Antique Plate Wall Display

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I've been super excited to show you my new cottage-style antique plate wall display in our master bedroom. I've spent years collecting the plates for this display. I'm really happy with how it turned out...with space for even more pretty plates, should I stumble onto some (which, I will...wink). Check out this Antique Plate Wall Display below, including a video with helpful hanging tips, too (they're hung up wirelessly!).

I literally hammered the last nail into the wall for this one the night before I hosted Thanksgiving for 20+. To say I'm decorationally-motivated by people seeing my house in person is an understatement. I used some super cool tools to hang this with, too (read: no stretchy wire plate hangers that show their "fingers" from the front). Check out this Antique Plate Wall Display below.

Antique Plate Wall Display

I'm a plate person. You can also check out the massive plate wall display in our new home's master bathroom. And through the years, I've had lots of plate walls in the homes we've lived in. My favorite was my collection of kitschy state plates that was in a guest room of the condo I had as a single girl right out of college. I still have all of those state plates (and even more) with hopes of finding another good spot for them one day. There's just something about a plate wall display that evokes happiness in my heart. This one I am particularly proud of because the collection was not rushed. I've had some of these for 15 years...but I started hard-core plate collecting for this purpose about four years ago. If you try to collect this many similar plates in a small period of time, it isn't quite as meaningful, in my opinion (and can sometimes look a bit forced). Part of the beauty of a collection like this one is pointing to a certain plate and thinking about its story...I purposefully look for plates on vacations (yep, I thrift on vacation, too) so I can have that memory. It's the perfect souvenir for a dish junkie like myself.

I lucked into finishing this collection (really, is a collection ever finished?) on a family trip to New York. I'd been wanting to go to a store called Fishs Eddy (yes, that's spelled correctly) ever since I started following them on their Instagram account a couple years ago. I think the store was built with me in mind. You can get old hotel plates for a couple of dollars...amongst a billion other amazing things. (Y'all, I'm almost embarrassed to say that I had to have four boxes shipped home from their store...I've never done that before.) Three of the plates on this wall are from Fishs Eddy. Two are the only two matching plates on the wall (the cream with blue-lined trim). And one is a saucer from their saucer bin (because they have a saucer bin, y'all...with $1 saucers. I die.).

Hanging a Plate Wall Display

Since I worked so hard on collecting these for some time, I had a certain look I was going for when I went to hang them. I wanted a "wireless" hanging. In the past, I've always used those wire hangers...but they can scratch and even leave rust marks on plates (I learned this from having a couple of plates once hanging in a bathroom...the humidity mixed with the metal of the hanger was not pretty). I did a little research and found these cool flat adhesive hangers. I read a ton of reviews and followed the directions exactly. You can see how to use them in the video tutorial I created below. I was actually really impressed with these. I purchased mine here on Amazon.

As I showed you in the video, these plate hangers come pre-pasted with their adhesive on the backside. You have to moisten the adhesive side to activate the glue. Then let them sit for several minutes (seriously follow the directions exactly on these...I forgot to let one sit and it did not adhere!). Then you flip it over and stick it to the plate. I used a gift card to smooth out the bubbles. 

Super important...let it sit on the plate overnight before hanging. It will allow the adhesion to properly dry into place (these are water soluble and can be removed later). Just FYI, this is NOT a sponsored post. I just really liked this product. 

Plate Sizes and Weights Matter

Be sure to watch the sizes and weights of your plates when selecting your hangers. For my great grandmother's 100+ year old heirloom plate, I used the largest disc made. It probably would have been okay with the smaller one, but I just didn't want to take any chances. Seriously, could you imagine? 

Below are links to their sizes (they can actually be trimmed with scissors if your plate's exact size is not available.):

• A few months back, my mother-in-law called to let me know that Cracker Barrel had *my* hangers on clearance. She and I managed to clean out a *few* Cracker Barrel locations of these babies. So, keep on the lookout, these plate hangers pop up in lots of places! But, again, Amazon also has them for a great price, too:
• 5.5" Disc Hangers (for plates/platters up to 6.5 pounds in weight)
• 4" Disc Hangers (for plates up to 12" in diameter)
• 3" Disc Hangers (for plates up to 8" in diameter)
• 2" Disc Hangers (for plates up to 6" in diameter)
• 1.25" Disc Hangers (for plates up to 4" in diameter)

You simply hook the metal ring over your nail on the wall (or whatever hook or apparatus you use on the wall).

I originally laid my design out on the carpet and then took a pic with my phone. Then I applied my hangers. It was perfect to refer back to my phone when I hung these up. I did stray a slight bit from my original layout...but you get the basic idea.

Don't disown me, but my ordering was short on my hangers so I had to improvise on a few of the tiny saucers. I would never do this with the heirloom plates or anything larger than a saucer. Buuuuuut, I did my ol' college-trick of hot glue and paper clips to the remaining saucers since I was in a time crunch. I'm slightly cringing to even post this photo, y'all. One thing I learned from my college days was to use high temp glue versus low temp. Heartier glue, my friends. And yes...I hung plates on my wall in college. I decorated like a grandma before it was even cool, man.

I kind of want to sit here and tell you the precious story of each and every plate. Don't worry, I won't. But it is fun for me to stare at this wall and reminisce.

Since I originally posted about this antique plate wall display, we've moved into a new home (well, new to us...it's almost 50 years old). You can see above how the same plates look in our new bedroom. And, like I mentioned above, I carried the plate fun right on into our bright, coral master bathroom, too.

Looking for More Plate Wall Display Ideas? 

• I also have a Vintage Church Plate Display in my dining room. 
• I love how Anne from On Sutton Place mixes her blue and white plates with baskets on the wall, too.
• Kristi from Addicted 2 Decorating has some great tips on Arranging a Plate Wall.
• This Foyer Plate Wall from Mmmcrafts is absolutely lovely.