Elegant Blue and White Thanksgiving Table: A Sophisticated Tablescape

Looking for a fresh alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving fall colors?

Try an elegant, modern, blue-and-white Thanksgiving color palette for your holiday table! It’s visually stunning by combining creamy whites, deep blue accents, natural wood and beautiful textures for a sophisticated, yet welcoming holiday setting. It’s a beautiful way to inspire you to go for something different from the traditional Fall colors this holiday, that is still timeless and a little unexpected! Your guests will immediately notice and love it!  Let’s check it out! This will be fun!

A classy blue and white Thanksgiving tablescape

So I was wanting something different than the traditional Fall theme and I was looking for a unique take on Thanksgiving.

This table setting has a clean, crisp, earthy feel with its creamy white base colors and blue accents throughout. It is touched with white greenery and other stunning blue and wood accessories. 

A stark white turkey centerpiece is the spotlight of the table decor. There’s no question this is a Thanksgiving table with him being the star!

The table setting has different textures with various sized pumpkins strewn throughout.

The pumpkins include smooth glass blue pumpkins, some two-toned feathered ones, soft beige velvet and wood pumpkins displayed throughout. These offer different character features and pair well with the turkey plate place settings. 

This look blends so many different elements to the clean and elegant mood I was looking for.

The overall goal was to have a bright, yet soothing, rustic and elegant feel. It’s a welcomed and fresh change to traditional decor, and a look that aligns perfectly with my appreciation for beautifully styled gatherings! And I hope it inspires you too!

How to Create a Blue and White Thanksgiving Tablescape

Start the vision by finding an inspiration piece

When first starting to brainstorm on what you want to do for your tablescape theme it’s important to have some sort of direction. 

I start by looking at Homegoods, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Home Sense, Kirklands , Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Target and AT Home and look for inspiration pieces or colors that speak to me. I also look on Amazon after I know what I want.

Over time what I have learned is if I don’t have an inspiration piece, I am lost on what to design. I just wander around and I buy stuff because it’s “cute” or “this will work” and when I get home I see that it doesn’t go together.

So what do I do? I end up taking it back and wasting time.

Can you relate? Well let’s fix this together!

Look for something that catches your eye. Something that speaks to you and would love to create a design around.

Or if you have an idea you found on Pinterest, or a magazine, or somewhere else, you could look around for something that would make your vision become a reality as well.

After you find an inspiration piece or you are inspired by a color, then you know what style, colors or feel you are going for.

Then the fun begins!

Start the table by styling the tablescape with neutral colors

I always start with a table runner.

I have found I use my white table runner ALL the time. It really matches with almost everything I do and it’s a great fresh, clean feel. It’s Hearth and Home from Target and it’s not too formal. 

I lay it down on the table and then start with the centerpiece. I also have white velvet placemats that surprisingly flow well with the cotton tablerunner. It adds an elegant feel and different texture to the more casual looking runner.

Centerpiece inspiration – blue turkey plates and an elegant stark white turkey 

I actually had two inspiration pieces this year that caught my eye- A stark white turkey and turkey plates both from the store At Home.

I sometimes find it hard to find just one inspiration piece and this time I lucked out with two! Score!

Well, the plates must have been popular for other people too because when I found them they only had 5 in stock. Oh no! I needed 8!

My heart started racing. I quickly looked side to side and snapped those babies up and held on tight like I won 5 lottery tickets!

Now what? Ugh. There’s only 5. My brain started devising a plan.

Maybe I can use 4 turkey plates and 4 white plain plates and space them out.

Hmmm…

Well… Since I loved them so much I did what any normal, rational person would do. I drove the following week to a different At Home store in another city. (Don’t judge).

The hunt was on. When I walked in I was walking like a woman running late to a hot date, but still trying to look cool. And guess what- they had 5 more! YAY! I grabbed the three I needed and bolted before someone wrestled me for them.

On to the White Turkey

I found him also at At Home.

I noticed the white on his plastic feathered body was the same crisp white on the plates. YES! Perfect! Because we all know there are like 500 shades of whites and they can be tough to match.

Can you relate? Or is it just me?

I knew the turkey was the star of the show and a must have to give it its modern Thanksgiving vibes. 

When I got home and started to decorate the table I placed him on a pedestal I already had from Hobby Lobby (and I use a lot) and he was the perfect height. 

But then as I looked at the turkey on its pedestal base I could see it needed a little something. He was looking a little. Well…. plain.

It just didn’t feel right. It was too vanilla having him in the bowl of the pedestal and the edges were too much contrast. Hmmm…It wasn’t doing it for me.

So to soften the turkey base I dug into one of my fake plants and snagged some reindeer moss. I added it to the bottom of the pedestal bowl. It was the just what was needed to soften it up. 

I was loving the organic, earthy feel. This was the perfect addition to blend the two worlds of elegant white and rustic together. 

Then another snag. 

I felt like the pedestal base needed a little extra touch to flow better on to the runner. The colors were too similar when I put the pedestal on the runner and they needed some contrast to break it up.  

So I added a tree slice and it was a nice touch!

I was worried about the height by adding the slice, but it only raised it slightly and the contrast was exactly what it needed! Phew!

White greenery with a touch of blue

I then added greenery to soften the hard edges you see with the tree slice.

This time I got some white leaf greenery and also added this deep blue faux eucalyptus greenery you see in the picture from Jo Ann Fabrics (RIP JoAnn. So sad to see you go. I will miss you. We really made some great memories together).

