Thanksgiving Table Styling

My mom was in charge of hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family this year. Their house is a hundred years old and very much divided into smaller rooms so it was obvious we'd have to get creative in seating roughly 30 people. My friend Kim (who ventured North with us) and I tackled the job of creating a rustic outdoor dining area.

Here is our little eating area sat midway down the valley.

I frequently "shop" in my parents outbuildings. They are a wealth of treasures. To create our first table we set a door (original to the house) atop two rustic saw horses. On either side we put benches found around the property. The handmade bench in the foreground was a super "find" from antiquing the day before. She had been asking the shop owner for months to buy the bench and he wouldn't let it go - until that day :)

 

For the table center piece we positioned antlers with a vintage jam tin and plain old tin can filled with foliage from the forest floor. I love it.

  

Around our outdoor dining area we propped up old framed kitchen prints that had hung in our previous home. The large wire basket was a find from an antique shop in Michigan the week before. My parents are both long haul truck drivers which basically means my mom just gets to shop all over North America.

 Another antler tin can center piece.

I think this bench is absolutely stunning. I can see why she's been after it for so long.

I wish I knew where to put a door table in my own house :)

I'm always amazed at the stuff I find lying around in my parents out buildings!

A vertical garden on the edge of the bush.

A little rest area.

I had to throw in a pic of my sweet new vintage camera case. More on that story later ;)

A little afternoon snack at our table.

It turned out to be quite a cool evening and so most everyone ended up eating indoors except for these troopers. Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma (who is not outside yet here.)

And of course our two families. Kim and I had to enjoy our handiwork and it was nice to have a little more space for the kids (and less ears to hear their meltdowns.)

Grandpa :)

We are blessed.