FAQ: How do you hang plates on a wall?
A: With regular plate hangers you can buy at home improvement stores or online.
FAQ: How do you hang them like that? How do you plan and measure the distances—do you use a template?
A: Honestly, I often do it by eye. Let me explain.
We recently repainted the dining room and while the walls aren’t yet in their final form (I’ll share more on the full dining room plans after the holidays), the space continues to evolve. In the middle of my usual holiday decorating spurt, I felt the sudden urge to rehang the white plates that had been leaning against the wall. It was one of those spontaneous whims where you decide something should be done immediately.
I liked the previous arrangement, but spontaneity rarely reproduces the exact same outcome. Rather than carefully repeating a prior layout, I tend to follow the moment and trust my eye. Where’s the fun in duplicating something exactly?
So one evening, with guests due any minute, I grabbed a hammer and some nails and began hanging plates around the Christmas wreath—no measurements, no template, no fuss. I didn’t want to take down the wreath and I wanted the plates up before dinner. It was fast and a little lazy, but it worked for that moment.
Why not make a template and take the wreath down first? Because that would have required time I didn’t have. I was mid-dinner prep and didn’t want to delay things. I simply picked up a plate, eyeballed the spot, and nailed it in. With no one to help measure or decide placement, I trusted my instincts and finished in about five minutes. Is it perfect? No. I may add or rearrange plates later.
For now, it’s good enough.
I’m aware of the consequences of that impulsive approach: a wreath-shaped void will remain once the wreath is removed, and there will be extra nail holes in the wall. My method makes precise planners uneasy; my husband covers his ears when I start hammering. But this is how I decorate—especially with plate and gallery walls. Sometimes a detailed plan helps, but often I follow inspiration and decorate on a whim, usually around the holidays or right before guests arrive.
“Seize the whims” is a motto I live by.
After all, it’s just plates—not brain surgery.
My current arrangement might be temporary, or it might stay for years like my last spontaneous plate wall. The dining room is still changing; I may move furniture or refine the layout. When I remove the wreath I might fill the gap with a perfect-shaped plate, or perhaps a seasonal wreath will replace it. The possibilities are open.
At least the plates were on the wall in time for dinner, and having them hung made me feel more ready for the holidays than leaving them on the floor.
It may look random and reckless, but to me it makes perfect sense.
Update: I ended up filling in the wall with more white plates after removing the wreath. This is how the same wall looked later during my 2014 Christmas house tour.