Home for the Thanksgiving Holiday 2021

Thanksgiving will once again this year be a sparsely attended event at our home. While I’m a firm believer in “the more, the merrier”, I know that’s not possible and can appreciate and embrace a smaller group. So “bountiful simplicity” will be the name of the game for 2021.

This tablescape concept began with the purchase of the white pumpkin-embossed runner from Home Goods I bought a few weeks ago. The pickings are slim this year, so I felt fortunate to find something I liked. The centerpiece is created with a long, narrow wooden “trough” from Nell Hill’s filled with a variety of pumpkins, gourds, fruits, faux acorns, greenery, and leaves topped off with a pair of antlers. A six-pack of 24″ metal case candles in clear glass holders runs along both sides. With such a low centerpiece, I felt it necessary to add height but still be mindful of being able to see across the table.

I was SO excited to find these great leather look chargers at Hobby Lobby this season!!! I used them once already this season for “Hey, Pumpkin!“, and they will come in handy for lots of future fall and winter tablescapes. The mustard yellow dinner plates, oak leaf/acorn plates, and plaid salad plates are all from Pier 1, purchased over the last 10+ years. The delicate cream soup bowl with saucer (having homemade mushroom soup for a starter!) is from Nell Hill’s in Kansas City, MO. Hampton Silversmith “Patriot” flatware, napkins from LinenTablecloth.com, and amber bubble glass stemware from TJ Maxx round out the place settings. Lithe seed pearl wreaths add texture, color, form, and a little fun.

I was determined this year to reuse, recycle and reduce waste when it came to decorating. While I bought LOTS of pumpkins and gourds at the start of the fall season, I’ve made sure to use them in various ways inside and out. A quick dip in a weak Clorox bath when I first brought them home has kept them going strong. See how I first used these pumpkins as the backdrop for my 2021 Halloween entry, “The Spider & the Fly“. Deep six the spiders and flies, do a little artful rearranging, add some wheat sheaves, and it’s all ready for Thanksgiving! (PSA: If you know someone nearby who has a farm, ask them if they’d like to have your pumpkins after the season to feed their livestock. If not, consider chopping them up and scattering them in an uninhabited wooded area for wildlife such as foxes, deer, squirrels, and other animals who often find it difficult to source food in the winter. Full circle use!)

The small china cabinet is all decked out with its usual aluminum wine and champagne coolers that are further embellished with berry branches, pumpkins, and a big moss ball.

If you would care to check out other Thanksgiving-inspired tablescapes on this blog:

I’m pleased as apple cider punch to be joining a talented group of ladies from across the globe in Blog Land for a Thanksgiving Tablescape Blog Hop! I hope you will click on their links to check out their Thanksgiving tables! (NOTE: Set to go live Tuesday, November 9 at 7 a.m. EST, although some posts may be up now.)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Hey, Pumpkin!

It’s November 1, and autumn is coming to a rapid close as wretched cold weather settles in. That makes me a bit sad as fall is my favorite time of year. I’ve especially enjoyed the bounty of pumpkins in our area and all the inspiration they have prompted! I’ve been able to create a variety of tablescapes and vignettes indoors and out using the same basic elements and adding special touches.

When I saw this gorgeous, colorful table runner at Home Goods, I knew right away how I wanted to use it. This rich pattern of pumpkins, sunflowers, and berries traverses the runner from end to end!

I’ve gotten my money’s worth from this Cambridge “Esben” flatware this fall season. Its faux wood handles are a perfect complement to the season’s decor. The same goes for the mustard yellow Pier 1 plates (see them used a whole different way on the post “Candy Colored Autumn“) and leather-look chargers from Hobby Lobby. Here I topped off the setting with a generously proportioned turmeric-colored soup bowl (see the bowl with matching plates on the post “Most Egg-cellent Breakfast“.) The ivory napkin repeats the background color in the runner. Because the centerpiece is so busy, I used austere glassware.

One of my husband’s nurses gifted me with these sheds from her farm in rural Kansas a few years ago. (First used in the post “Hunter Tablescape – Gentlemen’s Winter Retreat” in 2012.) They add a lot of form and girth, as well as a bit of height, to the centerpiece arrangement.

I picked up the round basket at Home Goods. They had so many nice ones from which to choose this season!

I first used these rustic orange finials for the post “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” back in 2010. Eleven years later they’ve resurfaced for this table.

My husband’s recent 51st high school class reunion (or 50 + 1 as they called it since the pandemic shut down plans for their jubilee celebration in 2020) was a lovely event. One of his classmates is a very talented florist who provided the centerpieces for the banquet night. I brought one home and rearranged it to fit into this moss-covered vase for the dining room vitrine.

