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I like the first picture. It's your house you should display them if you want and don't worry what others think

I really don't worry what others think, it is just something in ME that hesitates. Not sure exactly why.

I think if you display them NOT in a traditional way it would look more artsy. You don't have to put them all out. You can rotate the different styles/colors. Have fun

I think if you love them display them. Maybe don't think of them as "dinner plates" but another art form because someone designed them and maybe some are hand painted.
I don't think I would hang in bathroom though, lol, maybe an antique bowl as soap dish. I have an crystal one in my bath.

Yeah-not feeling the bathroom vibe either. Although that last pic looks more artsy, and less like you took the plates off your dinner table and put them in your bathroom.

Sandi, is there a reason you feel you should display them? I mean if you're hesitant, there's no reason you have to hang them, right? So much depends on the plates, the surroundings, the whole feel of the space. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just doesn't. Don't beat yourself up if it's not working for you.

I think you should go with your gut. You seem to be doing ok with your home so far.

I have seen plates hung on the wall...but always either in a kitchen or dining room. In a former house we had, I used some antique plates to decorate a soffit above kitchen cabinets. I did not have a hutch or china cabinet at the time and I did not want to use them for fear of breaking them. I think the bathroom pic above is kind of cool looking. They are not really like dinner plates on the wall.

This display of flow blue plates are hung at the top of my steps and I enjoy them whenever I go to the second floor :)

Why not- I have such pretty glassware, but it is all in china cupboards, and I guess I felt its beauty is being wasted.
You put a fine point on it as usual--there is a reason I am not feeling it. I'm thinking maybe it is some silly OCD thing about things being in appropriate areas.
Maybe I just need therapy. Lol

Bmattis-that looks very pretty! Especially with the lighting as you have it. I love flow blue.

Sandi, maybe the patterns don't fit with your décor? Or maybe you just haven't found the right combination. I get the "wasted" part. I feel the same way about some of mine. I think that bathroom pic is a bit too much but I like the concept of mixing dinnerware with other items. I know it's silly but plates and bathrooms don't mix for me. :D

Perhaps if you posted some pics of your plates that might help us help you find a spot for them?

Sandi

There are all sorts of trends and what designers consider
"in-style" but in the end I always listen and try to really HEAR what my clients are saying when it comes to personal objects as art.

It's just that- personal. If you love the plates and are okay with seeing them all the time, then I suggest you use them.

But I also believe in listening to your gut. If you are hesitating then wait. If you are hesitating because they are not often used in other rooms, but still want to hang them , hang them.

Some of the pictures shown on here the plates look awful, but not because they are plates but because they are the wrong size and incorrect amount of plates for the wall area.

There are plenty of gallery wall guides on line if you decide to go with it. Measure your wall space, and your plates. Lay it out on the floor then cut out paper templates and affix those to the wall first before putting in one nail.

I know you can find a designer in your area who would also be glad to take a peek for you and assist with your decision and with the layout if you move forward.

Remember it's your home and it should make you smile when you walk in every day!

Best of luck!
KHB Interiors in New Orleans

sandiocd....I must admit I'm with ya'. I just can't get past plates on walls other than kitchen and dining. Also, family photos in bathrooms irks me. Having said that, artistic and beautiful "art" plates can look great in other rooms. You'll need to trust your instincts on whether it looks "right" or not. I like eclectic and even though, OMG, there are plates in the above bathroom photo, it is a collection of beautiful art, artfully displayed and I think looks quite pretty and fun.

Come to think of it, I've seen "ugly" in and of itself look terrific in the right space and arranged artfully. Like cardboard animal heads! lol

PS I also think bmattis' blue plates at the top of her stairs looks beautiful.

I love vintage china and have mismatched china on my soffit and on a shelf in my kitchen - its a vintage look - in "my pics" in my idea book. Mine is a bit old fashioned looking kitchen.

Well, I personally dont like plates hanging on walls... it just reminds me of my grandmas house and shes 94... She always had a ton hanging on her walls.
So, maybe its for this reason. However, if you are willing to "destroy" them, I do think making fixtures out of them or fun things like a tea tray or something could be a fun way to have them out and use them daily, but then of course they would not be useable as china anymore. But this is what I would likely do. However, I suppose I am not very "normal" ;)

I must admit though that the funky collection over the toilet is pretty cool ;)

If they are really pretty and interesting plates then go for it! Why would they be different from any other art. Personally I think that pic with just white ones looks ridiculous because it just looks like they went nuts. But somebody likes it so...

Design doyen Kelly Wearstler did a plate installation at the Viceroy Hotel, Santa Monica. If Kelly thinks it's cool then so do I!

How2girl, I usually like Kelly Wearstler's designs, but that display is just TOOOO much!

I woke with another question for you. Do you use them for special occasions or are they literally just stored away and not every enjoyed? If you do use them, then I'd suggest some type of display that would allow you to see them and to use them. If not, then perhaps, have a few "samples" of ones you particularly love put in shadow boxes and arrange them as pictures instead of just by themselves. A dinner plate from one set, a saucer from another, etc. Or, and I realize this was a no-no at one time and, to some, may still be, you could just set the table in your formal dining room and switch it out from time to time. Having your room dinner party ready with seasonal centerpieces and complementing dinnerware might be a fun way to enjoy them and display them.

