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Owl Fall Table + HomeGoods Challenge Part 1

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Thanksgiving Holiday Table Owls - White and Gold

HomeGoods recently asked me if I’d be interested in shopping one of their stores and coming up with a creative Fall tablescape and highlighting some fall entertaining trends. Um… lemme think about that for a sec? Just kidding… YES, please! ;)

If you’ve followed the blog for a while, you probably already know that HomeGoods is already one of my standard go-to places for party decor and has been pretty much since I first set foot in one. Obviously the prices are the initial attraction – which is great because I rarely feel bad about modifying certain pieces with a coat of paint or some rhinestones to get them “party theme ready” – but you can also find so many different kinds of things in one place – from vases and interesting figurines & statues for centerpieces to dishes and linens, frames, pillar holders, holiday decor & more. The pieces I’ve scooped up at HG can be spotted throughout countless past blog posts and party themes… from pretty much every single apothecary jar in all our candy buffet set-ups to to the flamingos, tea pots, and cool “face silhouette tea light holders” from Wonderlandia that were “blowing butterflies” at the party! Oh, and of course the $10 flying pig garden statue from Wonderlandia that we dressed up with some bright pink and metallic gold spray paint! She sits on a shelf daughter’s room now and still makes me happy every time I walk in there. ;)

Thanksgiving Holiday Table Owls - White and Gold

Anyways, back to the present day and the focus on Fall/Holiday… there were some gold and white pinecone plates I’d just spotted & fell in love with at HomeGoods even before getting the fun email from them, so my mind immediately went there, but I wasn’t sure what else to surround them with yet for the rest of the table…. so Sonny came with me to the store with the camera to document the “finding” process.

The neutral palette of the plates made them an easy fit with several centerpiece design options, so the only difficulty with the shopping trip was keeping this one from literally jumping out of the cart at every turn since she would’ve much rather been grabbing at all the pretty things there were to look at!

In keeping with the nature of the blog, (and how I usually do things myself anyways) I wanted to make sure that the final Fall table incorporated some things I already owned (acrylic chargers, utensils, wine glasses) + some new finds (see below) + some DIY/crafty elements (manzanita tree, ribbon accents, place cards) so that readers can easily replicate this look at home. (It actually would work well for both Thanksgiving & Christmas!) So without further adieu, here’s a photo recap of the shopping trip, followed by shots & details on how the final table design turned out at home…

The plates that started it all… a.k.a. the “inspiration piece” for the tablescape. These were $14.99/set of 4 and I picked up 2 different sets with coordinating patterns. I tried to stand out of the frame of these pics, but the pregnant belly kept working its way in :0

HomeGoods Plates

Next up: pretty Ralph Lauren napkins ($9.99/set of 4) + table runner ($9.99) in coordinating colors…

HomeGoods Plates

And now for the “stars” of the centerpiece… these “rock owl” statues were just way too cute & cool to pass up! The neutral palette also makes them great for year-round home decor, not to mention the face that they make for a very long-lasting centerpiece. ;) I paired them with a simple DIY manzanita “tree” on the actual table. More details on that below…

HomeGoods Plates

Last but not least, some coordinating serving pieces & accent decor for the hutch behind our dining room table…

HomeGoods Plates

One of my many attempts to distract Macy from grabbing at things on the shelves by letting her dig through my purse. Note to self – not the smartest idea ever… we almost lost the car keys this way!

And now for how it all came together…

Thanksgiving Holiday Table Owls - White and Gold

For the centerpiece, the “rock owl” statues sat next to a $12 metallic gold vase that I also picked up on the shopping trip. DIY: I spray painted a manzanita branch white to stick in the vase and decorated it with a few small gold leaves for a mod-minimalist look. I actually cut up a big gold leaf from a past party to make these smaller leaves, but you can could always buy gold leaves or cut them from shimmery gold scrapbook paper too.

Thanksgiving Holiday Table Owls - White and Gold

The wooden metallic gold garland surrounding everything was a $10 find from the HomeGoods holiday decor section. I cut up another one of these to decorate the chairs. (More on that below.)

DIY: For the “place cards” I used pieces of twigs to prop up glittery gold chipboard letters. You can find these letters in the scrapbook section at Michaels or at most craft/scrapbook stores. The letters are attached to the twigs with Pop Up size Glue Dots.

