Creating Plate Walls

I love a great plate wall.  I will admit that I am a plate addict and have collected some great ones over the years.  I see a collection of plates and either immediately think they are perfect to set a table ... or think how pretty they will be hanging on a wall.  I am not sure exactly when I started hanging plates on the walls of our home, but it was early on right about the same time a plate I had put up on a plate stand in our kitchen fell over and broke.  I can recall thinking there must be a better way and then spotted an article in a magazine with a plate wall.  The plate wall instantly resonated with me and that began a lot history of plates hanging on our walls. 

There are a couple of different ways to hang plates on the wall, either with metal hangers or adhesive tabs and I am a fan of the first.  I love being able to take them down quickly and use them on tables or completely redo the walls on a whim.  I really do think it is so fun to create them, and have done quite a few in our home.  We have them in our master bedroom, two hanging in my office, a number of them over the bed in our guest room, and a few in the laundry room.  Oh, and yes I just remembered, six more in the bar.  So I guess you could say ... its a bit of a plate home over here.  

One, of my favorite plate displays is on the porch surrounding a round mirror.  It is a collection of blue and white plates, all different patterns, that I collected for a while before thinking it would be perfect on the porch.  I love how the patterns all play so well together and the way they look surrounding the mirror.  They fit so well with our decor and I love how well it fills the wall. That is the best thing about hanging plates on the wall ... you can do it so many different ways and it makes for great wall art, and an inexpensive choice. 

I get asked a lot how to create plate walls.  I don't think there is a recipe on how to do it, I think it is different for everyone, but I can tell you how I create mine.  First ... you need some plates, and I recommend using at least three or more for bigger displays.  I like to pair them with my rooms, but it really is up to you.

You can hang them above a painting, one above and below, around something, or all on their own.  There is really no wrong way to hang them.  For me I gather my plates that I want to use, usually more than I will end up using, and then lay them out on the floor.  If they are surrounding something like a mirror or painting, I lay the item down as well and then play with them until I get it just right.  Once I have decided how I want them to hang I put the item back up on the wall and begin with one side.  I have found that if I get one side down perfectly I can have someone help me hang the other side by helping me with the visual heights.  For the recent installation of the plates and brackets in our master next to the bed I hung a painting, the top plate and then Nathan helped me visualize where the ones I had laid out should hang.  Make sure your hanging partner is patient, it takes a bit of time to get them hung where you envision them. 

I typically use hangers for the bulk of my plates, but I do use command strips on the smallest of plates since finding hangers that size isn't the easiest.  It also helps me get them right where I want them to be.  In the image above the tiny plates are all hung with hangers (because I had them), but velcro command strips would have also been perfect.  If you get the velcro option they hold really well.  If they are too large you can cut them in half ... pro tip!

Biggest tip for hanging plates ... just go for it.  Lay them on the floor, decide how you like them, and go for it!  💙

Images by Angie Webb Photography