Are you following me on Instagram? If not, I invite you to do so! There are quick little daily posts there that are different content than here on the blog…house and home-related vignettes you might enjoy!

For more autumnal tablescapes on this blog:

Have a warm and wonderful November!

Thanksgiving Dessert Buffet

Have you ever considered a Thanksgiving Progressive Dinner? A moveable feast is a fresh way to enjoy the holiday. Perhaps pre-dinner cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at the first home while watching the Macy’s Parade and Bowl games, the main course at House #2 with a little more football, and finally dessert at House #3 followed by a neighborhood tour of Christmas lights to kick off the new holiday? You’ve arrived at House #3!

(1:18. No music, just in case you’re opening this at work! I’ve got your back!😉)
And oops! Yes, that IS an open laundry room door caught in the mirror!🙄

A table laden with a variety of desserts is a sure way to delight your guests! I describe this one as Thoreau meets Liberace…a hybrid of natural and glitzy elements.

This dessert bar could be easily transformed into a Christmas/winter theme by exchanging the pumpkins and wheat for holiday elements like small trees, poinsettias or paperwhites, and interesting ornaments.

The huge dessert board that displays the cookies and pecan pie is from a lovely shop in downtown Lee’s Summit, MO, called Very Violet Boutique. I have BIG plans for this substantially-proportioned board in the coming years!

I LOVE this tray from Home Goods that holds the Cambridge “Esben” flatware and Pier 1 napkins! Those wrought iron handles…yaaaaaassssss!!!

These little duck casseroles were purchased at World Market YEARS ago. They’re perfect for individual rice or bread pudding with whiskey sauce! Emphasis on the whiskey sauce, y’all!🥃

The table runner with colorful meandering vines was purchased along with 6 matching placemats at Pier 1 many years ago. It’s nice to be able to shop your home for “just the perfect thing” and actually find it!

The wheat sheaves and smaller charcuterie/cheese/breadboards are all from Home Goods. I particularly like the wood slice cake riser. It will serve me well for years to come.

I created this cupcake stand using a couple of wood slices and a 3-legged wrought iron piece I happened to have. The oven-safe Rae Dunn cupcake holders are from Home Goods. They REALLY dress up cupcakes and muffins!!!

The expanse of desserts is broken up with this pumpkin/gourd/acorn/apple-filled wooden “trough” from Nell Hill’s in Kansas City, MO. I’ve used this vessel for a couple of tablescapes this season, including “Home for the Thanksgiving Holiday“.

More miniature covered casseroles from World Market for perhaps a taste of crème brûlée?

I have had these striking candelabra for a number of years and pull them out just about every fall for decorating somewhere around the house. As I often do, I used metal case candles which are a bit safer if accidentally knocked over. These are 15″H and perfect for lending a bit more height to the tablescape. (I have them in 6″ and 25″, too!)

More desserts, you ask?!! Why, indeed! It’s a dessert extravaganza!!! Don’t forget the coffee!

So there you have it! Perfect for Thanksgiving or anytime during the holiday season when family and friends gather together!

This is my final autumn-themed post for 2021. I hope to see you back here soon for the winter holidays!

If you’re looking for more ideas for your Thanksgiving or autumn tables, take a peek at these on this blog!

If you’re looking for more dessert buffet ideas:

The Spider & the Fly

“‘Will you walk into my parlour?’ said the spider🕷 to the fly🪰.” The sinister 1829 poem by Mary Howitt tells the cautionary tale of the sly spider coaxing the apprehensive fly into its web🕸. Creepy/Clever and well played, Mr. Spider. Hmmmm…the parallels of the 1829 spider web and the manipulative, seductive 2021 worldwide web are not lost on me.

I am joining other tablescapers from across the miles to bring you spooky fun with a “Halloween Tablescape Blog Hop” hosted by Rita at Panoply blog. Links to their BOO-tiful sites are listed at the end of this post, and I encourage you to stop in to visit each one of these talented ladies.

I chose this pintuck taffeta table linen for its resemblance to a spider web.

A🩸blood red🩸 Royal Norfolk dinner plate sits atop a mirrored charger that helps break up the moodiness of the setting. A black salad plate and spooky skull appetizer plate complete the stack.💀 Notice there are just daggers/knives to devour the beastly feast.🗡

Spine-chilling metal spiders lord over each place setting.

The flies have been coaxed into the spider’s web!🕷🕸🪰

I found these gravestones at Dollar Tree some years ago.

