50+ Designer-Approved Thanksgiving Home Decor Ideas

Company's coming! From the front porch to the mantel to the dining room and even your backyard planters, get ready to give every area of your home a cheery fall refresh before Thanksgiving guests arrive. From DIY project ideas to designer inspiration, we've got you covered with tips for decking out both indoors and out to help you warmly welcome friends and family this Thanksgiving.

First up: A fireplace mantel is the perfect location for a beautiful seasonal display like the one craft blogger and upcycler Courtney Carmean of A Diamond in the Stuff created in her home. She used simple objects like wooden picture frames, faux mini pumpkins and homemade pennant banners, even a bundle of wheat. A bit of decoupage allowed for the words “Give Thanks” to come to life, and voila, a mantel worthy of a holiday celebration for friends and family.

Flowers — dried or fresh — in fall colors in a no-brainer when it comes to Thanksgiving décor. Mix in a few pumpkins, gourds and pinecones to keep it all natural. Copper vessels continue the color palette with an elegant shine.

Design blogger and maximalist Ariel of PMQ for two knows that abundance at the holiday table begins long before the food arrives. This joyously colorful arrangement features a bold purple tablecloth with a graphic floral pattern, cotton canvas placemats with watercolor stripes and mid-mod magpie napkins … proving that every pattern can be a seasonal pattern. Ariel also makes the most of Thanksgiving’s proximity to the Christmas season by tossing in ornaments and wintery cup-and-saucer settings. When you’re putting linens and dishes together this year, look to Ariel (and Star Trek) for inspiration — and boldly go where no host has gone before.

In pulling together this happy-go-lucky setting, Ariel chose playful pieces that make it almost impossible not to smile. Chicken plates? Absolutely. Raccoon napkins? A perfect pairing. Printed-out paper placemats and shareable baskets of crayons are crowd-pleasing entertainment, and the colorful pumpkins she placed on her veggie table runner (why not?) can survive a bit of coloring, too. Keep your eyes peeled at thrift stores and rummage sales for cute (non-heirloom) accents like this turkey salt shaker, and download a digital template to generate color-able placemats of your own.

For those who dare to go bold, this tablescape envelops Thanksgiving in luxe coral pink and tangerine hues. Pink pumpkins and orange fall leaves intermingle as table decor and gold details create an ambiance that celebrates autumn's warmth.

The buffet arrangement Ariel created for a friendsgiving celebration — you know, a more informal, holiday-adjacent occasion to get together with the people you consider your chosen family — shrinks dessert down to adorable mini-offerings displayed on ceramic cake stands and cutting boards. This casual, festive display lets guests serve themselves speedily when they’re ready to tackle another course and offers another excuse to create a seasonal floral arrangement. Personal pies like this are also the ideal size for a dollop of ice cream, which doesn’t feel coincidental.

If your dining area features a bold retro palette like Ariel’s, don’t lean into an occasion-specific color scheme that makes your table feel like it materialized out of nowhere. Instead, carry your favorite hues into your seasonal decor: reach for cherry red placemats, cornflower blue tapers and Technicolor faux fruit and pumpkins. When your Thanksgiving decorations complement the pieces that stick around 365 days a year, every room feels special.

This Thanksgiving, break away from tradition and embrace the vibrant world of tablescapes in unconventional hues. Transform your dinner gathering into a visual feast with unexpected color palettes that spark joy and creativity. Imagine a Thanksgiving by the coast, where the salty breeze mingles with an air of gratitude. This tablescape embraces a serene blue and white palette, inspired by the artful beauty of shibori textiles. Silver flatware and silver-rimmed wine glasses provide a touch of elegance, enhancing the coastal ambiance.

Speaking of Technicolor gourds, you’ve turned your favorite eye-popping fabric scraps into charmers like these, right? This budget- and beginner-friendly DIY is the ideal way to dress your space for Thanksgiving and other fall festivities without deviating from the vibe you’ve already established (real talk: the pre-made pumpkin you ordered online isn’t quite working with your drapes and sofa). Follow Ariel’s tutorial here.

Southern design powerhouse James Farmer welcomed guests to his vacation cottage in Cashiers, North Carolina with a “Dahlia Dinner” tablescape that uses a profusion of vases to celebrate those gorgeous flowers and the last of the season’s roses. To follow in his footsteps, head outdoors and grab everything you find that falls within a fiery palette of golden yellows, tawny oranges and sunset reds (flowers, foliage, ferns — all fair game). Create several arrangements with the floral clippings and spread them along the center of your table, then fill in the gaps with leafier pieces.

