Freestyle.
It started with this. Tight and symmetrical. my usual way to hang white dishes. I thought maybe I’d keep my eyes open for more and fill the entire wall. But I didn’t want to wait for it to be done. So I stopped right there and placed all my white hanging dishes on the floor to see what I could come up with.
My goal was to use up what I had available at the time, keep it fun and easy–no measuring. If I get a pretty new white dish in the future that I want to show off I can easily add to the arrangement.
The sloping to the left corner works really well because is leads the eye {eyes if you have two} up to the stair case where we have our gallery of empty frames and steps that also slope up to the left. It works well together. But I might change it up if I feel like it. You know, since it’s so easy.
White dishes are the poor girl’s solution to wall art. Low commitment, super thrifty, and they add a touch of class and freshness to any room. All you need is a painted wall and some plate hangers from the dollar store.
Where do you use white dishes?
PS: don’t forget, tomorrow is our Mantel Link up–and anyone can join in if you don’t have a mantel–you can decorate any surface–a shelf, dresser, tablescape, the dashboard of your car, whatever. The point is to inspire each other! See you then.
Is it weird that I love dishes hung on walls but it looks so hard that I have never tried it?
But then I say things to friends like, “oh, it’s not a big deal. we’re just knocking out a wall.” as if that is easy.
Okay, so I answered my own question. I am weird.
Maybe you can come hang some plates for me. Yours look great.
yes, you are weird.
Emily, your assignment for this week is to stop making bento and find ONE plate hanger–dollar store, hobby lobby–walmart–attach it to a plate and hang it on the wall. It’s the easiest thing in the world.
Okay, I did it, Ms. Bossy. :)
I tweeted the photo to you. It’s red. I’m contrary. And lazy.
You were right. It was easy.
I love to use white dishes as the *base* for any other dishes I am using. And I love a white dish for soap in the bathrooms!
I love the idea of using wall arrangements asymmetrically. I’ve done it with paintings and love it.
Love the look of white dishes on a wall. I like all the different shapes in your arrangement, too. So pretty!
I love that look on your gorgeous blue wall. It is so clean and fresh. I like the slope also. In the first pic you had the branches on the left and it looked neat because it looked like you sloped the plates because of the branches. Anyway, I love it.
Brooke
yes, within hours of that photo being taken, my boys broke that little urn–for the second time. So off it went to the super glue doctor. I need to put that back!
I just did a whole wall in my breakfast room with plates using all white. I also incorporated a shelf and a corbel. I love the look. It was such fun. Thanks for the advice. Your wall looks wonderful. Stop by and take a look at my newest post of the wall and give me your advice. Thanks, Hugs, Marty
i bought a plate at an estate sale 6 yrs ago…specifically to hang on a wall and it still sits in a cabinet. i’ve never used it. that is shameful…i know! love the poor woman’s art!
Nest, I love them…You did a great job! I am collecting white plates too…I want to try the layered look…BUT I like so much different looks…I hope I don’t become..you know…the plate lady…Promise to stop me…k? Go over to my post about plates from two days ago..You’ll love the inspiration…Oh, and I have a GIVEAWAY…
Hugs, Meme
I just hung a ton, thanks to you! My husband was not so thrilled to be hanging 20+ plates. I also hung a couple of shelves that I painted and put some spray painted trays on them. I have gone a little crazy in the diningroom!
I like the look of white plates on a wall. And I like the “willy-nilly” way you hung them. Just hung them so they were pleasing to your eye. And it really works!
Nancy
I’ve always loved this idea, but how do you deal with the nails putting so many holes in the wall? I have “Too-Many-Nail-Holes Phobia”.
a nail hole is the EASIEST thing in the world to fill. It takes about 30 seconds.
that’s worth it to me.
READ THIS
http://www.thenester.com/2008/04/swiss-walls.html
shoot, I don’t know how to make that a link.
what a smart blog–it linked all by itself.
plates, schmates…i’m drooling over the wainscoting/paneling treatment and paint choice in that room. And yea, the plates are awesome too ;0)
I don’t have good luck with plate hangers. Is there some trick I’m missing? I’ve bought the dollar store kind and the more expensive versions. I’ve broken two plates because they have fallen off the plate hangers. Any suggestions?
sounds like yours might be too loose for your size plate. If they don’t feel tight, unhook one end and twist the springs around a few times–it’s all wire, just adjust it till it’s good and tight.
