8 Favorite Thanksgiving Tablescapes From Designers

Your Thanksgiving tablescape doesn't have to be all about rusts, oranges, yellows and the usual turkey motifs. Try a more designer look by incorporating unique floral elements like moss, succulents and lush blooms in an unexpected color palette. Rich colors, the softness of beautiful peonies and movement in some of the greenery lend a romantic feel to this fall tablescape, from Forage and Flower designer Kathryn Davenport Drennan, whose shop is in the Serenbe community outside Atlanta. The mix of florals includes antique green hydrangea, peach Campanella garden rose, peonies, Chocolate Sunflower privet berry, magnolia, pieris, dusty miller, Agonis mixed with dried pods and pheasant feathers. To accent the florals, Davenport Drennan used lush green mood moss mounds, a xerographica air plant and candlelight with the mossy green tapers and low gold votives.

The Thanksgiving table is a great place to use regional elements, heirloom pieces or incorporate a family crest or monogram and other elements that emphasize family and home. J. Lee Cox, owner of Mallards Nest Design created this crest in his collaboration with designer Emily McCarthy. The design holds onto tradition with a turkey, bay leaf garland and two bobwhite quail that tie into the region where Cox lives in south Georgia. The green in the china, made by Sasha Nichols, could pair with other colors, such as blue and white. The rattan basketweave charger (do like designers do, and think about incorporating chargers into your tablescape) can be used well past the season, and the cards can be used to leave a message for guests or to list the menu.

Lee Cox, owner of Mallards Nest Designsays incorporating family heirlooms is a great way to show off items that you don't use every day. For example, this centerpiece features succulents in Cox's great-grandmother’s punch bowl.

A fresh approach to a Thanksgiving dinner table is to create a runner of great pieces, such as wood discs, mixed-height candles, air plants and moss mounds and inexpensive items you can find in craft stores or even forage from your yard, says Kathryn Davenport Drennan, owner and principal designer with Forage and Flower. "By using really beautiful blooms in a strong jewel tone and mixing it with lots of texture in darker complimentary colors of blues and greens and browns, you have a nice mix of traditional elements with a fresh color palette," she says. Antique blue hydrangea, white dubnium, Agonis, magnolia and lavender spray roses are set in a textured copper bowl.