Fancy an even more traditional arrangement? James splashed out on beeswax tapers cast from vine-wrapped oak branches in old-school barley-twist candlesticks to add drama and height to this spectacular scene. Hand-blown, jewel-toned wine glasses introduce rich color that carries through roses, asters, maple leaves, Mexican sage and cut cabbage stems in the trio of arrangements at the center of the table.

Who knew the MVP (Most Valuable Pumpkin) at your Thanksgiving table would be blue and white ombre? “It seems like everyone has a stack of blue and white dishes these days,” notes entertaining expert and accessories designer Joanna Buchanan. “It's so classic and I love how you can make it work for every season. Adding in the pumpkin colors in this indigo and white tablescape feels like a totally new spin on Thanksgiving and feels really fresh and new. Creating this look with our capiz table decor — ombre pumpkins and our extra-large striped tray — and fresh autumnal foliage is just so easy and so impactful. I also love the natural elements of our straw placemats and napkin rings ... they are hand-woven out of natural abaca and they make it feel like the fall harvest is on your table."

Rendered in gleaming glass seed beads, trusty old camouflage — yes, camouflage — looks right at home on a special-occasion table. “An unexpected introduction of pattern for your Thanksgiving table is super cool and totally chic,” Joanna says. “The placemats and table accessories in this tablescape truly mirror the color that is happening in the garden. These colors can work so well with so many colors of china — white would be fabulous as a clean counterpoint but, anything with green or burnt orange would also be fabulous! And note the gold-tone cutlery for extra depth and richness.”

Who says you should hold off on decking the halls? This metallic magnolia wreath and the garlands flanking it combine dramatically gilded leaves, poppy pods, pine cones and pops of evergreen needles in lush, textural trim you can hang after Halloween and admire through the new year. (If your pendants boast a rich brass tone that complements those magnolia leaves like these do, all the better.)

Fall may be a season associated with a palette of gold, orange and burgundy hues, but there’s no reason you can’t go unconventional with bright pops of color, even neons. Liven up your centerpiece with a mix of traditional and non-traditional elements, like mini pumpkins that are painted bright yellow, coral and even day-glo pink. It’s a fun way to brighten up and enliven the dinner table. Certainly, it will have your guests talking about your warm and welcoming decoratives.

Ariel used her Cricut Maker (a die-cutting gadget that uses commands from your phone, tablet or laptop to cut, score, emboss and engrave thin materials like vinyl and foil) to autumn up a sweetly retro serving tray. A tableau like this one is ideal for making an otherwise-bland corner of your home both festive and functional: create a help-yourself beverage station to get conversation flowing in the lead-up to dinner or to anchor an after-the-feast chat.

Unleash a vibrant symphony of teal and red-orange for a table setting to remember. A teal runner and napkins to match with vibrant red-orange botanical motif serve as the foundation for vintage-style China.

How do you ensure that your fabulous decorations don’t prevent your guests from making eye contact with one another (and kill your party’s ambiance)? Frontgate Brand Manager and holiday-maximalism aficionado Kate Beebe has some pro pointers on that and other design dilemmas, illustrated by her tastemaker friends. “I’m loving this solve styled by Amanda of The Fashionable Hostess,” she says. “Not only is she using a charcuterie board functionally to serve her guests, she’s also styled it to be the perfect centerpiece, complete with fresh eucalyptus and artisan-inspired glass pumpkins. While the color scheme is more muted than one might see from a maximalist tablescape, the multitude of focal points is spot on. A maximalist should always seek to add interest or a story with every object and color placed in a space.”

When you do want a bit of height, reach for multi-level pieces like the elegant marble and porcelain offerings in Frontgate’s Antler Serveware Collection. “Varying heights on a table elevate the presentation and create a dynamic display for your food and condiments,” Kate explains. “I personally love when the meal itself is the centerpiece. And if there’s any holiday where food fits the ‘more is more’ theme, it’s Thanksgiving.”

