Trend Feature: Perk Up Your Walls with Plates

From your great-grandmother’s finest china to discount dishes snagged at the flea market, your plates are gorgeous décor pieces, begging to be put on display. Collect your favorites, then take cues from our composition ideas and learn how to easily mount them to your walls.

How to Hang Your Plates
Before you begin your project, examine your plates and determine what kind of hanger will work best. There are lots to choose from at your craft or hardware store—spring-activated hangers clamp easily around most plates to provide a sturdy hold. But for more delicate, vintage items, consider a V-shaped wire hanger that won’t put pressure on the dish’s rim.

MATERIALS
Plate
Craft paper
Pencil
Scissors
Blue painter’s tape
Plate hanger
Hammer

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Plan your plate composition by creating paper templates of your dishes. Place each dish upside down on your craft paper and trace its shape with a pencil. Cut out the template with scissors.
2. Arrange your templates on the floor, playing with the composition (see our inspiration ideas below), until you achieve a look you love. Recreate your arrangement on the wall, hanging each template with painter’s tape.
3. Use a ruler to locate the center of each template, then lightly mark the spot directly on your wall in pencil.
4. Hammer your hanging hook into the pencil mark on the wall. Following your plate hanger’s instructions, attach the hanger to the plate, then attach the plate to the hook.

Composition Ideas

• Straight Line: Keep things traditional with a linear look—a trio of plates running straight up and down is the perfect way to fill space between two bathroom mirrors or two doors. Try hanging four or five horizontally above a long piece of furniture, like a buffet table or even your bathtub.
• Abstract Cluster: Create an artistic, imperfect shape using dishes in lots of different shapes, sizes and colors. Begin by spacing out the larger plates, then fill in with smaller dishes and saucers to create a fluid shape.
Tip: We love creating a colorful cluster of plates that wraps around a furniture fixture. For example, hang a series of plates so that they follow the curve of a large armchair in your room.
• Simple Shape: Make a bold statement by hanging many plates in a simple square or circle shape on a large wall. It’s beautiful above a sofa or mantle, or in lieu of a bed headboard.
Tip: Dishes are stunning on their own as artwork, but feel free to intermix them with framed art, photographs or small mirrors to create a one-of-a-kind collection on your wall.

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