Thanks. I’ll give it a try.
love your plates on the wall…
i have a bagillion plates (the cream ones, we eat on) and not one hanging on the wall
shame on me.
is your sofa new? or maybe it just looks darker….slip cover, maybe?
nope. just dirty?
Love your plates!!! I actually have a couple of white plates that will be on my “mantle” post tomorrow! :) I have only hung a few plates on the wall…but I am getting around to it…promise… I feel inspired by this post. Wondering how many white plates I can find at thrift stores and yard sales?? Cheapest wall art ever I am thinking!
Sure love the simple idea of dishes on a wall!! Thinking I might have to give this one a try. Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE your plate arrangement! It is so surprising, fresh and different! Very inspiring!
Okay – odd man out here, but the arrangement isn’t working for me. I do have two eyes (LOL), but for me, it’s making me look down towards the corner. Maybe different if you’re actually in the room vs. viewing on computer screen. I do love plate arrangements. Have you seen the plate collages?
Actually, I have not used any white plates in hanging. I have a display of transferware plates (which I collect), and in a bedroom have a few handpainted vintage plates hanging above a mirror. Picked up for little $$$. I am really not an arty (as in paintings) type person and prefer things like plates, mirrors, salvage pieces, metal pieces, old maps, etc. to use as *ART*. We do have a few prints, but mostly other stuff hangs on our walls.
We are getting ready to repaint our bedroom and I may try to find some old cremeware (think that’s what it’s called) plates to display in there.
tina
sorry tina, works for me
If you come over you can just look the other way, and I’ll make you an iced coffee and you can pretend you don’t see it. That will make it all better.
You know you are decorating to your own style when there are some people that don’t get it–so this is a GOOD thing!
xo
No need to be sorry – I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’d be pretty boring if we all liked the same thing!!
But hey, I’ll take you up on that iced coffee – YUM!
ps – my dad has told us kids all our lives “that’s why they make chocolate and vanilla” heehee!!
So can I have chocolate ice cream with the kids while you two drink coffee??
When it’s over…I want to snuggle under that cozy blanket on that comfy couch for a good long snooze to burn off the calories
oh…and tinam…if you love transferware…you might like this…forgive me for the tacky link on nester’s amazing blog…I am nothing compared to her…but these plates are everything!! Nester…do you want one for your collectioN? I’ll send it to you!
Look here…
http://dirtyhands-beautifullife.blogspot.com/2010/03/vintage-tablescape.html
I LOVE it !
It just goes to show that it doesn’t have to be expensive to be beautiful!!
What you need is good taste and an artistic eye, both of which you possess in abundance.
I have a modest collection of white dishes on a kitchen wall that I’m always adding to. I also have some in my living room and in our guest bedroom. I’m sure you have seen Mary Engelbreits Plates book. If you haven’t, it’s filled with good ideas.
Thanks for a great post.
I love it!! It looks lovely. I might have to get some of those plate hangers. What is the name of your blue paint? I have been wanting to paint a room blue, and yours is exactly what I wanted.
sherwin williams comfort grey gray?
LOVE the reaching branches. girl, that couch needs a red or orange pillow or throw or something. bring on some color!
MY thoughts exactly–I’m looking for something patterny or ruffely or something!
Do you have Marshalls near you? I just ran out to ours earlier and they had some cool pillows in right now . . .
tina
Ruffles!!! The second thing to aqua in fashion this year…ruffles!!! Go for ruffles!!!
Did you catch…that I think ruffles…??
Love this! I might have to steal this idea for the space above my piano below the sloping staircase. That could be a fun play on the the angle of the stairs. See how smart you are :)?
what a simple yet oh-so-pretty decorating idea. i love it!
LOVE it! I like asymmetry. I don’t have a lot of white dishes, but would love to start collecting them! I like to slope accessories, wall art to match the angle of vaulted ceilings sometimes, too. (I do have plates hanging above my bed, around a pressed-tin mirror, but they are not white) Thanks for sharing! :) Lisa
You did a terrific job. It is much more interesting to hang the plates free hand like you did. Love it! I like that it gives you the freedom to add dishes as you find them.
Love it! So fresh! I actually haven’t tried the plate thing yet. I’m thinking it might work well on the weird tall wall going up my stairs?