If you’re lucky enough to live someplace where you can invite your guests to get cozy outside, go for it — and have a showstopper ready when they get there. “Give them something to talk about,” Kate says. “Skip the traditional floral bouquet centerpiece for something a little more … out of the box. This vintage swan planter styled by Paige Minear is perfection with a bundle of magnolia leaves instead of the traditional fall florals. (I can’t wait to ask her the story behind this swan!) I love that her color combination includes orange and green, echoing the transition from summer to fall. I’ve honestly never seen a Thanksgiving table in these hues — and I couldn’t be more obsessed.”

This iteration of blue and white sizzles, thanks to high-contrast pairing with color-saturated foliage, tapers and napkins. “If you’re a maximalist, the color combination [of blue and white] is the perfect backdrop to add tiers of color,” Kate says. “Courtney from the famed Pizzazzerie brand chose to play up traditional fall hues in this Thanksgiving tablescape. The blue and white undertones add a gorgeous and interesting twist to an otherwise classic holiday table.”

When you think “Thanksgiving in Kansas City,” is this what comes to mind? Modern traditionalist Gwen Hefner — AKA The Makerista — brings the drama with her take on an autumn arrangement. “What sets this apart from most Thanksgiving tables? The pops of color in the moody mix, of course,” Kate says. “In true maximalist fashion, we see a bright blue napkin (instead of the traditional white linen), complementary blue glassware and bright fuchsia candlesticks to coordinate with the darker-toned fuchsia runner. She perfectly marries sophistication with interest and whimsy.”

Demure mini pumpkins are well and good, but isn’t it high time we started letting their funkier cousins do their thing? This architectural combination is gorgeous on an occasional table. “While most are drawn to the moody autumnal tones that complement gourds, Lance and David from Parker Kennedy Living paired nature’s bounty with bright pops of color (yellow, bright green and pink),” Kate notes. “The Rose Medallion Chinoiserie vessel perfectly plays to these color pops — especially highlighting the subtle pink hues in the arrangement. What maximalist doesn’t love pink?”

This clever combination of fabrics practically tracks the changing of the seasons: the tablecloth’s loose check and pale negative space evoke an end-of-the-summer picnic, while the buffalo check dinner plates layered below lacy white salad plates function as winter warmers. Don’t be shy about getting creative with a similar pairing at your place, and don’t assume you need to purchase new linens: Dig out blankets and throws to repurpose as tablecloths or test-drive a plaid scarf as a table runner! Don’t use a floral shirt in lieu of a floral arrangement, though. That would be weird.

Let’s focus on a variation of that setting and talk about a finishing touch that will start your meal off in spectacular fashion. Yes, the plaids we just talked about are lovely, and the woven chargers beneath them are pretty cool, too. The truth is, however, that you could use an old Paw Patrol twin sheet as your tablecloth and your Thanksgiving guests won’t snark about it if you top their plates with wee chocolate turkeys. Wee chocolate turkeys are a power move.

Create cohesion with mix-and-match seating and make unforgiving pieces cozier — looking at you, cool upcycled church pew that’s comfortable for about 15 minutes — with plush throws and cushions. If you have colorful faux fur, why, that’s even better.

Put a twist on indoor-outdoor living by hollowing out mini pumpkins and butternut squash to spice up table settings. If it’s too nippy to dine outside, don’t give up on patio decor: invite a container plant or two in for the evening as a living arrangement.

Cute little vessels meant for specific culinary occasions that won’t be coming up at Thanksgiving — we’re sorry, egg cups, but your services won’t be necessary today — are perfect (and on-theme!) for candles and diminutive flower arrangements scattered around your buffet. No extensive china set with vestigial pieces like those? No problem: You can mix and match to your heart’s content with quirky flea-market finds.

A straightforward list like this one works beautifully, but a handwritten menu is also an excellent opportunity to point out which of the dishes you’ll be serving are vegetarian-friendly, gluten-free, and so on. Feeling extra-crafty? DIY a gorgeous framed chalkboard like this one with step-by-step instructions, below, from crafty designer Marian Parsons.

If you’d like to say you’ve been apple picking this year and aren’t actually interested in spending hours in the car and muddying up your shoes, pick up 15-20 small apples from the local farmers’ market and build a diminutive “tree” with skewered fruit like this one. The morning after Thanksgiving, pluck the apples from your arrangement, then follow our recipe for applesauce (which takes just two minutes in a pressure cooker, or 10 in the microwave!) and serve your centerpiece with breakfast.

