Welcome to one of my favorite corners of my house! My blue and white plate wall.

When Andrew and I moved into our home in Florida about a year and a half ago, I was so intimidated by the idea of decorating a formal dining room. After living in apartments with hardly room for a breakfast table in Dallas, I didn’t know where to begin!

For a long while, this room in our house sat untouched… complete with brown wallpaper and the chairs and table I grew up with as a girl. Little by little, though, with a fresh coat of paint and a few new additions, I’ve had the most fun sprucing it up.

I first shared a sneak peek at this blue and white plate wall over the summer after hitting the jackpot at a local antique shop with my mother. The one thing I was waiting on to complete the space? This gorgeous rattan cabinet from Caitlin Wilson Design! It was just the finishing touch this room so desperately needed… and on top of looking absolutely lovely, it’s wonderful to have a functional, designated space to store our wedding china!

I’ve been promising to share details, and now that this special little space is complete, I’m so excited to finally do so today!

my blue and white plate wall

LAMPS white table https://rstyle.me/+t9z12OnsZHQKW6i-AlEUWQlamps | CHAMPAGNE BUCKET sasha nicholas champagne bucket | SIDE BOARD caitlin wilson designs bianca double cabinet c/o | PLATES blue and white plates (sourced from local antique shops, large selection linked)

How To Create A Blue and White Plate Wall

I’ve received plenty of questions about how to create/hang a plate wall, and I’m happy to walk you through the steps I took below! I’ll also be posting a video to my Instagram Stories if you’d like to see more of a step-by-step.

Collect the Plates

First things first… collecting the plates! This is something that can take a bit of time, especially since these plates can get expensive. My recommendation? Start asking for these pieces for birthdays or Christmas gifts. That way, you won’t have to spend a ton all at once, and on top of that, each plate will have a special memory attached to it!

To start off with, you certainly do not need this many plates to create a gorgeous statement wall. My sister and her roommate, who actually inspired this wall, have created a gorgeous one with about eight to ten plates. It’s all about playing around with shapes and sizes to create a look you love. There’s really no wrong way to do it, and that’s the fun of it!

When searching for plates, keep in mind that incorporating different patterns, shades of blue and sizes creates a beautiful and visually interesting look. I purposefully mixed dark navy blues with pale blues, and super saturated pieces with older, faded ones.

If you like the symmetrical look of my arrangement, try finding similarly-shaped plates in sets of two! A few larger statement platters/plates in combination with sets of smaller ones creates a really nice, organized look.

In terms of sourcing these plates, a local antique store is always a great place to start. Depending on where you live, however, just know they can get pricey! (In Dallas, for example, I’ve found they’re much more expensive than other places.) You can also check out Etsy and Ebay for pieces… just know that it makes all the difference to be able to see the pieces in person.

Arrange them on the Floor

Once I had collected the assortment of blue and white plates I wanted to use for my wall, I cleared the floor of my husband’s study and laid them all out. Then, I spent hours playing around with different combinations. (Hours sounds dramatic, but it was so fun I couldn’t help myself!)

Tip: Before you begin arranging, make sure to measure out the dimensions you want the plates on your wall to cover. I knew, for example, that I didn’t want the plates to go wider than our sideboard. I also measured from the top of our sideboard to the ceiling to make sure I spaced the plates evenly top to bottom!

As I keep mentioning, there really is no wrong way to arrange your plates. I personally found that I like the look of the heavier and larger plates at the bottom of the arrangement. Then, I gradually worked my way to using smaller and lighter pieces towards the top!

Hanging Your Plates

Once you’ve arranged your plates, it’s time for the fun (and scary) part… getting them hung on the wall!

You’re going to need plate hangers. Any of these work great for small plates, but I had trouble finding a secure way to hang the large, heavy platters until I came across these! Highly recommend for your heavier pieces. (I filmed how to hang them, and will add those to the “Plate Wall” highlight on my Instagram page for you to reference.)

Next, I used newspaper to cut out rough shapes of each plate, and tape them to the wall to ensure I had them placed correctly. After fitting each plate with a plate hanger, it was time to hang!

How To:

1. I recommend hanging your bottom, base piece first. Then, build your way up to the top of your arrangement… measuring to make sure your pieces are spaced out perfectly.

2. Next, hang your two widest plates to create an outer boundary for your arrangement.

3. Finally, fill in with the smaller plates from bottom to top. It’s easiest to have your large plates already hung so you can eye-ball where to hang the smaller pieces in the tricky-to-measure areas.

You can get as technical and careful about hanging as you like, but I found that you’ll probably end up having to make a few adjustments due to the handmade nature of the plates. So don’t sweat it if you end up having to re-do a couple of holes! I definitely did. :)

I am absolutely thrilled with how my blue and white plate wall has turned out, and have a feeling it will find it’s way into all the homes to come as we continue Andrew’s training. Whenever I see it, I know I’ll think of our special time here in Florida! In the meantime, it’s putting a smile on my face each and every time I walk past it.

Love from the Sunshine State,

Kate