You know the feeling: you should be setting the table for dinner, but instead you suddenly imagine rearranging the furniture. That happened to me the other night. Over the years I’ve hung quite a few plate walls, usually on a whim when inspiration strikes.
We’ve been shuffling things around the house a lot lately. It seems there’s always some level of rearranging going on here—especially since Courtney moved into our lower level and my son Luke unexpectedly returned home from college. With everyone’s spaces changing, we’re slowly figuring out which furniture pieces work best where. This “stay home season” has actually been a great time to move things around and make rooms feel cozier.
One evening I decided to move a wood shutter cabinet from the living room into the dining room. We store table linens and wine glasses in it, so the dining room is a much better spot. I slid it over just before dinner and immediately liked how it looked there.
I wasn’t sure what to put on the wall above the cabinet, but I’ve wanted a plate collection on a wall in this house for a while—this felt like the perfect place for it.
I debated which plates to use. Should I go with simple white plates like in my previous dining room, or mix in eclectic patterns? I have a collection of patterned and quirky plates, but in the end I chose a few favorite blue-and-white salad plates and shallow bowls. These are plates I love, and seeing them displayed will bring me daily joy. The blue-and-white look adds a cottage touch that suits my style—timeless and calming.
(I rounded up more pretty plate options at the end of this post.)
For adhesive plate hangers, mix a little water into the glue with your fingers, let it become tacky for a few minutes, then press it firmly to the plate and allow it to dry overnight. I use small wall hooks and a bit of museum putty to secure the plates once they’re hung.
I enlisted Courtney to help. Sometimes we just eyeball things and hammer nails into the wall, but this time we took a more methodical approach. We traced each plate and bowl onto paper, cut out the shapes, and taped them to the wall to visualize the arrangement before committing.
We wanted the plates to “swoop up” slightly and have an intentionally imperfect look—balanced but relaxed. That slight irregularity gives the wall character without feeling chaotic.
Here’s the finished result.
We love how it turned out. A simple change like this can completely change how you feel in a room. Rearranging the dining area and adding the plate display has already inspired new ideas for decorating the adjacent spaces in our home.
I’m excited to share more updates as we continue to rearrange and refresh our rooms.
Have you ever hung a plate wall?
PS: You can watch a how-to video of a previous plate-hanging project for step-by-step guidance.
Post Sources:
Wood Shutter Cabinet (see inside ours for styling ideas)
Adhesive Plate Hangers
Blue and White Plates
Wood & Glass Diffuser
White Animal Lamp
White Bowl: Home Goods
Pretty Plates:
Related Posts:
How to Decorate: The Slow Process to a Style You’ll Love
How to Hang Plates, Platters, and Bowls on a Wall (Video)