This rustic twig table runner for your Thanksgiving table is a great project that can involve the kids. As a bonus, it also gets them outside. Send the kids off on a mission to hunt down branches with straight sections that can be attached together using a glue gun and a neutral-colored ribbon. Alternatively, you can purchase faux branches and remove the leaves for this nature-inspired table runner for your dinner table. Incorporate separated tree leaves to add to the organic feel of the runner.

Greet guests at the front door with a DIY (and fantastic-smelling) cotton and eucalyptus wreath — and hand-letter a sign to kick off Thanksgiving with a sentiment of your choice. Kick things up a notch or two by winding a battery-powered string of fairy lights among the boughs, or wiring gleaming baubles to your wreath form.

Capitalize on this year’s ever-growing (no pun intended) mushroom trend with adorably bite-sized cookies. Arranged at place settings, piled atop a dessert buffet or tied up in glassine bags to take home as favors, these fellows are both delicious and the perfect excuse to discuss the fact that goblincore is an actual design aesthetic right now.

Skip a unified set of napkin rings and create your own “collection” by keeping your eyes peeled for various secondhand pieces that complement one another (say, silver-tone pieces in animal shapes). While you’re at it, be on the lookout for vintage placemats. Arranged in a row, they can create a one-of-a-kind table runner.

If you’ve got a pair of brass quail, it’s time to set them loose in your house. An ornate teapot? Fill it with seasonal blooms. Tea lights go in the mercury glass votives, figurines can march across your mantel, crystal creatures should peep out of your piled gourds. Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude for big things, and it's also a time to create festive displays with little things (like the 12 glass squirrels you inherited from Aunt Susan).

The kids' table need not be a dull and drab folding card table. Dress it up with creative fabrics, textures and patterns. Think colorful cutlery holders, fun dinner plates and decorated glassware stems. Make the tablescape even more festive by providing individual sets of crayons, playdough and turkey-themed crafts for each child placed inside small decorated boxes or cans. Check out all the how-tos at Project Nursery.

Thanksgiving is about food, but more importantly, this holiday that brings friends and family together is about thanks. This gorgeous gratitude tree that you can make and display for all to see as they enter your home is a wonderful way to allow guests to reflect on what they are thankful for as they write all their blessings on the leaves. Crafter Brittany Watson Jepsen of The House That Lars Built suggests giving each guest a few paper leaves for them to write on and hang from the gratitude tree.

Mason jars are for more than canning fruits and vegetables. They can make the perfect base for a Thanksgiving decoration or centerpiece that’s sure to impress your guests. All you need is a wide-mouth jar, spray paint, stencils and paint markers, according to crafter Angie Holden of The Country Chic Cottage. This is also great as a last-minute decoration since it won’t take you all day to pull this together for your table or mantel.

With natural bark edges and handsome end-cut graining, slabs like these are excellent additions to rustic arrangements of all kinds. This simple-as-someone-else-bringing-the-pie craft project needs to sit and dry for a few days after you’ve applied butcher block sealant, but the work itself takes mere minutes — and the admiration you’ll earn when you mention offhandedly that you DIY’ed your decor will last forever. (You don’t have to mention that you didn’t saw the log yourself.)

For those who have paper grocery bags or lunch bags at home, this DIY is for you. It’s simple, rustic and dramatic, all rolled into one oak leaf garland that’s perfect for fall. Cut out leaves using a printable template from DIY Beautify, paint a few leaves here and there using acrylic craft paints, then string them together into a budget-friendly garland that looks sensational when strung across a fireplace mantel.

It’s a cinch to jazz up your holiday dinner table by adding gold and glitter to decoratives that will grace the table. Gather up mini pumpkins in various sizes that will serve as the base of your table decorations. Even at the last minute, you can create gold-dipped pumpkins, gold leaf pumpkins or glittery and glam pumpkins that will wow your guests. If you can, make enough glamorous minis for each guest to choose one to take home at the end of the evening.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to decorate your home for Thanksgiving. For this DIY paper leaf garland, you need only fall-colored cardstock sheets, scissors, colored pencils and some thread or embroidery floss. Crafter Shannon Cairns of Making Frugal Fun gives you a hand by sharing the leaf templates you’ll need to help make this fall paper leaf garland a success. It’s as easy as cut, string, hang. It’s a super-simple way to spice up your walls this fall season.

