decorating

BEFORE:

That's rust. Gross, huh?

DURING:

Learning to be a man.

He's soaking it up.  So am I.

AFTER:

Lovely.

Have you done any projects lately? Tell us about it in the comments!

Several years ago, I spotted plates hanging on a dining room wall in the background of a movie. I was hooked. I knew that's what I wanted. Since our dining room is in the back half of our "great room," I thought plates would give that space some definition and separation from the living room up front. Besides, I love the simple beauty of dishes.

But, since I tend to be both timid and lazy when it comes to decorating (not very good qualities to possess), I put off actually doing the project. I had no idea how to come up with a design and then get the plates to magically hang on the wall.  So I did absolutely nothing.

Then I came across the Nester's incredible random plate wall.  It was exactly the look and feel I wanted, and since she's always telling us that "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful," I no longer had a good excuse to put off my plate hanging.  I began looking for white dishes everywhere I went and had a pretty little stash after a few months. Finally, I got a big dose of determination one day,  grabbed my dishes and a hammer, and set to work.

After showing you the Before & After the other day, I thought maybe I'd give you a tutorial of how I did it.  I'm sure there are many tutorials floating around out there (I spent lots of time that day on Nesting Place), but this one is going to be full of baby steps, just in case  you're timid like I am.

SUPPLIES:

• Plates
• Plate hangers
• Hammer
• Needle nose pliers
• Masking tape
• Large paper for tracing
• Pen

STEP ONE:  Number each plate using masking tape.

STEP TWO:  Trace the plates onto paper, numbering the drawings.  Cut out each paper template.

STEP THREE:  Use your plates to lay out a possible design on the floor.  Keep in mind the size of the space you want to fill.  Try various arrangements until you find one you want. If you make a design you sort of like, but want to try something else, take a picture to help you remember it before you change everything around.

STEP FOUR:  Using your floor layout as guide, tape your paper templates to the wall. To begin, find the center of your wall space and the center of your design (I just eyeballed it). Tape up the first template and build it out from there.

Take a good look at your design from a variety of angles.  Take a picture and look at it that way, too.  The design I taped to the wall first (Step Four photo) looked great until I stood behind my chair at the table.  I realized that a symmetrical arrangement wouldn't work since the center of the wall didn't match up with the center of our table.  I went back to Step Three and kept working it out.  Check online for additional ideas and designs.


STEP FIVE:  Attach plate hangers to the back of the plates.  You can find these at the hardware store near the picture hanging supplies.  Be sure to measure your plates first! When deciding what size hanger you will need, go with the bigger one if you have a choice.  In other words, if your plate is 11-inches, buy the hanger that fits plates that are 10- to 18-inches rather than the one that fits 7- to 11-inches.  Trust me on this one.  Also, if you are using oval plates, you may want to buy two different sizes to accommodate hanging it either direction (you can return whichever hanger you don't use).

It's easier if you pinch the first set of hooks a bit with the pliers before you put them on the edge of the plate.  Then pinch the second set of hooks after you stretch them around the other edge.  They can tend to slip off (and go flying) if you don't give them a little squeeze.


STEP SIX:  Hammer the hooks into the wall.  Holding a plate upright in one hand, use your other hand to loosely hold the wall hook under the edge of the bar on the back of the plate hanger, just like it will be when it's on the wall.  Place the plate over the paper template on the wall and push the sharp end of the hook into the wall a little to make a mark.  Put down the plate and hammer the hook into the wall, right through the paper template (just be careful that you don't hammer through the tape that's holding up the template).

After all the hooks are in the wall (so the plates don't rattle around while you're hammering), begin pulling down the templates and hanging the plates one at a time. The hanging bar on the back of the plate can be bent, as needed, to allow the plate to hang flat.

There you have it. Happy hanging!

Click to learn about 31 days to {a better} ordinary.

This post is linked to Raising Homemakers.

Before.

After.