Space is a blessing but takes money to fill. Now that we have so much more wall space in our townhouse I’ve been trying to find inexpensive ways to beautify the walls. As Fall rapidly approaches I have particularly been looking for ways to brighten up the two walls that compose our dining area.
I love DIY but I’m not really one to come up with my own ideas. One of the great things about following other bloggers in the inspiration I glean from their projects. One blog I follow is Kate’s Creative Space. I firmly believe this woman is a creative genius. I was recently inspired by her “Great Wall of China” and decided to try something similar in an awkward little nook in our dining area. I am not quite as adventurous as she is so it is a tamed version of her project.
Kate’s “Great Wall of China”
I spent several days this week dragging my children through Salvation Army in order to find old china dishes (and two dollar kid’s puzzles). My goal was to look past any unsightly designs and look for beautiful shapes since I planned on spray painting them all white for a uniform look. I scored with some “gorgeous” and inexpensive pieces.
Some of the plates before being painted. I ended up buying many more to fill the space.
I loved the way they look stacked like this. I was almost tempted to glue them together and put them in a shadow box. A different idea for a different project.
I have always thought that hanging china on walls looked lovely but felt that it was a bit too traditional or country in style for my home which is a bit more modern eclectic. However, I feel that painting the china white and hanging it on a white wall modernizes the look and fits into the overall decor of my home.
We tried out our “new” dining room on some friends for a dinner party.
A close up of some of my favorite plates.
Having the plates go so far up the wall really visually increases the height of the ceilings in the dining area and makes it feel special.
The total cost of this project was about $100. I expected it to be less but there was much more wall to fill than I originally realized. If I had realized I would need so many plates, I would have bought more inexpensive pieces to start with. None-the-less, I’m impressed with the amount of impact I was able to get based on the money spent. Thank you Kate!
If you are interested in doing a similar project all you need is plates, matte spray paint, and 3M Command velcro strips. Check out Kate’s Creative Space for more directions.