The end settings have the skulls of the host and hostess of this ghoulish event trapped for eternity beneath oversized cloches/bell jars. The hungry spider below the skull hunts its prey, the flies, that have overtaken the skull. (OK…I’m freaking myself out here now!😱)

Overreaching branches canopy the centerpiece below. I used faux branches, but this spooky look could just as easily be achieved with real ones.

If there’s a graveyard, you KNOW there has to be a raven somewhere nearby! This one, perched amongst the pumpkins and slithering serpents, shows no fear.

Ick! A serpent invading the hollow eye socket of a soul long gone is a weird juxtaposition to the beautiful onyx “Elegance” Mikasa stemware.

The morose table setting is capped off with the flicker of candlelight towering high above.

A haunted pumpkin patch sits on the vitrine just beyond the graveyard.

If you’re looking for more ghastly, ghostly, ghoulish tablescapes, check out these from my archives:

Ready, set, HOP!!! Check out THESE haunting entries!!!


Autumn Flourishes 2017

Welcome to the Nichols’ home for a quick room by room peek at a few little flourishes for fall 2017!

 

 

 

 

 

Flourishes in the library include a crown of bittersweet on a bust of Diana that sits on a stack of vintage cigar boxes, a feathered owl on the vitrine, and a floral piece adorning a vintage (almost antique!!!) violin on the secretary. On pedestals flanking the vitrine are grapevine balls encased in the same (but smaller) open wrought iron garden orbs as those on the front porch.

 

 

 

 

Our modestly sized foyer has a few touches of fall including a fragrant candle encircled by a bittersweet wreath, an ample cluster of fall foliage in a heavy  ivory pot, a pair of mirrored, open-sided hurricanes from Home Finishings flanking the front door, and another feathered owl balanced on a stack of vintage books on the foyer table.

 

 

 

 

 

The dining room has changed several times as I created different tablescapes for publication this season, but this is the final look for the remainder of fall. Blue & white chinoiserie pieces, orange and white mini pumpkins and fall foliage are seen throughout the room including a flat basket of pumpkins on the dining table topped with a berried branch. The china cabinet holds my collection of aluminum ware from Home Goods. Bright orange mini pumpkins, a bit of foliage, and a white pheasant figurine add a fall feel. (To see this room completely decorated with the table set with chinoiserie for fall, visit Autumn Chinoiserie.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

My husband spends most of his time at home in the family room, so everything has to be comfy, cozy, and “out of harm’s way” in here! It’s such a dark room with oak shelving and wainscoting, so I used a combination of deep fall colors with white. Bookshelves get lots of white pumpkins partly shrouded in a trio of wreaths that lend color and texture. A mix of familiar and new pillows make seating on our new caramel leather reclining loveseats more comfortable and add a mix of patterns. (The room is small, so a pair of roomy loveseats made more sense than a sofa that overwhelms the space. I have chronic spine troubles, so recliners are a way of life now! 😦 ) A tall basket holds an assortment of quilts, throws and blankets to help ward off the autumn chill.

 

And finally, the kitchen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t help myself. I go a little crazy in the kitchen with decor. It is, after all, the place where I spend a great deal of my day preparing 3 square meals for hubby. Gotta make it as relaxing as possible! The huge stone bunny rabbit is a great decorating opportunity, and I really enjoy decorating the 3-tier galvanized stand on the kitchen table. This year’s autumn decor includes a small wreath made of faux hops, bundles of birch branches, bowls of fragrant whole spices, and brightly colored berries. Front and center is a homemade sign that reminds us daily to “Always Stay Humble & Kind“. Thanks for that Tim McGraw. This world needs a little nudge.

Another post on this site with general fall decorating:
Finally Fall!

If you’d like to see more fall tablescapes and home decor, head on over to Susan’s “Between Naps on the Porch” for Tablescape Thursday #472!

Autumn Chinoiserie – Classic Blue & White

I recently did a “Better Kansas City” show segment on using unexpected colors and patterns for fall decorating. I’ll publish that clip next week. Meanwhile, here’s a taste of that decorating style that I have come to embrace with great enthusiasm: incorporating autumn touches into existing chinoiserie decor.

 

 

 

Ralph Lauren “Mandarin” dinner and salad plates rest upon a stark white ceramic charger from Old Time Pottery.

 

 

I found these lovely cream soup bowls at Nell Hill’s in Parkville, Mo., about 40 minutes away from our home and only 5 minutes from my orthopedic surgeon’s office. (Best place to regroup after bad news!)  I LOVE that place!!! I never spend less than an hour when I visit. A crisp white cotton napkin is fashioned into a variation on the classic crown fold. A sprig of autumn berries brings color and additional texture to the place setting.