Blankets and pillows like these won’t spend the fall and winter on the porch, but an impromptu arrangement that gives Thanksgiving visitors a place to gather before and after the meal sounds just right. If you’re expecting guests on the back patio, bring out a basket of throws to perch beside the door and ward off evening chills.

For a warm, inviting table that pleases both the eyes and the nose, look to dried fruits and nuts, even pine cones, seed pods and magnolia leaves. Thankfully, many of the nature-made materials that go into this tablescape are in the colors of the season, as in oranges, browns, greens and reds. A little foraging in your house and in your backyard may turn up all you need to create a seasonal table that will impress your guests.

If there’s no room or no time to create a table centerpiece, look to your chandelier as the focal point of an easy-peasy holiday decoration. For this project, you can collect fall leaves from outside or purchase silk fall leaves in hues of the season. You’ll then connect the leaves from biggest to smallest using a fishing line and a glue gun to create a gorgeous natural-looking garland that will hang down from your chandelier or pendant lights.

It’s easy to give thanks for chipboard since it helps crafters make last-minute garlands and banners that guests will love. You can either stencil and cut your own letters or, better yet, buy pre-cut chipboard letters to create a thanks-themed banner. Crafter Elsie Larson at A Beautiful Mess strung together chipboard letters, then made them sparkle for her guests with golden glitter.

A beautiful buffet station can be a great way to go for Thanksgiving dinner. There’s just so much food — turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and on and on. There may not even be enough room on the table for the food, making a buffet station ideal, even if just for desserts (pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple pie, etc.). Kim Stoegbauer at The TomKat Studio shares the free printables you need to make your buffet station a success, including a banner, toppers, favor tags and food labels.

Burlap may be a simple fabric, but its rustic nature makes it an ideal material to use as part of a Thanksgiving decoration, such as this fall table runner. As a bonus, burlap is inexpensive, so you won’t break the bank in your quest to get festive for your guests, according to crafter Leslie Rutland of The Seasoned Homemaker. A beautiful fall table runner requires little more than burlap, fabric scraps and iron-on adhesive, as well as her free leaf templates. Easy-peasy.

It’s easy to love the smell of cinnamon, and candles wrapped in cinnamon sticks make a fantastic focal point on a lovely table display. Simply wrap three-inch-tall pillar candles with whole cinnamon sticks and tie them with a piece of twine. Place candles on a decorative tray and adorn them with berries or walnuts. Vanilla-scented candles are a good choice to relish the scents of vanilla and cinnamon as the candles burn down. Crafter Beth Hunter at Home Stories A to Z shares how to make this easy table display.

Napkin rings are an easy and simple way to spruce up your Thanksgiving dinner table. DIY napkin rings that kids can make are even better. What family member wouldn’t want to ooh and ahh over adorable turkey napkin rings crafted by the kiddos? You can even make this craft a pre-meal family activity if only to keep little ones busy while the turkey is cooking in the oven. According to Susan Santoro of Organized 31, you may have all the crafting materials, like rubber bands, pipe cleaners and hair bands, at home. Well, you may need to buy the googly eyes.

For many, dessert is the best part of Thanksgiving dinner. It’s easy to daydream about the moment the pumpkin pie and whipped cream are brought out after the holiday dinner. Delicious. But, why not start with pumpkin pie? As in, pumpkin pie place cards placed at each table setting. These adorable place cards created by Kelley Wilds of crafting blog, Coastal Kelder, are not only super cute, but they’ll ensure pumpkin pie is on your guests' minds. Just make sure pumpkin pie is actually on the menu.

A seasonal wreath on your front door is a wonderful way to welcome your guests to your home. It’s all the better when you can quickly and beautifully DIY your own wreath with burlap and seasonal items, like mini pumpkins and foliage, as well as fall-colored craft store finds. Start with a wire wreath form and loop around the burlap. From here, add the fall embellishments of your choice.

For more fun with Mason jars, grab a few jars, some burlap and a handful or two of real or faux leaves. You’ll also want some acrylic paints in a variety of fall colors, like burnt orange, amber, cinnamon and maroon, in order to paint each jar before covering in burlap. Your guests may not realize just how easy this fall decoration was to create for the Thanksgiving holiday. Crafting mom Jill Mills of Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons shares this DIY fall craft and more than 50 more.