How to Create a Hanging Plate Display

If you’re looking for something new to hang on your walls, check your china cabinet. Plates and platters can be beautiful to look at; why not hang them on the wall so you get to appreciate them all year round, and not just when you host a dinner party? If you’ve already got extra plates lying around, all you’ll need are a few inexpensive hanging supplies. If you don’t have any dinnerware to spare, check your local flea markets or thrift stores, or even stores like Anthropologie, which sells lots of vintage-inspired looks.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Plates
• Wallpaper
• Paint
• Plate Hangers
• Painters tape

1. 

   Pick your pieces. A group of white plates of various sizes and patterns really pops against a wall covered in colorful wallpaper or bold paint. If your wall is more neutral, plates from a colorful matching set can give the wall life. Or use your judgment and mix and match!

2. Purchase plate hangers. There are a few different options out there. For a completely invisible look, opt for an adhesive hook, which you simply affix to the back of your plate. For larger, heavier pieces, you may prefer to use a metal plate hanger that hooks over the edges of your plate, but be careful when you fasten it on so that you don’t scratch or chip your china.

3. Choose a location. The dining room or kitchen are natural places to hang china, but you don’t have to limit yourself. Just be sure that wherever you choose to hang your plates, they’re somewhere out of the flow of traffic. Hang them above a door or on a wall behind a piece of furniture; this way no one will accidentally brush up against your plates and destroy your gorgeous display!

4. Create your arrangement. To plan your arrangement on the wall where you’ll be hanging it, trace the pieces you plan to hang onto paper and tape them up on the wall with painter's tape before you nail anything down. For the best result, try to create an evenly-spaced, symmetrical arrangement.

Resources

• Container Store Adhesive Plate Hangers

[BellaCasa]

on 2/13/2009 I love this look, but my dh will not let me put that many holes in the wall :( I do use plates around the house in a easel type holder...but if I had my way, I would have about a dozen or so plates above our bed...maybe one day! 5*

[melb]

on 3/25/2008 Be sure to check online sites for beautiful vintage and antique china too. Ruby Lane is an especially nice one. You can find whole sets of matching plates ready to go, or look for special plates one at a time.

Plates are also lovely when displayed in an arrangement with prints or paintings. Make a small artwork fit a larger space by arranging plates with it.

[Susanh]

on 2/21/2008 What a neat idea! It is budget conscious too, for those who need to save money, but still want to give a space a new look.