Patterns in Blue for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving will be here before you know it — the holiday when we give thanks for all the good things in life. And the best way to celebrate is around a table, sharing traditions, good food and good spirits with family and friends!

 

I truly enjoy setting tables, but especially those for holidays! Although we will be traveling to our daughter's for Thanksgiving, I've still set a Thanksgiving table that we will use the following week.  So the table I've designed is not quite formal, but still elegant. It's based on patterns in blue spiced with copper accents.

Today I'm thrilled to be joining seventeen friends who are sharing their Thanksgiving tables. Organized by Rita of Panoply, the participants' links are provided at the end of this post. You are sure to be inspired by their creativity for setting your own table! 

I started with a damask table runner with a traditional design in shades of blue on white, that I first used on a table for la Fête nationale. I like using table runners to provide pattern and/or color while allowing the beautiful tones of the wood table to shine.

  

The place settings begin with copper charges that my daughter gave me. I love their hammered finish! Embossed white salad plates sit between vintage dinner and bread plates with a pronounced design in navy on a different white base. The silverware we received as wedding gifts is timeless and makes an appearance at most dinners in the dining room.

 

  

On the table runner are two arrangements of pumpkins and acorns on either side of  a vase of faux flowers.

Vintage cobalt blue cut-to-clear crystal is paired with older etched elegant glassware in topaz. 

 

(In cut-to-clear crystal, a layer of colored crystal overlays the clear blank. Cuts are made to the outer layer that extend through the colored overlay into the clear crystal with striking results. I described the difference between depression glass and elegant glass in Mums Lead the Way to Fall.)

  

More shades of blue are found in the navy napkins with stylized florals, and 

  

in the solid cornflower blue linen napkins, which have a lovely texture. The patterned napkins are at four of the place settings; the solid ones are at each end. Both types are held by copper napkin rings that have a matte finish.

Echoing the copper dishware are pumpkins, acorns and berries in shades of orange and gold.

The "vase" is a hammered copper pitcher. I love the swoop of the handle!

Amber votives seem to glow in the sunlight.

  

The morning light was perfect for photos in my dining room.

The overhead angle shows the patterns and shades of blue.

I added pheasant feathers and stems of cotton to the flowers for height and drama.

  

The buffet was treated to a display of pumpkins and acorns to coordinate with the table. Copper pillar candles sit on tall crystal candlesticks.

   

A figural turkey plate was added. Although I have a selection of china I use for fall and Thanksgiving dinners, this is my only turkey plate. Hmmmm . . .

I love the combination of blue and copper or amber!

  

Since they are complementary colors, they are natural partners, pairing copper's warmth with cool blues.

 

 

Candlelight softens the colors.

 

  

Thank you for spending time with me today! You will enjoy exploring wonderful ideas for setting Thanksgiving tables with the stylists below.

Me and My Captain - Those Were the Days and I Am Very Grateful

Pandora's Box - Thanksgiving Brings Back Memories

Living With Thanksgiving - Thankful and Blessed

Everyday Living - Thanksgiving Traditions

My Hubbard Home - Pumpkins and Pears Thanksgiving Holiday Table

Thrifting Wonderland - Give Thanks...Thanksgiving Tablescape

Panoply - Homeland Merriment Thanksgiving

Home is Where the Boat Is - Porch Dining with Plaid & Proud Tom Turkey

Corner of Plaid and Paisley - Give Thanks

My Thrift Store Addiction - In Everything Give Thanks - Garden Tea for Two

Life and Linda - A Copper and Blue Pumpkin Table

Karins Kottage - Come set an outdoor Thanksgiving table with me

The Painted Apron - Grateful Gathering

Belle Bleu Interiors - A Time to Give Thanks

Dinner at Eight - Patterns in Blue for Thanksgiving  you are here!

Red Cottage Chronicles - A Cozy Cottage Thanksgiving Tablescape

The Bookish Dilettante - Thanksgiving Table in the Breakfast Room

The Little Yellow Corner Store - A Northwoods Thanksgiving

 

 

 

 

 

Table details

Dinner plates, bread plates | 'Blue Danube' made in Japan for New York-based Lipper International  1951-2000

Salad plates | Villeroy & Boch 'Manoir'

Silverware | Reed & Barton 'Eighteenth Century'

Napkin rings | Crate & Barrel

Topaz wine goblets | Fostoria ‘Versailles’ 1929-1936

Blue hock wine goblets | two by Imperlux  made in East Germany 1949-1990; four unknown German or Czech same period