Over the last few months, I’ve been collecting a cornucopia of home for the Thanksgiving holiday dining accents and accessories befitting a simple yet elegant holiday open house.
Debates questioning the glossing over of decorating for Thanksgiving in a rush to get the fa la la la lovely Christmas decorating party started and when exactly is too early to begin decking the halls is a hot topic of conversation this time of year.
News reports are giving new meaning to holiday rush with all the get it before you can’t get it turkey talk-bah humbug chatter, which may be the reason for the early decorating season push.
In a recent article of decorating interest, a group of psychologists weighed in on the subject in the affirmative stating decorating for Christmas early appears to make people happier.
Curious bee that I am, I conducted my own study by asking roughly thirteen (a decorator’s dozen) fellow decorating enthusiasts if decorating early for Christmas makes them happier.
Results proved what I thought the answer(s) would be with this select group.
Decorating for any holiday, occasion, event or reason makes us all happier.
Thanksgiving holiday dining accents and accessories, in terms of decorating, is an extension of fall and a preamble to Christmas.
Here’s an idea; incorporate all three onto the canvas through balance and blending.
Dining accents and decorating ideas themes that easily make the leap from Thanksgiving to Christmas include:
Woodland splendor
Winter wonderland
Colors in rich and deep shades of green, red, gold, orange, purple and the forever favorite neutrals
Greenery wreaths
Spot mirrors
Statement throw pillows
Ceramic Home for the Holidays tabletop accents
Scents of the season candles
Decorative accents that pull double holiday duty allow your holiday decorating dollars to stretch from Thanksgiving to Christmas to Mardi Gras.
For example, consider the fact that holiday wreaths aren’t just for doors.
Use wreaths to accent your dining table and sideboard with an impressive touch of the holidays.
Lay a wreath on the tabletop and place a cake stand, soup tureen, and/or condiment holders in the center in à la candle ring fashion.
‘Tis the time of year to let your personal style light shine delighting and dazzling the eye, and since the entire season only comes once a year and is short lived, I say seize the moment and decorate.
The Cottage Journal – Photography by John O’Hagan- Styling by Kim Chiselko
Plymouth Cornucopia Dinner Plates, Set of 4
Our gang has gathered together formal, casual round the kitchen table, al fresco on the patio, and at picnic tables in the piney woods.
Flower Magazine – Photography by Emily Followil
Regardless of how formal, informal, relaxed or rustic we go, the table is decorated in Thanksgiving holiday dining accents and accessories style.
Details and traditions remain central to the Home for the Holidays season.
House & Garden – Photo by James McDonald
Southern Living – Photo by Helen Norman
Decorating can be an expensive endeavor for sure, but remember, lovely centerpiece or mantel displays don’t have to be super costly to put together.
Victoria Magazine – Photography by Mac Jamieson
Styling by Melissa Sturdivant Smith
I keep my eye on the price and the ball by utilizing what nature supplies for free, reduced for quick sale finds, and decor goodies already in the decorating portfolio.
Many harvest moons ago my family and my best friend’s family spent Thanksgiving week in a lodge at a local state park.
Our holiday lodge home away from home came complete with a huge fireplace and mantel ready for cozy gathering and Thanksgiving themed decorating.
With coffee and hot chocolate in hand, we would walk the woods on Thanksgiving morning in pursuit of greenery cuttings, leaves, pine cones, berries and branches to use for decorating the fireplace mantel.
Decorative deer antlers and pillar candles from home found their way into my bag of decorating tricks to complete the holiday masterpiece.
Simple things often bring the most joy to an occasion, and our hunt and gather expedition became an anticipated, integral, and memorable part of our Thanksgiving in the woods tradition.
Decorative preserved wheat bundles remind me of the season and the set of dining chairs I so wish I still owned.
How’s that for a segue?
Unfinished Wood Sheaf Back Dining Arm Chair
Unfinished Wood Sheaf Back Dining Side Chair (Set of 2)
One of my favorite places to shop for antiques was and is the quaint shops of South Louisiana.
Fabulous people, finds, food, and fun.
For this antiques dealer, shopping the charming shops was an morning into afternoon marathon with great finds at great prices- the prize at the end of the day.
I hit gold one buying excursion when I spotted four off white wheat back dining chairs with whisper soft pastel (yellow, pink, green, blue) spindles, splat, and top finials.
You may imagine the chairs looked like they belonged in a baby nursery, but the pastel colors were so muted, so chic that they just set the palette and presence into a super eye-catching dimension.
The James Upholstered Fabric Dining Chair by Christopher Knight Home is not exactly a wheat back dining chair, but truly lovely all the same.
James Upholstered Fabric Dining Chair by Christopher Knight Home
The chairs were brought into the shop and within the course of an afternoon sold to a fellow interior designer-decorator-antiques dealer for a client who she was working with who, let me see how to put this, was known for both her discriminating taste and difficult to please disposition.
Both designer and client were pleased in the end which delighted me, but in hindsight I wish I would have kept the set for the Places In The Home abode.
Color, texture and pattern inspiration comes in all forms, forests, and feathers.
The statement “buy the best and you only cry once” by Miles Redd aptly applies to statement pieces.
Why do I say this?
Because statement pieces usually come with a heavy dose of sticker shock.
Staying close to classic styles offsets the risk of the piece not standing up to time and trend.
This Pheasant Host Chair qualifies as such a piece with its classic construction and timeless upholstery pattern.
Beautiful tears, friends.
Veranda- Photo by Stephen Karlisch
The look is Southern chic.
Vintage Turkey Tureen with Lid and Ladle
Believe me, I’m all for simplifying menu matters at the holidays.
Marin White Ceramic Pumpkin Serving Bowl
I won’t tell if you won’t tell the butternut squash soup in the pretty soup tureen served with fresh pear slices, a dash of ground nutmeg, and a swirl of heavy cream is straight out of a carton.
Thanksgiving holiday dining accents and accessories thoughtfully chosen to accentuate your personal style and taste sets quite the lovely home for the holidays scene and table.
