If you’re very familiar with my home, you’d know that I shy away from bright colors. It’s not that I don’t love bright hues, but I prefer using a softer palette to decorate because it makes my home feel calm and peaceful.

It was my best friend’s birthday last month, and I was in charge of hosting an intimate dinner party for her. It’s been a while since we had people over, so I wanted to make sure I did something special.

My best friend is the complete opposite of me! I’m very feminine and love everything girly. She, on the other hand, is cool, edgy, and loves funky things.

While I was brainstorming on the theme, I came across this stunning Wonder Woman jelly cake by one of my favorite bakers. I was immediately inspired because I know my best friend LOVES Wonder Woman.

That was when I knew I hit jackpot. I’m going to host a Wonder Woman-themed birthday dinner!

Despite choosing a fictional character as my inspiration, I wanted the overall theme to still look elevated and chic. That’s how I settled on a beautiful blue and white tablescape with a pop of red and yellow to highlight the main feature – the stunning and super-creative Wonder Woman jelly cake.

In this post, I will share a step-by-step guide to style a beautiful yet budget-friendly blue and white tablescape on a glass dining table.

Related:

• How To Create A Simple & Beautiful Thanksgiving Table Setting
• 7 Easy Thanksgiving Recipes You Need To Make This Year

A step-by-step guide to style a beautiful blue and white tablescape

This blue and white tablescape is focused around a Wonder Woman theme, but this step-by-step guide can be used for any style or theme.

Start with your centerpiece

With every tablescape, I like to think about my centerpiece first. A standard dining table is usually big, so using a centerpiece helps to draw attention and make a statement.

There are many different types of centerpieces from floral arrangements and candles to fruits and even books!

For my blue and white tablescape, I focused on a combination of three things to put together a centerpiece: cake, flowers, and candles.

Cake

So, I knew immediately that the Wonder Woman cake will take center stage. However, I didn’t have time to purchase a cake stand in time for this dinner party (which I regretted because the floral arrangement blocked the cake!)

If you want to incorporate a cake into your centerpiece, always make sure to add height to it by using a pedestal cake stand. Got a tight budget? Swap a cake for other pretty desserts like cupcakes, brownies, cookies, or parfaits!

Flowers

Designer floral arrangements are usually very expensive, but there is a way to get them at a more affordable price. You can either get fresh blooms from your nearest grocery store or a florist wholesale distributor.

Since the cake had a red element to it, I bought a dozen yellow roses and a stalk of blue hydrangeas from a wholesale store. Although I had to arrange them myself, the flowers were so much cheaper and I was spoilt for choice!

Want to make the most of your budget? Here are some great options to choose from:

• Local flowers that are in season
• Naturally lush flowers like hydrangeas (I only used one stem for a small vase and it looked great!)
• Foliage like silver dollar eucalyptus

Candles and candle holders

Candles are a must-have in all of my tablescapes. They smell great and provide ambient lighting when lit.

For this particular tablescape, I used nude tapered candles and gold candle holders to balance the various colors.

Budget-friendly candle options include laying tealight candles down the center of the table or grouping varying heights of pillar candles to create a statement.

Choose complementary table linens

On regular days, I don’t use a table cloth for my glass dining table. My husband and I are messy eaters, and we love that a glass dining table is so easy to clean.

Nevertheless, I like to dress our glass dining table with pretty table linens during special occasions. Table cloth, placemats, coasters, and napkins bring warmth and texture to a glass dining table.

Table cloth

Here’s my #1 secret: I never buy expensive tablecloths. I use random or excess fabric as a table cloth! It’s so much cheaper, and there are about a million different choices!

The best part? You don’t have to worry about staining expensive linen or cotton tablecloths! After a dinner party is over, I usually soak the fabric overnight then wash and dry it the next day. This practice works like a charm!

Don’t have fabric at home? Use an old bedsheet or duvet cover instead!

I have a habit of buying fabric whenever I see something I like. So, when I found this beautiful cream and blue striped fabric sitting in my wardrobe, I knew it was the perfect foundation for my Wonder Woman-themed blue and white tablescape.

Placemats and coasters

Placemats and coasters play a functional and decorative role in a tablescape. They protect the table from scratches, heat, and watermarks.

My dinner parties are hardly formal, so I haven’t invested in high-quality damask, lace, or linen placemats. My all-time favorite placemats are my woven ones, which I’ve used repeatedly since I bought them. Its natural color and texture make it a great neutral to work with.

Technically, I didn’t have to use coasters because I used long-stemmed champagne glasses. Since I wanted to add another layer of texture and a different shade of blue to tie everything in together, I decided to use my faux leather blue-grey coasters.

If you have a rustic wooden table, I highly recommend ditching the table cloth altogether and spending your money on placemats instead. Let your beautiful wood grain shine through!

Napkins

Most tablescapes wouldn’t be complete without napkins. They’re practical and enhance any table setting design.

Well, I may have committed a tablescape faux pax here because I completely forgot about the napkins! To be fair, I don’t own any napkins that will work well with this blue and white tablescape. I did, thankfully, prepare some plain paper napkins for the table.

