:

Alessi salad tongs ($90), hand-carved napkin rings via Etsy ($20), vintage 1950s napkins via Etsy ($16), Ceramiche de Simone candle holder (€33), glazed terracotta serving bowl ($45)*, Southern Italian blue and white flower tray by Nicola Fasano*, gravy pitcher by Nicola Fasano*, Spanish-style glazed terracotta wine pitcher via Etsy ($32), vintage woven tablecloth via Etsy ($38), vintage blue shot glasses (gift)*. Asterisks indicate items I already owned. 

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I started the quest for my perfect Thanksgiving table with several exploratory Etsy searches using old classics like “Italian hand-painted ceramics” and “vintage tablecloth.” I favorited a few items but yielded little in the way of vision and direction.  

While I was there, I went through my unsold favorites to see if there was anything significant I had forgotten. I recalled the modular Nagel candle holders I’ve been eyeing for years. I searched through Etsy and eBay, but everything I found was overpriced. One day, I’ll find a set for less than $100. This rabbit hole inspired me to shop my closet for a chrome element to add to our table. 

I’ve begun to realize how important it is to mix eras. Combining antique, vintage (major difference between the two!), and contemporary objects makes a home feel modern and personal. I bought these beautiful Alessi salad tongs last year, and they scratched my chrome itch. 

Next, I browsed William Sonoma to see what elements I should consider, maybe even spot a diamond in the rough. Alas, none of it was my style. I browsed Pinterest. I searched “Thanksgiving tablescape,” which supplied only cheugy turkey-themed decorations.

I tried to think of crucial elements that might inspire the rest of the table…napkin rings, obviously. I have two hand-carved rings from my grandparents' house, gazelles I think, but I needed at least three more. I began searching Etsy for “hand-carved napkin rings,” unsure what I’d find. I gasped out loud when I discovered this animal set on Etsy. $20 for all four?!

I already have a set of everyday Food52 cotton napkins, but when the napkin rings arrived, I realized the 20x20-inch set was far too large. I did a copious amount of napkin research, looking at both new and old, and settled on a white vintage set from Etsy for $16. 

A tablescape needs a tablecloth. We don’t even have an indoor dining table (we eat from a two-seater kitchen island; this is a New York City apartment, after all), so tablecloths are a rare concern. I have a growing collection that you’ve probably eyed in Home Food photography, but they are for the outdoor table, meaning they are all shades of blue. I would never go as far as to say blues are exclusive to one season, but it’s not what I’m going for with this meal and this tablescape. 

I couldn’t articulate what I was looking for, but eventually landed on searching “woven linen tablecloths,” which many Etsy sellers describe as Scandinavian. I wanted something in brown, green, or orange. I fell in love with a few beauties (like this one and this one), but they were in Latvia and wouldn’t arrive in time for Thanksgiving. I found a woven tablecloth from an Etsy seller in New York state for $38. 

Once I had settled on the napkin rings, tablecloth, and chrome theme, I went back to shopping my closet. 

I picked up this glazed terracotta serving bowl from Portugalia Sales on a day trip to Newark and decided to add it in. I loved the Spanish-style terracotta wine pitchers we found at homey restaurants during our Italy trip and hit purchase on a vintage Etsy one ($34).  

I also added a Ceramiche de Simone candle holder and two other hand-painted Italian ceramics by Nicola Fasano that I picked up in Grottalogie, Puglia. I love the traditional southern Italian blue flower ceramic design. I often wonder if I made a huge mistake not dropping a thousand bucks on a complete set while we were in Grottalogie… 

And there we go—a peek inside my chaotic process for a Thanksgiving tablescape. I’ll report back with images of the finished table. Below, you’ll find two “spins” on my tablescape, with items currently available at publication. Most everything is secondhand! I took the elements from my table and designed variations with different homes in mind. 

Let me know what you think about this newsletter style. Gobble gobble. 🦃

The sexiest woman in Maine, the tablescape:

Southern Italian blue and white serving bowl ($57), ruby red shot glasses ($20), cutlery pouches ($58), ceramic candlestick holder ($34), wine pitcher ($30), Alessi fruit basket ($129), ceramic flower vase ($58),  bird napkin rings ($20), handled soup bowl ($35), blue tablecloth ($48) 

Your Boho aunt with no debt, the tablescape:

Italian hand-painted candle holder ($31), Bonne Maman jam jars—start eating jam now or, hilariously, find on eBay ($0-$14), Alessi Moka espresso maker ($45), Sardinian needlepoint ($50), East Fork dinner plate in Panna Cotta ($48), chrome candle holder ($50), Alessi serving bowl ($33), hand-carved napkin rings ($15), Southern Italian blue and white flower wine pitcher ($35)