Elegant Purple and Silver Thanksgiving Tablescape

Looking for some inspiration for your Thanksgiving table decor? This non-traditional purple and silver Thanksgiving tablescape is so pretty and elegant, everyone will love it!

Last week I posted my tips for making your holiday dinner successful (and less stressful)...and I really do follow those tips.  So this week (on my way to a relaxed and happy Thanksgiving) I am doing tip #3…setting the table in advance!

But first…I have 2 confessions to make when it comes to fall holidays and decorating.

The first is that I spend a lot more time planning and decorating for Halloween than I do for Thanksgiving (even though I am usually serving dinner for at least 12 people).

The second is that I don’t like orange very much.  So all of the pumpkins and fall leaves that are traditionally part of fall decorating rarely make an appearance at my house.

Both of those confessions have a lot to do with my choice of purple for my Thanksgiving table:

1. I had a roll of purple damask lace left over from my Halloween party that I wanted to use.

2. Purple is not orange (that’s pretty obvious).

And that’s how my silver and purple Thanksgiving table decor came to be.  Keep reading to see how it turned out!

Start With The Inspiration

This purple lace damask* was the jumping off point for the whole table.  This fabric comes in a bolt that is 54 inches wide and 10 yards long.  Since my table is 40″ wide, the fabric was wide enough to go across the table…so I just had to cut a piece that was long enough to cover the length.

Fortunately, this fabric doesn’t unravel so I didn’t even have to hem the edges…a bonus in my books!

Since my table is black, I didn’t bother putting a table cloth under it…but if it had been a lighter color I probably would have put down a black table cloth first.

Create A Place Setting (Version 1)

Since the purple is a pretty vibrant (and dark) color, I decided I would stick to my basic white plates (that have a little black and grey thread through them)*.

These are my “go to” plates for table settings…white goes with pretty much everything!  And since they don’t have much pattern, they let the accessories stand out.

These looked nice, but once I got the table set with them, I thought it was a little boring (which I should have known…I almost never use matched place settings).  So I decided to switch out the dinner plate for one of these glass and silver ones…which I liked better.

Add Place Setting Version 2

Of course, once I started mixing and matching place settings, I had to try out my no fail swapping formula.  Which is to start with the place settings from 2 different china patterns, swap the salad plates for each and then change up the charger that the plates are sitting on.  It never fails … I always end up with a second place setting mix that looks great and co-ordinates perfectly with the first one.

Sometimes I use the two variations on different tables, but for this table, I decided to alternate them.

If you want a more monochromatic look, you could also go with the all-silver look.

Finish the Thanksgiving Place Settings With A Bit Of Fall

Since this is a Thanksgiving tablescape, I did want to have some kind of fall decor…so when I found these (very inexpensive) purple glitter pumpkins, I just knew they were the perfect accessory!

The glitter does tend to come off of these kinds of decorations.  I didn’t want my guests to be eating off plates with bits of glitter sprinkled all over them, so I put them in a bowl (which will not be used for serving food).  And these white bowls with silver on the outside fit perfectly with the rest of the table decorations!

The white and black napkin under the pumpkins is a good back drop for the purple (and raises them out of the bowl a bit so you can see them better).

Finally, silver cutlery finish off the place setting.  This set is actually stainless steel (so it goes in the dishwasher!), but everyone who has used it thinks it’s real silver.  I love it!

Use Stemmed Glasses

Even if I’m not planning on serving wine, I like to use stemmed glasses on the table.  To me, it just makes the table feel special.

And I have been looking for an excuse to buy these sparkly champagne flutes*…I guess we’ll be having Prosecco with Thanksgiving dinner this year!

Add Candles And Flowers To The Thanksgiving Table Decor

White candles with silver and mercury glass candle holders* will go with pretty much any table.  Although for a lot of entertaining situations I like to use flame-less candles, on the table, I always have real ones…they make the table feel warmer.

Anytime I’m serving dinner on a long table, I like to come up with a bouquet of flowers and then repeat it down the length of the table.  My problem used to be finding enough vases that were about the same size.

Then I discovered that using drinking glasses works very well for this (like the roses in stemless wine glasses I used for this brunch)!

You end up with bouquets of flowers that aren’t too big…which means your guests can still see each other across the table, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money buying a ton of flowers. Just make sure to use glasses with a heavy base so that the flowers won’t tip over.

To dress the glass up a bit (and hide the stems), I added some glitter ribbon* held together with velcro – a very similar process to these DIY sparkle napkin rings.

The Finished Table

Here’s the finished table.

I went with silver accents.  I originally thought I would mix gold with the purple, but I liked the lightness that the silver brought to the table.

Plus I was looking for an excuse to use my new silver chargers*.

Flowers and candles always make pretty centerpieces.

The purple and silver colors are definitely not traditional for Thanksgiving but I love the end result.

Using two sets of china adds some extra interest. And it extends the number of place settings you can use while maintaining a cohesive look.

The matching flowers help tie everything together.

Black and silver pumpkins* on the buffet add a little more fall decor.

So that’s it for my non-traditional purple and silver Thanksgiving table. In case you’re like me and aren’t a big fan of orange, you can find some more non-traditional fall decorating ideas HERE.

Shop The Table:

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Have comments or questions about our Purple and Silver Thanksgiving Table Setting?  Tell us in the section below.

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