There was a corner of my kitchen that had been bothering me ever since I had moved into my home. Among all the shelving and (curated) clutter I fill my kitchen with, it looked so obviously blank. After a visit to rural France where I saw more plates on walls than on tables, I worked out what was missing – a gallery wall of my favorite crockery.
When it comes to how to hang plates, I tried a few options before landing on the best one. I tried the popular option of wire hangers, which are specifically designed for this job. But while my kitchen might embrace quirky and characterful design, when it comes to the details, I am a perfectionist, and the fact that I could see the hangers on the edge of the plate wasn't going to work.
I also tried adhesive strips that didn't feel sturdy enough for my heaviest pieces, and hooks that made the plates stick out too much. I wanted something strong and invisible. Then, a designer recommended the Disc Adhesive Plate Hanger.
How they work is you wet the sticker, which then becomes tacky, stick it onto the back of your plate, and allow it to dry overnight. Then I used one nail to hang the metal loop on, and my plates were perfectly flush to the wall, and no wires or tiny hooks in sight. Once the sticker was dry, it took me 10 minutes to hang four plates. And they are just as easy to remove by soaking in warm water, and they peel off.
The adhesive stickers weren't the cheapest option I tried for my gallery wall, the wire plate hangers were around $12 for 12, but despite them being advertised as invisible, they aren't, and if, like me, you are a stickler for aesthetics, spend the few extra dollars on the stickers, because they truly are invisible.
I also tried a no-nails option too but found that for the weight of my plates, the size of the recommended hook was so huge that the plate noticeably stuck out into the wall. I think you would be fine with heavy-weight Command strips if you had lighter plates or are renting for a shorter period, but I am so precious about my finds, I was worried they would fall and smash. I have had the plates on my wall using the Disc plate hanger for over six months now, and they have never budged.
Hanging plates on the wall is a really simple way to update a kitchen with things you already own. I had so many beautiful plates hiding in my cabinets, and now they are out on show full time, not just when I host dinner parties.
How you hang them really makes the look – until I discovered these stickers, I was never happy with how they sat, but now they are really secure, no fuss distracting from the plates, and they sit totally flush to the wall. The whole job was so easy, and I plan to update my hanging plates with the seasons too to give my kitchen the easiest of refreshes.