Love that rug too- is it new?
We pack to move in less than 2 months. In the meantime, I am so gonna hunt me down some white plates for our next home. They just scream freshness and serenity in your room!
Ha! So true. I just need wall space. TOO MANY WINDOWS! :)
I bought my first white ironstone to fix a soffit problem…do we dare go THERE again!
And…I used it for a pretty cool, simple…other look…maybe I’ll show you on the linky tomorrow~
I love plates on the wall. White plates especially. I’m painting my hallway soon and plan on putting them in a crazy little nook space. Nothing else works there so I’m doing the white plate menagerie of beautifulness.
I have a white dish arrangement over my piano, and I LURVE it. I even found a bird dish (meaning it’s flat but in the shape of a bird) at OTP last year. Makes my heart happy. : )
The plates look fantastic! I love that they are not inform and are sloped! I think that’s my favorite part!
I love the plates on the wall. I’ve seem them in magazines and in blogs and love them. So far I don’t own any plates that I would love to put on a wall, but when I do I have no idea how to hang them. where do you find hangers?
I love the new arrangement and for me, it does draw they eye up toward the stairs. I like it soooo much more than the tight symmetrical layout you had before. As for how I use white dishes . . . I love white pitchers for flowers, white bowls and plates for trays. I haven’t used any white dishes for art yet, but you have definitely inspired me!
I wonder if I can spend this weeks grocery money on white plates?……..I LOVE you, Nester..
Girl, you are daring! I love it. You have probably been asked sixty million and eleven times, but where is that couch from? I love the lines and it’s just what I may be looking for…
Love,
Melissa
It’s old. it’s a super cheap sofa from some store–I wrote about it here:
http://www.thenester.com/2009/08/price-my-space-party-2.html
I love white dishes…any dishes (transferware browns and blues). I have so many extra white platters (that I just couldn’t pass up…you know…) that I had them stacked here, there, and everywhere, more out of necessity than on purpose decoratively. And now, my favorite dishes in my home are my really tall graduated stacks of platters. I have white butter pats, so now I’m trying to keep the *graduation* going all the way to those. Wouldn’t that be fun?
i think u should put a lamp, or some of your “cherished” sticks in an urn over there in the corner :)
had to put my 2 cents in.
Sad but true…i dont have enough extra plates to do something cool like that!!
Okay, so I am looking at your plates and wanting to know if they are all the same degree of whiteness. It does not look like they are, but is that okay that they aren’t all the same? I have these plates and I’m not sure if they look okay when they are off slightly in color. What do you think?
my 5yo saw the first pic in this post and said, “comfy!” :)
oooh, yay. i’m glad to read this. i’m just about to do a plate wall in my kitchen. working on collecting the plates. i bought a great one today for 50 cents at salvation army. we were home exactly 2 and half minutes before my boys broke it. it was 50 cents, why oh why did i only buy one?????
Love it! Those dishes really look great…like the freestyle.
-FringeGirl
You’re REALLY going to think I am weird….because I would never put a bunch of white (or a few or even one) plates on my walls!
Lynn, cracking me up. we can still be friends though, right?
Mercy, yes! Your blog is the first one I visit every day! Plates or no plates….:-)
Love my white dishes in glass front cabinets!
Ok… I saw some say it leads the eye up the stairs and I saw 1 saying it leads the eye down to the corner…
but you know what I saw, when looking at the first picture?
I saw the wind! Like a dandelion…as if the plates had been blown from the branch in the corner and were drifting across a grey sky. Seriously. I absolutely love it…but then the last picture you removed the branch! Sigh.
I love white china, there is something really sculptural about it, especially when grouped in collections. Absolutely love what you’ve done with your arrangement!!
I don’t hang plates, but yours look wonderful.
I love the freestyle look! Between you and Kimba, my house is actually coming together. Here is a little shot I took on my phone of a really beautiful plate display. They were selling these flower shaped plates for $$ but I think it looks similar to your display using regular plates. To give credit, I think the store was Arhaus. Not sure though. Love your ideas!
http://picasaweb.google.com/hammondfam01/PlateDisplay#
What color is the wall that the white plates are flanked on? I’m in the process of picking colors and love nantucket breeze (ben moore) for my kitchen, and want complementing colors. Thanks.