Thanksgiving Holiday Table Owls - White and Gold

Above you’ll see the 2 different patterns on the plates, which alternated at every other place setting. I also used acrylic gold chargers that I already owned and altered those as well, since I only had 4 of each design (ribbed and solid). Mixing & matching what you already own to get enough of one type of item is always a great budget-wise tactic!

The napkins, wine glasses, and gold vase were embellished with black and white striped ribbon. That might seem like an odd choice for a gold, white, & beige palette, but it really higlighted the black in the eyes of the owls, and I love experimenting with patterns that might be a little unexpected!

Thanksgiving Holiday Table Owls - White and Gold

DIY: I cut the 2nd metallic gold garland (the same design used in the centerpiece) into 6 pieces to make “ornaments” for the chairs. Decorating chairs is one of my newest obsessions lately… it really helps tie everything together!

Thanksgiving Holiday Table Owls - White and Gold

Here’s another close-up of the smaller rock owl since he’s just too cute not to give sufficient camera time… ;)

Thanksgiving Holiday Table Owls - White and Gold

We lined the back of the dining room hutch with gold and copper wrapping paper to give it a warm, festive holiday feel. I mixed a few vases I already owned with some of the new finds from our shopping trip, including the gold leaf apothecary jar which also got a mini makeover with black & white ribbon.

Gold White Thanksgiving Holiday

Gold White Thanksgiving Holiday

Some of the leftover gold twigs from the cut-up garland found a home here as well…

Gold White Thanksgiving Holiday

That’s it for Part 1 of the HomeGoods challenge! Stay tuned for part 2… which will highlight more of the general finds from our time in the store + a mini-theme I’m working on inspired by these 3 finds from this same trip:

This mini theme wasn’t part of the “challenge” but I just couldn’t resist after finding the $10 birdie jewelry holder pictured at left + another 2nd version that matches…I’m thinking rustic-mod fall bridal shower with burlap & lace details. We’ll see how it comes together this week. :)

16 Comments

  1. MonogrammedEverything! November 14, 2011 at 8:44 am

    Love it!!

  2. Dina - Deliciously Darling Events November 14, 2011 at 9:48 am

    Adorable! Great ideas including lining the hutch with paper!!! Love the photos of your adorable daughter & baby belly Jenn. Gotta love home goods!

  3. elissa @ one stone events November 14, 2011 at 10:21 am

    so fantastic!!

  4. art deco engagement rings November 14, 2011 at 10:49 am

    I agree.. the owls are fantastic!

  5. Michelle - I DO invitations by michelle November 14, 2011 at 10:58 am

    LOVE it and the baby bump!! Those owls are perfect!

  6. Anna November 14, 2011 at 11:01 am

    Looks awesome! I love the plates and the owls the most!

  7. Candy Dishes November 14, 2011 at 11:33 am

    That tablescape looks so enticing, I love how you put everything together. Really nice. C:

  8. Liz November 14, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    I love the fall tablescape and all the fun accessories! The neutral decor is just perfect.

  9. Julie November 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    I love this! I’m trying to decide if I should go now or wait till after dinner to see if my local Home Goods carries those owls and plates.

  10. Celeste November 14, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    The best part is Macy and baby bump! :) Thank you for sharing them! Would you mind sharing the pattern names of the gold pine cone plates and the oak/pincone plates? I saw the article earlier today and made a special trip to my Homegoods, but….no plates, no owls, no bird jewelry holder! :( I’m thinking I might be able to track down the plates on the internet though! Thank you! LOVE your work!

  11. Bird November 15, 2011 at 8:50 am

    I loved it all, but especially seeing the baby bump on the last photo! How cute is that?! :)

    Can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

  12. Cheryl November 15, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    So, so cute! Great ideas – thanks for a fresh look at the Thanksgiving table!

  13. Kristen November 15, 2011 at 6:17 pm

    Wow! This is such a pretty post – I love the pictures and creative detail! Perfect for Fall decorating*:-)

  14. Modern Cupcake - Jill November 16, 2011 at 7:32 am

    Beautifully executed!!

  15. Monica November 17, 2011 at 4:56 pm

    Wow, I LOVE what you came up with!!

  16. Nicole-Salena November 21, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    Love the color scheme. Gotta get me some of those gold leaves. LOVE ‘EM!!

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