Hanging Plates

I'm linking to an older post and joining in Amanda's Decorating Dilemmas Party. Be sure and visit Serenity Now for more dilemmas and solutions!

I don't know about y'all, but I absolutely love to hang plates on the wall. I think they are a beautiful and inexpensive way to fill up that empty wall space. Or add just the right finishing touch to an existing wall hanging. OR...

to cover up that hideously random phone jack from 1975. Can you see it? Yes, I know that's funny... of course you can see it. Here let me show you a close up of it in all it's horrible splendor.




Yuck, right?
There was also another little box with no purpose that I took off. I attempted to remove the silver one, but when I did, I realized there was a big gaping hole in my wall with lots of unknown wires poking out from it.
Ummmmm...no thanks. I think I'll just cover it with some pretty plates instead!




I played with this arrangement till about 2:oo this morning. I'm a recovering perfectionist...what can I say? I really liked this one, but I was limited because the large platter HAD to go on top of the ugly box. It sits pretty low on the wall, so it looked weird to hang anything below it.




Now, I'm sure this tip is nothing new to y'all, but I had to share it anyway. I used to just eyeball the placement, and it looked ok. (Remember...I'm a LAZY perfectionist). But if you want it to look really good AND have the option of playing around with the arrangement... with no commitment...then do this. Take all your plates and trace them onto a sheet of paper, cut them out, and use double stick tape on the back. Now you can play around with placement till the cows come home. When you get it just right and you love every single thing about it...then you're ready to hammer in those plate hangers and make some holes in your wall!



Not only did I hide an ugly useless feature on my wall, I also was able to showcase some of my favorite collection. I got a box full of these beautiful brown and white ironstone dishes at a flea market several years ago for $20. I think there were 6 dinner plates, 2 dessert plates, 4 teacups and saucers, and an oval serving dish. The instant I saw them, I fell in love. I had absolutely no where to put them, but I knew that I was going to take them home. At the time we lived in a 1000 square foot apartment with 2 kids and 1 closet...for all 4 of us! I had no storage space and no china cabinet or buffet to display these lovely dishes on, but that didn't stop me. I eagerly brought them home and proceeded to hang them on my ugly white walls and display them on top of my hideous white laminate cabinets. They were worth every single last penny. What a difference they made to an otherwise stark and boring space. They brought life and personality to the decor of our little home. And they made me happy every time I looked at them. When we moved I packed them up and stored them in a closet. I am so happy to have them out again, gracing the walls of our new/old home. And now that I do, they make me happy all over again!