Want to know how to hang plates on the wall? I’m sharing my tips & tricks and the plate hangers that I used to get the job done right!
For months I kept my beautiful new plates sitting in a cabinet where they weren’t used or seen. And the big bare wall in my dining room? It stayed bare. Because honestly the whole idea of designing and hanging a decorative plate wall intimidated me. But last month I finally did it – I hauled my plates out of the cabinet and hung them up on our dining room wall:
It turned out to be one of my favorite dining room wall decor ideas! The trickiest part was figuring out the how-tos of hanging the plates so I thought I’d share what worked best for me, what’s worked for others, and why you may want to choose one method of hanging plates over the other (post includes affiliate links – see my full disclosure statement {here}):
Step 1: Figure Out How You Want to Arrange Your Plates
Take all the plates that you’re thinking about using in your plate wall and lay them out on the floor. If you space constraints for the wall that they’ll be hanging on, it helps to put some painter’s tape on the floor to mark the max width and height that you have to work with. Arrange and rearrange until you figure out a design that you love!
Step 2: Trace Each Plate on Paper
I wanted to see the arrangement up on the wall before nailing in 20+ hangers and realizing that I should have shifted it up or down or changed some plates around so I traced the plates on kraft paper and cut each of them out. Once each plate was cut out, I drew both a horizontal and vertical line through the center of each paper plate, which helped me line them up evenly on the wall using a level (I wish I was a girl who could just wing it and not worry if things don’t line up quite right but I know myself enough to know that it would bug me if the arrangement was visibly “off”…).
Step 3: Tape Your Templates to the Wall
Once I had my plate templates arranged and level on the wall, I taped them to the wall with LOTS of tape to make sure they wouldn’t fall down overnight (I was doing my hanging the next day). And then when I was getting my girls their breakfast the next morning, I heard a rustling in the dining room and found them in a heap on the floor. Nooo! I had used Delicate Surfaces painter’s tape and it didn’t hold. Ugh. Lesson learned. I redid the arrangement but this time used regular painter’s tape and put a tiny nail through the center of each plate just to be extra sure we didn’t have a repeat incident.
Step 4: Figure Out the Best Plate Hangers for You and Hang Them Up!
My original plan was to hang my plates using {these} Disc Hangers, which are adhesive discs that you adhere to the back of your plates. The advantages of the Disc Hangers are that they allow your plates to hang flat against the wall and they are invisible once you hang them. Unfortunately, I realized that most of my plates have a raised pattern on the back – definitely not a good surface for adhering a flat Disc Hanger.
The other disadvantages of the Disc Hangers are that you can’t easily remove them to use the plates – I wanted to be able to take some of the platters off of my wall if needed to use them for serving food at parties every now and then and the Disc Hangers wouldn’t allow me to do them. Also, according to the reviews some people have had issues with their plates fall off the wall when using them. But there are others who have used them with beautiful results (and no broken plates!) such as Emily of Timeless Paper who used them to hang this gorgeous plate wall over her bed (don’t you love it?!):
Since the Disc Hangers weren’t going to work for me, I ended up hanging my plates using Tripar’s white vinyl coated plate hangers found {here}. Beware that they do “run small” – my 9″ plates did not fit the 7″-9″ hanger size – I had to use the 10″-14″ size.
Since they are vinyl coated, they won’t scratch the plates like plain wire hangers can and I love that when you use this type of plate hanger, you can easily remove the plates from the wall and use them. The key to working with these hangers is to bend the top of the hanger so that your plate will lay flat on the wall once hung. The best way to do this is to first attach the plate hanger to the plate and lie the plate on a flat surface. The top of the hanger should (barely) touch the flat surface that your plate is lying on. If it doesn’t, take the hanger off the plate, bend it, and place it back on to see if it’s where you need it to be.
Once all of your plates have hangers, it’s time to get them up on the wall! I used {these OOK picture hooks} – hook your OOK hook onto the wire hanger that is attached to your plate and measure the distance from the top of the plate down to where the nail will go into the OOK hook. Transfer this measurement to your plate template and gently tap the OOK hook nail in just a bit.
Then remove the template from the wall, put the nail through the OOK hook, and hammer it in at the same spot that you tapped it into moments ago. Now hang your plate!
Repeat.
It’s definitely my favorite thing about our dining room – you can take a tour to check the entire space out including a bunch of fun “before” and “after” pics (it wasn’t too pretty when we moved in!) {here}!
Simply LKJ says
Amazing Kris! I know that had to be time consuming but the end result is fantastic!!!
therelishedroost says
Trusty butcher paper and blue tape always come in handy.great job!!
Denise Greenwood says
Really beautiful! Thanks for the tutorial 🙂
Emily (Timeless Paper) says
Stunning! Great tips. Thank you for sharing my plate wall too!
Lisa @ Shine Your Light says
That is a daunting task and you did it perfectly Kris! Love how the arrangement came out!
pam {simple details} says
Mine would still be in the cabinet!! Yours are such a gorgeous statement, and you made it look awfully easy!
Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door says
You really did do an amazing job! It makes me want to add more plates to my wall!! 🙂
Linda {Calling it Home} says
You made this look so easy. I hate that ‘template thing’ it just never works out for me. I’ll hire you….hey. I’ll be in Florida and you can come when it’s freezing here.
Nancy {at} powellbrower at home says
the best gallery plate wall on the internet, for sure! Thanks for showing the process Kris, xo Nancy
cindy hattersley design says
Beautiful! Perfectly arranged and I love Juliska!! Gorgeous!
Jennifer Schmitz says
Beautiful plate wall! I love your choices of texture and shape of the plates.
carol jane says
Im so afraid of all the nail holes in the wall. Were you? Looks beautiful though.
Kris @ Driven by Décor says
Carol, my biggest worry was that I wouldn’t arrange the plates right and would end up with a ton of holes in the wall from having to redo the arrangement but that’s why I took the time to cut out and tape up the plate outlines before I used a single nail. The nails that I ended up using are those tiny ones that go with the OOK hooks so they’ll be very easy to spackle over if I decided to take down the plate wall at some point (although I can’t imagine wanting to do that anytime soon!). I would encourage you to go for it!
Prasad Shinde says
I Want This Plates for my Dinning Wall can anyone else know about this where i will purchase same or this kind of shape images dishes ???
Lisa says
Absolutely love this! I am starting my plate wall this weekend! Thank you for all the wonderful tips!
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
I’m so glad that you found it helpful Lisa! Good luck with putting together your plate wall!!
Tina L Berry says
What color is that on your wall?
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
Hi Tina! Our dining room wall color is a slightly tweaked version of Sherwin Williams’ Keystone Gray. You can find the exact color formula on this post:
https://www.drivenbydecor.com/2014/04/simple-natural-easter-table-decorations.html
Tina L Berry says
Thank you so much!
Loral Henck says
Beautiful!!!! I’m curious. Where did you buy all your plates?
Kris @ Driven by Decor says
Hi Loral! My plates are all made by Juliska – they make beautiful dinnerware and it’s normally quite expensive but they have a warehouse sale twice a year where you can get “seconds” at a fraction of the original cost. Luckily for me their warehouse sale is only 30 minutes from my house so I’ve gotten some great buys from there!
Angelina @ peonies & orange blossoms says
I LOVE your plate wall. It looks like it took a LOT of planning to get it just perfect. Obviously your trick could work for hanging any plates or pictures onto a wall. Saving this for later!
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you so much Angelina! I had actually put off this project for awhile thinking that it would take forever but it was actually much easier than I expected!
Susan says
Thanks for sending me the info on instagram. I’m bookmarking the page to refer to as I progress on my plate hanging.
Kris Jarrett says
Glad you found it! Good luck with yours!
Peggy Summitt says
Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone that is planning to do this with those adhesive plate hangers …. I used them on plates in my breakfast room and they all fell off the wall and broke In a million pieces…I did it exactly according to directions but they did not hold…hoping the ones I did in my dining room will hold now.
Kris Jarrett says
Oh no! That’s terrible! That’s why I went with the plate hangers – I just didn’t trust the adhesive ones! Thanks for letting us know (just wish it hadn’t happened to you).
Carol says
Looks amazing. I’ve been putting off doing a gallery wall of my grandkids, but I am intimidated as well. Don’t really know where to being. Love the plate hangers, but oh so many holes. That also makes me nervous. ????
Kris Jarrett says
Just jump in and do it – you’ll be so glad you did! 🙂 And thanks for letting me know that that link goes to the wrong place – Emily doesn’t have a blog anymore so I took out that part about visiting it.
Chasity Clifton says
LOVE this!! Do you know if Tripar makes hangers larger than the 10-14″? I have a few plates 10-11″ I’m looking to hang. Thank you!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Chasity – unfortunately I’m not sure. Sorry I can’t help. Good luck with your project!
Keri says
I love this! What a gorgeous result. I am “that girl” that likes to take short cuts and then pays for it later when things don’t line up. Going through this entire process would probably kill me, but I have been planning to hang a platter on my dining room wall at the house we are renovating, and I wasn’t sold on the sticky hangers because I use the platter pretty frequently. I should be able to manage one or two without losing my mind, right? 😉
As far as a timeline goes, my house will be done someday…ha! I am definitely saving this for future reference and inspiration. For now I will have to dream and keep chugging along with basic household function. 🙂 Thanks for such a great post!
Kris Jarrett says
Ha! You can do this! 🙂 It honestly didn’t take nearly as long as I expected and the hangers I use are great – never have a problem with them holding the plates and I take the platters down from time to time to use them which works beautifully! Good luck!
Carol Shaw says
Love your plate wall have been planning to do one for a while but could never find the right information of how to build one. Thanks for the great tips.
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you so much! I’m glad you found it helpful!