Paper napkins may be practical but they, unfortunately, look cheap. When in doubt, invest in plain white or cream linen napkins. They look elegant and go with every type of tablescape.

Mix and match tableware

I’m a big fan of mixing and matching tableware. I know our grandmothers and mothers will probably cringe at the thought of mismatched china, but I find that using the same set for everything can look a little dull (especially if you have a fun dinner theme like mine!).

Since I used red, blue, and yellow for the centerpieces and table cloth, I kept everything else fairly neutral. You can never go wrong with white plates, which was what I used for this tablescape.

One of my favorite ways to add detail to a tablescape is by using fancy cutlery. I normally alternate between chrome and brass cutlery, but since this was a blue and white tablescape, I brought out my porcelain-inspired cutlery. It felt right since we had Asian cuisine for dinner that night!

Use food as decor

Ever heard of this saying: “You eat with your eyes first”? If your food looks unappetizing, a beautiful tablescape can’t save your dinner party!

Food presentation is equally as important as the centerpieces, table linens, and tableware. Here are 35 impressive and affordable recipes for your next dinner party.

My best friend loves Asian food, so we settled on sushi and a seafood feast. The crabs and sushi had a lovely burnt orange (almost red) hue to them, which was the perfect addition to the Wonder Woman-themed blue and white tablescape.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this unique and beautiful blue and white tablescape. Let me know if you used any of my budget-friendly tips to set up your own blue and white tablescape!

The post How To Style A Beautiful Blue And White Tablescape On A Glass Dining Table appeared first on That Isle Life.

We would spend the entire day feasting on turkey, stuffing and green bean casserole (my favorite!)

I think a Thanksgiving feast feels incomplete without a Thanksgiving table setting.

Even the simplest table setting will help to set the tone for a warm, inviting gathering.

Since this is my first time hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, I thought I’d start small. That means only using what I have at home and incorporating very minimal decor.

I’m all for a simple and minimal table setting because this means the focus stays on meaningful connections, good conversation, and gratitude—core elements of Thanksgiving!

If this sounds like your ideal Thanksgiving, keep reading to discover my tips on how to create a simple and beautiful thanksgiving table setting.

Related: Whimsical Green And Gold Christmas Table Settings

Decide on a theme for your Thanksgiving table setting

There are so many ways to dress up your table for Thanksgiving.

Some prefer to style it traditionally with pumpkins and fall foliage. Others may take a contemporary route and furnish the table with monochrome accents.

I wanted to evoke a warm and homely feeling to my Thanksgiving table setting so I opted for a simple rustic theme.

As a result, I chose beige, sage green and white as my main colors.

Pro Tip: Intimidated by themes? Begin by choosing a color scheme instead.

Start with your tableware

Pretty things aside, it’s important to have a practical table setting.

I like to start with my tableware first. When in doubt, always go for white porcelain plates.

They always look classy and go with every type of table setting.

To keep things casual, I laid out one main plate per person. Since we will be serving food family-style along the middle of the table, a single plate per person will suffice.

Then, I incorporated gold flatware and clear drinking glasses to complete the dining set-up.

Pro Tip: Don’t have matching dinnerware? Choose a whimsical or eclectic theme so you can mix and match your tableware.

Related: A Minimal And Classy Black And Gold Tablescape

Choose your table linens

I have a glass dining table, which I love because it’s so easy to clean.

But since I wanted my Thanksgiving table to look rustic, I laid a beige runner down the center of the table.

The table needed a pop of color and some texture, so I chose sage green linen napkins and cream round hyacinth placemats as the finishing touch to the overall look.

Pro Tip: If you don’t have a wood dining table, use table cloths, runners or placemats to create texture to your existing tables.

Add your decorative items

What’s a Thanksgiving table setting without a centerpiece?

My inspiration for the centerpiece was completely accidental. While washing my empty kombucha bottles, I noticed how beautiful the amber bottles looked.

I decided to repurpose them into vases and filled them with strands of dried foliage like dried wheat and eucalyptus.

It’s a simple centerpiece but the table’s gotta have space for a large feast, right?!

Pro Tip: Repurpose fresh floral arrangements by drying them out. Dried flowers can last 1-3 years. You can technically dry any flowers but my favorites are baby’s breath, bunny tail, and eucalyptus.

Related: Simple & Casual Blue And White Tablescapes

Include personal touches

Finally, it’s time to include a couple of personal touches to complete your Thanksgiving table setting!

I attempted a DIY project this year and made dried orange slices. These are so easy to make and they make the home smell amazing.

I didn’t have time for this, but I love the idea of having handwritten place cards for an intimate Thanksgiving dinner.

Pro Tip: Spending on decor can add up. If you’re tight on budget, try decorating with fruits and vegetables!

Arrange seasonal fruits like plums and figs or vegetables like pumpkins and gourds along the middle of table for a fun and vibrant centerpiece.

Setting up the table is making me SO excited to have my best friends over to enjoy a delicious meal together.

Happy thanksgiving, everyone! How are you going to style your Thanksgiving table this year?

The post How To Create A Simple & Beautiful Thanksgiving Table Setting appeared first on That Isle Life.