 

 

Faux bamboo flatware is perfect for this setting.

 

I bought scads of this sturdy cobalt blue stemware at Pier 1 some years ago, and it has served me well.

 

A very autumn-y pattern of plaid in the table runner with shades of russet, orange, amber, burgundy, cobalt and white is a perfect contrast to dishes. The riot of color contributes to and enhances the overall  boldness of the tablescape. The runner is from TJ Maxx.

 

 

 

 

Ginger jars from Nell Hill’s and temple jars from Home Goods make up the main part of the centerpiece.

 

 

 

 

The length of the centerpiece is punctuated with deep orange mini pumpkins, real and faux acorns, and a meandering garland of berries. Latticed white ceramic planters hold mounded arborvitae.

 

 

The buffet behind the dining table holds its fair share of chinoiserie pieces including a pitcher, an octagonal bowl filled with oversized acorns, and Victorian foot baths mixed with silver candlesticks. The white foo dogs are a nod to the chinoiserie style and add a little unexpected touch.

The bar cart in the corner extends the touches of chinoiserie including the bowls filled with acorns.

Other tablescapes integrating chinoiserie on this blog include:
Mandarin Bling
Mother’s Day Brunch
Blue & White Family Picnic
Blue & White 30th Birthday

Peony Power

I’m joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her 471st Tablescape Thursday! I’m seeing lots of fall and Halloween tablescapes over there today, so drop on in to get inspired!

 

 

 

 

 

Pheasants & Pumpkins

INSPIRATION: A pretty resin pheasant purchased for $3 at an estate sale.

INSPIRATION: A pretty resin pheasant purchased for $3 at an estate sale.

Thanksgiving is a week away! Here’s one quick final fall post of a laid back setting that might help fire you up if you’ve not yet decided on a tablescape for the big day.
(Click on any photo, then click again to enhance/enlarge it.)

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Full dining room

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Full tableI’m going with a “woodsy” look throughout the house for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. This casual table for 6 has no tablecloth so the wood of the table can be an integral part of the overall look. A tightly woven jute table runner (Pier 1) lightens up the table, anchors the elements of the centerpiece, and brings in the colors of the place settings.

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Place setting

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Stemware, flatware, napkin, pheasant salad plate collageEach place setting starts with a glossy chocolate brown charger (Hobby Lobby) that is topped with a pumpkin-colored dinner plate (just $1 each at our local grocery store). The salad plates from Z Gallerie feature the image of a lone pheasant. Striped napkins from Pier 1 pick up on the color scheme and work well with the runner. Simple, inexpensive glassware from Old Time Pottery and faux mother of pearl flatware from Target round out the setting.

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Centerpiece

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Centerpiece

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Resin pheasant

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Pheasant feathers, berries, bittersweet in wooden centerpiece box collageThe centerpiece was created using a weathered wooden box that I’ve had for years. I filled it with faux pumpkins, berries, fall leaves and a bittersweet garland. A few real pheasant feathers were added on one end only for an asymmetrical look. My inspirational pheasant was borrowed from the family room arrangement to pose in front of the box. (This, of course, is a demonstration tablescape. For your actual table, consider using real mini pumpkins, leaves, bittersweet, and perhaps whole bunches of grapes to achieve this organic look.)

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: pumpkin orange wood finials

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: artichoke votive holdersDistressed pumpkin orange wood finials and a pair of faux artichoke votive holders round out the centerpiece.

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Bar/Tea cart

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Pheasant feathers, berries, white pheasant on bar cart collageThe bar cart in the corner is prettied up with a small arrangement using some of the same elements as the table centerpiece and a bark-wrapped vase of pheasant feathers. The painted white pheasant (with tiny specks of clear glitter) was purchased at the same estate sale as the more colorful one.

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: bittersweet & pheasant feather arrangement on china cabinetAcross the room on the china cabinet, a vertical spread of bittersweet is punctuated by a trio of pheasant feathers at the feet of a pumpkin-colored serving platter.

That’s it for the tablescape! I hope you were able to gather a few ideas from it. Below, in case you’re at all interested, are a few quickie snapshots offering a glimpse into what fall looked like in a few areas of the house this year. I’ve already begun the arduous transformation to Christmas and hope to bring you those photos in a couple of weeks.