Plates displayed on walls is very old school. Go for it!

Ignore my above comment. I perused your ideabooks and realized (I think) why you're hesitant. Your gut is right. They won't look right in a configuration like those above or similar in that gorgeous Edwardian. You might (possibly) put a few in a small grouping in your DR but do you really want to hide (or put holes in) that mural you worked so hard to save? You have been faithful to the rest of the house as well and I think your gut is saying...don't muck it up now.

You have a beautiful china cabinet in that room. My suggestion would be to find separate storage for some of your dishes/glasses and rotate them in and out of that china cabinet so that you can enjoy them when not in use.

Whynot, there is a plate rail at the top of the wainscoting in the dining room, (I would NEVER put holes in the mural) but I think even putting plates up there would detract. I had considered plates on the soffit in the kitchen, but also thought for awhile about putting some on a wall going up the stairs in my foyer. It really is the idea of plates displayed on walls OUTSIDE the kitchen or dining room that makes me pause.
I have two loaded china cabinets --
and I do use a lot of the items in
there.
This feedback is really giving me food for thought.

I looked at that wall and wondered if they would work there but then I got to thinking of people bumping into them at parties and such and thought maybe not such a great idea. Are those the same stairs that have that stained glass window?

No, the stained glass is on a landing from the second to the third floor.
Good point about people banging into plates going up the stairs.

Ok...so I noticed a landing on the second floor I think that has a small table with not a whole lot above it. It's possible that could be a spot for a few choice pieces, if you're really really wanting a place to put a few out. I would just advise to be very stingy with your choices so that it doesn't get overdone. A few in a less standard configuration could be really interesting. Using graduated sizes, different patterns and possibly a wave/swirl shape could be fun and yet still leave space for the eye to rest. I have an inexpensive piece of wall art that uses metal bowls ...oh here...I think I have a pic... but I like the overall shape of this for you but I would put more space between the plates and have them more distinctive than this.

P.S. I did have this in my living room at my old place. It's technically in my den now but viewable from the kitchen.

I did not think of that place above the little table. That is a possibility. Or there is a blank wall across from the table.
I think the house lends itself to kind of formal configurations in wall art.

Maybe, but what's wrong with having a little fun with it in a spot or two. Or is that the OCD coming out? hehe

i like plates on the wall but be careful they are flat. as they approach platter-dom they look too heavy.

we have one plate in our front hall, we bought it in granada spain, and have it displayed along with a photo from the alhambra, the ticket from the alhambra, and a mirror my in laws bought in spain years ago. so the plate is just one aspect.

of all the photos above, that third one of the rectangular and oval dishes in the bathroom is awesome. mainly because you know you'd never accidentally be served dinner on them down the road.

having once eaten dinner at a home where then the plates were put on the floor for the dogs to lick, well, you take your chances.

I like that one nngirt! Very nice! I bought a ton in Morocco and yet they sit in my drawer haha

I love plates on walls, have an entire ideabook on that very subject, and I have them on the walls in my kitchen. Plus, they're just hung the old-fashioned way with wire plate holders.

I was intrigued to look at photos of your home after reading above comments, and it's beautiful! Those Moroccan plates are very nice too. What about some above the little cabinet that's beside stove. I don't know if they'll get noticed much by others, but may make you happy when you're in there.

I have to say, some of these more creative arrangements are changing my view of plate hanging... Hmmmm.

@shashaselby, I love the third photo, especially how the edge of the plates are cut to keep the rectangular outline.

i like the second. its not something i'd do, but if i visited a house where it was displayed i'd admire it and not roll my eyes behind their back.

the first one didnt constrain themself to a tight enough color palette.

The feud between the MILs started when they both visited our home at the same time. We had used old plates, tins and kitchen tools as wall art in the eat in kitchen. We thought it looked rather nice. My MIL rolled her eyes, and stated she didn't know why I would put trash up on the wall. My mother immediately went on the offensive, stating that it took and intelligent and creative person that see beauty in old things. It went downhill from there, we ran for cover, and it was years before they could be in the same room together. I still love a "trash wall".

I may have gotten a bit carried away but here are some other configurations I found. Most of these look a bit heavy to me but I thought they might give you an idea of some things to do in a similar period house (or at least some of them seem to be from the little I can see of them). Remember, this is concept inspiration only. :D

More... *ducking*

Just one more...

This one was intriguing because of the stairways you have. Not sure I would put that many but I liked the way it followed the wall though I would not have a floral arrangement that big in front of a display like that.

Ok, Whynot, That's more what I had in mind...
Honestly, this discussion is helping me zone in on what I really like, and I realize that less is more for me; that I like a few "statement" pieces more than a mass arrangement of the same type of item; and that my psyche needs a bit of a cohesive color theme, but not matchy-matchy.

I have plates all over my house! Smile.

Tastefully done, Mia!