User post: Holiday Table 101 ~ Master the Basket Fold and Incorporate Pink onto a Thanksgiving Table

I think planning the decorations for the Thanksgiving table is one of my favorite things. But so often I fall into the mindset that I need to use a full palette of earthen colors and big chunky ceramic plates to pull off that perfect Fall look. Never mind that I have set after set of vintage china that I've prowled every antique store on both the West and East Coast to find. It sits stacked and waiting every year - only to be passed up for a traditional design. But I'm dedicating myself this year to taking back my table from these ideas! There are other colors in the Thanksgiving spectrum, I just know it.

The problem of course with vintage china is that the pretty flowery patterns look a little out of sorts on a Thanksgiving table. I have pumpkins and leafy looking cutouts dancing through my head - not roses!

But still - take back the table - I want to use my stuff, not a cookie cutter idea of decorating.

But I think I'm starting to figure out how to make it work....enter the wood charger atop a raw silk(ish) tablecloth (above). Not only does the rich wood lend that earthy Fall look, but it actually gives the French pattern a semi-modern feel - a bit eclectic actually. Pink napkins really won't do and gold or white will just fade into the background - but this nice pop of purple is just the look.

But to give the whole effect that wonderful leafy look that we're lacking, I love the idea of tucking a leaf of Purple Kale in, along with a nice contrasty tulip. The trick that pulls this all together is the artful Basket Fold on the napkin. I made a fabulous quick tutorial with a little help from my friends recently on how to do the Basket Fold - here it is.

Sorry for the audio experiment that sounds like a blip in the middle - I've been working on editing and sometimes you don't know how a tweak is going to turn out until it's up.