Who Said Vintage Plates Are Just for the Dining Table? Create a Statement Wall With Your Plates!
Turning your house into a home that feels uniquely yours boils down to finding ways to decorate that feel like you. Enter: the plate wall. Maximalist, timeless, and oh-so-creative, hanging plates is a great way to transform your space in a way that feels personal.
What is a Vintage Plate Wall?
A vintage plate wall is exactly what it sounds like. Rather than arranging your favorite paintings, prints, and family photos on the wall, you hang plates in a gallery wall-style set-up. Whether you’re giving your formal dining room a fancy facelift or searching for a way to make the kitchen in your studio apartment feel cozier, mounting a mixed-and-matched cluster of vintage plates and platters lends a classic and lived-in look to any space.
When Were Plate Walls First Seen in Home Décor?
The plate wall trend has been around for decades—and it isn’t going anywhere. The tradition of hanging plates can be traced back to 17th- and 18th-century Europe, when upper-class households showcased their rare and valuable imported Asian porcelain around the house as a symbol of their wealth and taste. Vintage plate walls saw another resurgence in interior design in America in the ‘50s and ‘60s, giving the look a nostalgic feel to anyone whose grandparents partook in the look.
Why Do People Love Putting Together a Plate Wall?
Hanging plates is one of the best ways to display your curated collection of vintage dishes. Rather than letting your favorite finds collect dust in the cupboard, a plate wall lets you showcase a few stylish patterns for you and your guests to enjoy 24/7.
The plate wall doesn’t have to be made up of only antique wall plates, either. Feel free to experiment by incorporating family heirlooms, hand-painted ceramics, and commemorative plates as well.
Creating a vintage plate wall is also a great alternative to traditional wall hangings. While antique paintings and movie posters never go out of style, hanging plates is a great way to add dimension and texture to a room. If you love the grandmillennial aesthetic or Grandmacore, this is the perfect way to complete the look.
What Do You Need to Create a Vintage Plate Wall?
You don’t have to be a professional contractor to hang plates on your wall! With a few key tools, a collection of antique wall plates, and the right attitude, anyone can bring their vintage plate wall vision to life.
Necessary Tools for Making an Antique Plate Wall:
Vintage plates
Hanging hardware (wire hangers or discs)
Nails
Wall hooks
Measuring tape
Level
Pencil
Hammer
Pliers (optional)
What Kinds of Vintage Dishes Can Be Put on a Plate Wall?
When it comes to selecting vintage dishes to hang on the wall, don’t feel limited to just salad and dinner plates. As long as the vintage dish isn’t too heavy or cumbersome, it can be added to your plate wall.
Did you find a rectangular sterling silver serving platter at the Melbourne vendor mall? Are you a proud collector of small glass trinket dishes? Have you inherited your grandmother’s assortment of fine China teacups and saucers? If the vintage dish fits your desired style and works with the rest of the antique wall plates in your possession, then feel free to hang it up.
What’s the Best Way to Hang Plates on a Wall?
Hanging plates is easier than you’d think. Though you can DIY it in different ways, there are two methods we consider to be tried-and-true: wire hangers and adhesive disc hangers. The right one for you and your antique plate wall depends on the type of hardware you can access, how durable you want the vintage dish wall to be, and how hands-on you’re comfortable getting.
How Do You Hang Plates with Wire Hangers?
Wire plate hangers are the most traditional method for hanging antique wall plates. To secure your vintage dishes, the flexible, spring-loaded metal device is stretched across the entire back of the plate, with each prong or hook grabbing onto the rim. Once your vintage plate is secured, it can be hung from the additional small loop by a nail, screw, or hook.
If you want to be able to continuously change out which vintage dishes are featured on your plate wall, wire hangers are the best option. When a season changes, you need to take down a dish to use as dinnerware, or you find new designs at the Highland antique mall, the hangers can be emptied, stretched over the new plate, and hung back up, all without any additional labor.
How Do You Hang Plates with Adhesive Disc Hangers?
Adhesive disc hangers are a more modern solution to hanging plates on the wall. After cleaning and drying your chosen vintage dishes, you’ll need to match them to an appropriately sized disc. Rub the back of the disc with a small amount of glue and let it sit until the glue turns tacky before centering it on the back of the vintage plate with the hanging ring in the correct position. Let it cure for 24 hours before hanging the plate.
Pro tip: Adhesive disc hangers are a great way to hang shallow bowls and platters. The invisible look and thin material of an adhesive disc allow antique plates to sit completely flush against the wall without tilting forward.
3 Tips for Designing an Antique Plate Wall:
Tip 1: Feel free to mix-and-match as many dishes as you’d like! You don’t need to stumble upon a complete matching set at your favorite Ohio vendor mall to hang plates on your wall. If you like the look of multiple brands, shapes, sizes, and patterns together, lean into the eclectic look.
Tip 2: To avoid making any unnecessary holes in the wall or having to start over, don’t just freestyle your antique plate wall. Instead, outline each vintage plate on paper and tape the cutouts to the wall. That way, you can play around with the shape of your plate wall as much as possible before committing.
Tip 3: If you’re not into pattern-maxing, lean into a theme with your vintage plate wall. Stick to one color palette, motif, or company for a cohesive and beautiful design.
When a design trend is good, it never goes out of fashion! Stop by America’s Antique Mall today to find the perfect vintage dishes for your antique plate wall.