Then it was time to add white pumpkin stems to get the fall vibes I needed . The white pumpkins are long stems and the taupe velvet pumpkins are picks all from Hobby Lobby.

All you do is intertwine the stems together and add the picks when you feel they need to be.

The fall look was starting to make an appearance!  HELLO there! You’re looking GOOOOD!

Adding height to your table setting with rustic elements

Adding to the natural ambiance were some wood lanterns.

I have had these lanterns for a few years and they were a perfect match to the other wood tones I was pulling in. And the price is just right.

I placed them at each end for balance and put battery powered candles inside of them.

I took a step back. 

Hmmm.

Still not right.

I noticed I needed something of varying heights for interest. 

This time it was begging for something of medium stature so I put these large wood pumpkins in between to balance the table out. Plus, they were in the same wood shade so it was the ideal fit! 

The last item for height were these white metal candle holders from TJ Maxx which added another texture to the mix. It was all coming together nicely.  

Then I added some battery operated tapers to the candle sticks. I am obsessed with the tapers. I use them ALL. THE. TIME.

I absolutely love using battery operated candles. They look like they flicker and give off a great ambiance.

I try not to use real candles even though they are beautiful. I feel more comfortable with the battery ones for safety.

Filling in the blue and white Thanksgiving table and adding stylish textures

After the main big items and greenery were placed it was time for the fillers. They don’t play small. They know they have an important part.

I got real mini pumpkins from Trader Joes. It is great for even more texture elements and they are so adorable and affordable!

I added multi toned feather pumpkins to give an earthy feel, and white resin pumpkins I already had along with tiny blue glass pumpkins from Target. 

The different style pumpkins add a nice feel with the varying textures and heights. 

For a touch of fun,  I placed ceramic creamy white apples and pears to add some items that would be in a cornucopia, but instead are hanging out with pumpkins and greenery.  

The final touch to your blue Thanksgiving theme

It was time to put the finishing touches on it!

Next up was the table setting with the placemats, chargers, glasses, flatware and THOSE turkey plates.

I got the chargers from Amazon that match all the light wood tones going on. I also like that they are scalloped for extra visual appeal. The rustic, but elegant feel for Thanksgiving was getting there!

I bought the black flatware, also from Amazon. I only use them for dinner parties and I hand wash them to keep them looking nice. 

The blue goblets are from Kirklands. I’ve also had them for awhile. You will see them modeled on some other posts. They are heavy, have a luxury vintage feel and matched great.

I have had the white porcelain plates from Pier One for 25 years. I bought them at the clearance outlet and bought 30 of them way back in the day knowing how much I love to entertain and the color white. You can never go wrong with white plates! 

I put 20 of the plates away for entertaining and we use the rest for everyday. They have lasted FOREVER and they look just as good as they did then!  

And to finish it off I took the other inspiration piece. THE blue turkey plates. 

This was it- It was time to see if the inspiration plate I found at At Home weeks before was going to finish it off like I hoped? Were the plates worth the effort?

With excited hands I placed them on top of the white plates as the finishing touch.

I took a step back and embraced how it all came together.

YEEESSSS!

My heart went boom! I was so excited with the result I threw my hands up in the air! YAY! I LOVED It! 

What do you think? Would you also try out a blue and white thanksgiving tablescape too? 

Or have you styled a blue and white themed Thanksgiving table? I would love to see it!

I absolutely love this unique, classy, blue and white color scheme for Thanksgiving this year. It feels sophisticated, casual, modern and traditional all at the same time! Honestly, this is my favorite Thanksgiving tablescape theme yet! Hope this inspires you to do your own blue and white Thanksgiving theme!

Michelle

Elegant Blue and White Thanksgiving Tablescape FAQ’s

Is it odd to use Blue as a thanksgiving color?

Absolutely not! Your house, your way! But in all seriousness yes, it may not be a traditional Thanksgiving color BUT blue has really come alive in recent years to style for the fall season. It’s a modern and elegant choice especially when you pair it with earthy colors like whites, tans, taupes and browns.  It is fun to see your guests reaction to the beautiful color change.

What are some other colors I can blend with blue that I may already have on hand?

Vivid Orange, eggplant deep purples, goldenrod yellow, subtle browns and mochas are a great color combo too. 

What are ways I can change up my decor, but not spend a lot?

Look around your house with open eyes for items you already have and see if they can go on your table. This adds interest and can also be a conversation starter. You’d be surprised what you can use.

Think vases, books, flowers, candle holders, frames, scarves, mason jars, bottles, cake stands, trays, platters, baskets, bowls, or even items from outside like branches, pinecones and acorns, but just make sure you don’t bring in any bugs! Yikes!

Could you imagine the story later from your guests- “We were eating and bugs started crawling out of the decor”! That wouldn’t be the most appetizing as you’re eating and you see that! But it sure would be memorable!

How can I add blue items without spending a lot for new decor? 

You can either buy just a few blue items and use them as accent pieces.

Or if you go to the store and see something you like that would be a great addition to your design, but don’t like the color? Change it!

A lot of people do this at the dollar store or thrift stores and it’s amazing what you can find! Then you can get a can of blue color spray paint and paint them.  

Or if you have some old decor you don’t use anymore and want to bring new life to it? You can paint these too!

Just have fun with it! It’s so exciting to see what you create!