DOG HOUSE DECOR – CAT PLATE WALL

Hang plates on a wall?  Why?

That’s what I used to wonder.  Until inspired by my work of art by the ‘Crazy Plate Lady.’

“My business is adding personality to peoples homes. When you bring a smile to someone’s face, before they even get to the table, that’s what it’s all about.” – The Crazy Plate Lady

I wanted our newly renovated farmhouse to be a ‘modern farmhouse.’ Yesteryear charm mixed with modern colours and patterns.

Canines primarily run my house; toys and dog beds are scattered throughout. I figured why not give Ricky a whole feature wall of his own?

It took months for me to figure out how and where to display my Ricky plate in the new house.  The layout is relatively open-concept, and I wanted a cohesive blend with all the other displays of art in the area: colour, shapes, materials, style, etc.

Colour Theory

Most of the time I go by instinct when it comes to picking accent pieces and colours.  If I like it and it makes my house feel homey, I’m good. I have chosen décor themes for rooms based on the smallest accent piece instead of the other-way-around.  Backwards?  Perhaps.

Sometimes my choices make sense without me having to put much thought into it.  I love when that happens, and I can pretend I knew what the heck I was doing.

My favourite colour is not one of the three primary colours: red, blue, or yellow.  I love the many different shades of turquoise, teal, and sea-foam blue (secondary or tertiary colours). LOVE these blues. You’ll see reflections of this throughout my little nest.

On the colour chart, blue is complementary to orange. Therefore, I figured ginger kitty with blonde highlights would work well with my choice of turquoise and cornmeal yellow plates. The connection between colours only occurred to me as I started laying plates next to each other.

Plate walls are a great, inexpensive way to create an artistic display within your home. I love the look of monochromatic themes but chose to mix some colour in with more traditional, vintage pieces for my arrangement.

This ain’t your Granny’s plate wall!

Two of the plates did, in fact, belong to my Grandmother. I stole the small, shapely, yellow plate and the round, off-white plate from my mother’s cupboard. The remainder of my collection came from local thrift stores, Homesense, and the grocery store (President’s Choice – Everyday Essentials).

If you’re struggling to figure out the look you want, check online for plenty of ideas.  I recommend not being in a rush to create your display. It might be more of a challenge and take longer to match an online design. You will have to find similar plates, colours, and patterns. Coming up with my vision was a test of patience for me but ultimately, worth the wait. I’m thrilled with how my arrangement turned out.

Part of the fun of this project was finding the perfect pieces to tie into my theme. It was a treasure hunt!

Now that you have your concept and plates, it’s time to attach them to the wall.

But first, you might want to trace them out on kraft paper. I picked up several rolls at Dollarama.

1. Measure the wall area where your display will be featured. If it’s not going to be wall to wall, be sure to mark the area where the template will sit.
2. Create a template of that space out of kraft paper.
3. Decide on the layout design of plates and trace around them on the kraft paper. If you’re using similar sizes and shapes, you might want to write a description on your plate outline to note any differences.  Especially if you’re not completing this project in one go. Now, where was I…………..
4. Wash and dry plates thoroughly, removing any scratches. See below.
5. Attach your hooks to the backs of your plates according to the direction you will display them on the wall. Yup, that was nearly an Ooops! Glue takes plenty of time to dry. See below.
6. Measure the distance from the top of your plate to the ‘nail’ area of the plate hanger and mark this on your template.
7. Tape your template to the wall and insert nails or fixings appropriate to wall type. See below.
8. Remove the template carefully. You may still need to refer to this as a reminder of which plates go where.
9. Hang your plates and admire!

Removing scratches

I’m all for ‘charm’ but some of the dark scratches across my light, vintage plates was not the look I was going for.  This was easily remedied by using a gentle yet mildly abrasive cleanser.  I only had liquid Vim which turned out to be abrasive enough.  You could also use Comet, Bar Keeper’s Friend, or good old Baking Soda. Since Vim was in liquid form already, I was good to go.  If you choose one of the other options, you’ll need to add some water to make it into a paste. Then rub the solution into the scratches with a cloth or scrub sponge to remove them.

Hooks

I recommend these hooks – they are durable, easy to use, can be purchased in packs of four or more, and can also be easily modified if your plates are different sizes. I was happy to go larger and take comfort in knowing that Ricky wasn’t going anywhere.  I tried a different brand initially – impatient me didn’t want to wait for these fabulous fixers to arrive.  That ended in a casualty.  Thankfully, I tested the subpar sticky device on an easily replaceable plate. Something to keep in mind.

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate and referral links. I may earn a small commission if you use these links to make a purchase. I use these funds to feed my cats. Thanks for the cat food.

Once the plates are clean and dry, decide how you will adhere your hooks on the backs of your plates. Take into consideration any exaggerated rims and ridges.  Directions provided by this company include a workaround for such instances.  Using some water on your fingertips, work the glue into goo and let it sit for a few minutes to become tacky before attaching disc to your plate. Once disc is applied, you don’t have much time to adjust.

Leave to glue to set entirely before attaching them to the wall.

SIMILAR TO A PHOTO FRAME, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW IF YOUR PLATE WILL BE HORIZONTAL OR LANDSCAPE!

My husband was not so thrilled when I told him my idea for this area of the kitchen.  After all, this brick wall was more than a century old.  No pressure (gulp). This is why I suggest using a template. Special screws were used to fix the plate hooks to the brick wall as standard picture hook nails would not do the trick.

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I love walking through my kitchen door and seeing Ricky on the wall.

 

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