For the past year I didn’t know what to do about this corner of my living room, or above the TV. We don’t have a frame TV, we just put it on a YouTube artwork screensaver and it works just fine! The corner was pretty bare and I couldn’t decide if I should put anything above it. This is what I call “simmering” when you can’t make a decision, a term I heard from my friend Caroline.
So I simmered a long time, thought of two different ideas, artwork and then decided not to do it due to cost and uncertainty. I was inspired by the Lake Forest Show house the dining room in particular that had a large plate wall above the couch.
I went to Replacements.com which specializes in vintage and replacement china and more! So I browsed with theme and colors, like “seashell” and “rose medallion” and I wanted unique shapes, like an octagon!
This is when I took to Canva to import images and arrange the plates and try other artwork to see what I thought. Then I thought oh shoot will it be too busy next to my other busyness going on above the fireplace?
Well, MORE IS MORE! Less is not more, less is less. Less is a bore.
On the Replacements site, I tried different plate colors and sizes and got 9 plates for under $200 with shipping and tax. I needed different scale and a plate with more colors to bring it all together, also colors I have in my living room. It took a while to receive but that’s OK. Under two weeks but I’m sure they had a LOT to go through to find all of them!
I mean now look, it looks nearly identical to my Canva!
Let me give a quick tip. Many of us have seen laying out on paper, tracing and then knowing where to put the holes. You flip over the plate after tracing (it already has the plate hanger on the back) and you hold a pen and move the plate and just put a dot.
Here’s what I suggest – Wrapping paper with the grid on the back! Use that so you can space and align your plates best! Cut the paper to height but make sure you use the straight edge top for the top of your wall because I cut crooked so my bottom was all over the place but it didn’t matter.
Took me 18 minutes to hang the plates.
I love the way it looks and I have to remind you anyone who says seashells or the like are only for coastal homes or lake houses, that’s a lie. It’s nature, but also do what you want! I decorate Southern style and I don’t live in the South. People like Chinoiserie and they aren’t Chinese. It’s fine! And it all goes together because it’s perfectly you, so just buy what you like and put it all together!
Now off to the next project! I have so many things going on around here I’m shocked I’m not very lazy this summer, it’s almost as if I’m on a mission to do a lot around here while I’m home!
Leave a Reply