Foyer table with large basket of pine cones underneath, pheasant plates on sconce shelves

Foyer table with large basket of pine cones underneath, pheasant plates on sconce shelves

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Fall lantern, pheasant with binoculars collage

Pheasant on stack of decorating books embellished with a flourish of autumn leaves. Binoculars for bird watching or pheasant hunting. The large lantern in the window is filled with a pumpkin stack, gourds, berries and fall leaves. The handle is embellished with a Rapunzel-like cascade of raffia and fall leaves.

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Fall mantel

The fireplace mantel is covered in a swath of fall leaves and bittersweet with raffia-tied, pumpkin-colored chunky candles on each end. The huge initial on the hearth is from Hobby Lobby.

 

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Fall arrangement in violin case in library collage

The secretary in the library is crowned with a large leaf- and pumpkin-laden birdcage. The antique violin in its original case is decorated with a squash, leaf and pheasant feather spray. Those letters in the violin case are from the 1930s from my Dad to his Mother.

 

Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One, www.tabletwentyone.wordpress.com, Pheasants & Pumpkins: Fall decor on breakfast bar, in master bedroom collage

The breakfast bar is really more of a wine bar around here in the fall! The other pics are of a corner table in our bedroom.

 

More fall tablescapes on this site:
September Harvest Breakfast Table
Most Egg-cellent Breakfast
Casual Fall Harvest Dinner
Italian Honeysuckle
Quick & Casual Fall Dinner
It’s the Great Pumpkin
Serape High Style
Raining Orchids
September Wine
Pumpkins & Peacocks
Autumn Blues
Pears & Pinecones
American Royal Tablescape
Shake Your Tail Feather
Autumn White Wedding
Simply Bittersweet
Ap-pear-ently Autumn
Copper Zen
Autumn by the Embers
Celebrating Longview Farm
Morocco for Two
Thanksgiving 2012 – A Contemporary Tablescape
Best Laid Plans
Wondrous Wheat
Thanksgiving 2010

I’ll be linking this tablescape up with Susan’s “Tablescape Thursday” on Between Naps on the Porch. Tablescape Thursday goes live at 9:00 a.m. CST on Thursday.

 

 

 

It’s the Great Pumpkin!

Those of you who know me know I love to eat! Luckily, so do many of my friends! We enjoy dining like the Europeans: slowly and with purpose. For this casual 3-hour dinner on the deck, the pace fit the menu and the colors are all about the season!

Inspired by Charles Schultz’s wonderful classic cartoon, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, I created this autumn tablescape for a few close friends who just wanted a quiet but fun evening.

 

Each place setting featured a rusty, almost orange-colored metal charger that I picked up at Tuesday Morning several years back. Brown rimmed yellow stoneware from Pier 1 was perfect for our entrée. Pumpkin colored melamine dishes from Target took on the salad, and brown rimmed green soup bowls were there for a delicious chunky tomato soup with crabmeat which could have been a meal in and of itself!

 

Taking full advantage of my newly purchased David Stark book, Napkins With a Twist, I pulled together this fun fold with this colorful cotton napkin from Stein Mart. The fold is incredibly easy to do, despite all the resulting nooks & crannies. Each napkin is topped with a mini pumpkin and faux autumn leaves. (See this napkin used in another fall tablescape HERE.)

 

My husband was not fond of the place cards/menus I created at the last minute (he’s a critic now!), and on second glance I think I could have done better. Desperate times called for desperate measures! The evening’s fare was printed on the back of each place card.

 

The centerpiece was a complete, total, and shameless rip off of the cartoon with the massively proportioned pumpkin surrounded by sumptuous mounds of fall leaves! I perched the pumpkin atop a small stand to lend a bit more height and drama.

 

I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not, but it’s getting dark much earlier now so I’m able to actually light candles before guests come out for dinner at 7:30.

 

Two sides of the centerpiece were flanked by various seasonal gourds. Putting the gourds on two sides only elongated the centerpiece and kept it from looking too rounded.

 

It’s hard to tell in my amateur photos, but the entire centerpiece was subtly illuminated from underneath using these miniature LED votives. Hiding them throughout the leaves provided a soft glow to the entire piece.

 

Further illumination was provided by multi-hued pillar candles from Pier 1 placed on the 2 sides of the pumpkin not decorated with gourds. The tri-level orange wooden pieces were purchased a few years ago at Hobby Lobby and added to the tablescape just to add narrow vertical interest.

 

I really like these candles that boast four different but complementary hues.

I count myself lucky to be joining the ladies and gentlemen for The Style Sisters’ Centerpiece Wednesday and Susan’s Tablescape Thursday!

Centerpiece Wednesdays ButtonTablescape Inspiration, Click to View