Crystal says
Was this all in drywall? And the OOK picture hooks can handle the heavy plates? I have two trays I’m not worried about hanging- one is wooden and the other is metal- but I have a beautiful big blue “turkey” platter I’d like to hang. I think my walls might be plaster. Any advice on working with a plaster wall (or can you point me in the right direction for such advice)? I’d love to have “functional” art in my tiny kitchen but I’m terrified of my blue platter falling to the floor and breaking 🙁
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Crystal,
Yes this was all in drywall but we have plaster in other parts of the house and the OOK hooks have held really well in those walls too! Once you put it into the wall, you should be able to easily tell if it’s in there well and will hold the weight of your platter. I haven’t lost a single plate yet (fingers crossed)!
Trisha says
Absolutely gorgeous! Just found when researching what to use to hang plates. Thanks for sharing!
Anonymous says
What brand of hangers are used in the above pictures? I can’t find coated hangers on any of the sites I’ve looked at
Kris Jarrett says
The post has a direct link to the exact hangers in it.
Clover burgess says
Thanks! When I hung them the coil extended and the hook just lifted off the top of the plate.
Suggestions, please!
Clover
Kris Jarrett says
Some plate hangers are cheap and do that but good ones like the ones I linked do not. If you’re using the ones I linked and having those issues, it’s because the plate hangers are too large for the plates – you’d need to go down a size!
Brenda Sorensen says
I need to hang a plate that is 20 inches diameter and weighs 16 pounds….where would I find a hanger big enough??
Sheila says
Great idea
Dianna says
I would love to talk to you regarding the white and black Asian plates hung.
Kris Jarrett says
Those are Juliska Country Estates dinnerware!
Jessica says
I love the plates where did you buy them?
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you – they are all made by Juliska (Jardins du Monde and Country Estates lines) – they are based near me and have an annual tent sale where I got them for a steal!
Marliese says
I’m so glad I came across this. I never knew you should/could bend the plate hangers to make the plate lie flat against the wall. I always thought mine didn’t hang right, but I was fearful of using the discs due to possibility of falling off. My plates were not flush to the wall and I always thought they looked weird. Anyway, I bent the hangers and voila! Now they are not jutting out and look so much better!! Thank you for that tip!
Marliese
Kris Jarrett says
I’m so glad that little tip worked for you!!
Bernadette says
Hi, it looks amazing! Do you know the “depth” of your plates? I’m planning on hanging a bowl (“depth” = 9 cm) on the wall, and was wondering if I can do it the way you have done, or if I have to do it differently.
Kind regards,
B
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you! My plates aren’t any deeper than 2″ – you may be able to make the plate hangers work with a deeper bowl if you attach an extra piece of picture wire to the hanger once it’s on the bowl and hang it from the wire.
Stephanie says
Hi there. I’m having difficulty adjusting the top part of the hanger. How did you make this work? Thank you!
ashea says
Very helpful! I especially needed more hanging device options, was on the verge of planning to make my own, which I don’t have time for right now. Thank you!
Bonnie says
how would you hang a rectangular plate (platter)?????
Kris Jarrett says
There’s no reason you couldn’t use these hangers for rectangular platters too!
James Harrington says
A masterful job of hanging plates! And it sure is beautiful. I just decided to hang my antique plates on the wall and was looking for somewhere to buy hangers online. Your info page here just popped up. It was perfect! I never thought of the trick of bending the hanger before – great idea! And the paper patterns – you’re quite an engineer! I’ve hung plates before and found they were too low and had to pull nails out and repound. An ordeal! You have a much better way of doing it.
Tracie Roberts says
I love the off white plates you hung! What is the brand and where are they from?
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Tracie – they’re from Juliska’s Jardins du Monde collection. I got mine at their warehouse sale but you can find them online here -> https://rstyle.me/+s1-EBtwJotOW5c978Zd5yw (affiliate link)
Jill says
Thanks for passing on the idea of tracing the template & taping to the wall. I have always loved hanging plates, especially in the kitchen.
I have tried many different hangers, & my choice are the 3M strips that are the hook & eye like side of velcro. When the wall & plate are pressed together they are locked in. I’ve used them on a few plates since they were a new concept & have never been disappointed.
Dana says
This is a beautiful wall! I have decided I want to mis a wall of grey/back plates with white just like this one. Is there anyway you would tell me the names of the plates that you used? Or at least the grey/black print and the one white in the middle? It would be much appreciated!!
Dana says
I do see your comment about the white plates and where to find them! Sorry I am new to Pinterest so figuring out how it all works!! Thanks!
sophie says
Wonderful display! Can’t wait to try it! A friend of mine recommended using hangers from a company called Display Buddie. They work perfectly and I enjoyed helping a small business!
Allie Orange says
I ❤️love❤️ this plate wall and would love to replicate something like this in my dining room. First step, ditch the chair rail. (Just read your post about that.)
I am wondering what other art you used in your dining room to go along with this?
Your blog is wonderful! Really, my best ideas come from here for home decor.
Karen B. says
Kris,
Your new dining room is such a light-filled room, it’s going to be beautiful once all of your furniture is in place. I must have missed your instructions on the ‘how to hang plates on the wall’ post. I’m so glad you shared the link. This is a great way, with the templates and installing nails on the templates. I think you should write a book on so many of your helpful ideas for various home improvements. 😊❤
xo,
Karen B.