Eclectic Plate Wall Tutorial

Eclectic Plate Wall Art

Submitted By Liz Marie Blog

 For a while now I was trying to come up with an idea for my empty wall space in my dining room. I wanted something random & eclectic. I brainstormed a few ideas such as hanging antique colanders & antique kitchen utensils, which would still be a great idea, but then I was inspired by The Nesting place's random plate wall. Just the idea of an eclectic mix of white plates on a wall makes me a happy girl! So here is my adventure into hanging plates on a wall.. 



Wall Before...

After...



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One Hot Bottom, uh I mean Hutch!

I know, I know, a very naughty title.  Forgive me, but I really am talking about the base of this hutch.

Check out the 1st and 2nd post about this piece if you have the chance!

Originally the hutch base had three doors.  The thing that bothered me the most about the original look is that the spacing didn't match the top doors.  Function wise, the middle section didn't move, it was nailed in place and only the two outside doors worked.  AND the doors were literally 2 inches thick, so the space inside was limited and I hate wasted space, I want this hutch to store stuff so I needed more space.

When coming to a look we liked design wise, we tried to copy as many details from the top that we could.  That doesn't mean that all the details were the best, but that the two pieces needed to work together so we took our cues from above (ha ha).

We started by adding a face frame to the sides.  Because the original doors were the front face frame and we wanted to make the new piece a little deeper, so technically the original frame sits back a few inches.  One detail we added to make it look a little more classy are the side panels. We made the sides to match the existing upper doors, and the new base doors. 

For the bead detail, we found a molding that worked and ripped it down on the table saw to the proper width, and applied it on instead of using the router.  At this point we also made the feet an inch or two longer than the original base cuz I mentioned earlier that we wanted it a little taller.

Justin then made a basic face frame and nailed it in place to the front.  It overlapped the side panel about an 1/8 of an inch, similar to the existing top.

I wanted the doors to match the glass doors, so he made those to look as close as he could.   But, one thing we did have to change a bit were the door dimentions.  Because we added the face frame it would have made the two side doors really small, so we had to tweek it a bit (along with the drawer section) but we think it turned out okay, see if you notice)

Lastly, when I was looking for inspiration on how I wanted my hutch to look once updated, I saw a lot of molding wrapped bases.  So, we went for that look, and it has teh added benefit of keeping little baby things, cat toys and junk from falling under the furniture.

Before paint this is what the piece looked like.  (so much better than before... you should really scroll up there and check it out)

Now on to putting humpty-dumpty back together again...  Here are all the pieces coming together.  You can see in this picture that the stencil is really subtle.  I am liking this....

I decided that I didn't want to have to spray paint the inside shelves outside and I was going to ignore them completely, but it took a while to finish and install the doors, so one day I just sat down and painted the interior.  I am glad I did.

Trying on the doors for size...

Then off again to paint... now for the fun stuff dishes.  I realize for some people's taste I may have too much stuff in there, but I am really happy with it, and it changes occasionally, but not too often, and not too much.  This really is about function for me cuz I totally have a dish fetish so I need storage.

Quick reminder of the old:

And FINALLY with the doors back in place and painted!  Now all we need to finish are the drawers.

Hey everyone!  Hope you can't see the dirty dishes I am neglecting in the reflection of this bowl!

Here just so you feel satisfied, I photoshopped (not so expertly) some drawer fronts on there. 

What do you think about our project?

It only took me about 10 months to blog about it...

Remodelaholic is written by Cassity and Justin. Cassity has a degree in interior design and Justin is a landscape architect, so we adore everything that makes up a HOME! We love to share home remodeling ideas and projects we’re working on. From huge kitchen renovation ideas to small bathroom remodels, there isn’t anything we won’t try to tackle (at least once!). We are in the midst of our third whole home renovation, (check out house 1 and house 2 as well, so there should be a lot more inspiration coming your way. We hope that you will stop by often for home design inspiration, tutorials, interior design tips, delicious recipes and what going on in our family life.

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How To Update A Hutch; Part 2

Finally- I am back to show you what we did on this hutch.  In all honesty, I have had this scheduled to post for the past 3 mornings but haven't been able to finish it to actually post, so I have been scrambling to get things posted every night... actually I am almost always scrambling nowadays, moving on.

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DIY Dish Lamp Tutorial

DIY Dish Lamp Tutorial

contributed by Retropolitan

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been slightly obssesed with lamps as of late.
So, when I came across this lamp at Anthropologie, I knew I had to try and recreate it.



I made a teacup clock a while back and ever since then have had a little preoccupation with teacups and saucers. I can't go to the thrift store without browsing the dish section and as a result have acquired quite an assortment. I was excited to come across this lamp so that I could put my growing collection to use.

Here's what you'll need to make your own lamp.

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Platter Wall Shelving

Platter Wall Shelving

party highlight by Cleverly Inspired

I have a slight addiction to pretty platters (my friend Chris's fault). I just can't pass one up---especially if they are on sale. This is why I tend to give alot of the them as gifts---I figure everyone loves a good platter right?!?! So need-less-to-say, I have ended up with many. I love to use them too---but I also wanted a great way to display them. When we moved into our house about 6 (gulp) years ago---the Dining Room was one of the first rooms I wanted to decorate. Everyone sees our dining room if they enter from the front---or from the garage. Maybe that is why I started there. 

The following project is one that I came up with and my sweet hubby Bill executed. Now that I have had lessons on the miter saw---I could hopefully do it on my own. But he enjoys that sort of thing; so I would still ask for his help =) 
I knew that I wanted a large table (for 10 people) to sit around. So, I knew that I wouldn't have room for a hutch (I'm not really a "hutch" kind of girl anyway...so that was fine with me ) 
These ledges I came up with are perfect and allow me to rotate the display of platters. I love that! FYI---these make fabulous picture shelves too!!!

We did 3 ledges that are 36 long by 4 wide. Bill used 3 pieces of 1X4X36 pine. Then we used a molding to trim out the front and side (just 2 miter cuts). 

We secured 2 L brackets (marking first on the wall and on the ledge where the studs are) You want to be sure and use a stud---otherwise the platters may fall at your next party---although, that would make it memorable ;) If you don't have a stud available then use a drywall anchor first. 
You will notice I placed my brackets on the top---I didn't want to see them from the bottom and I knew I could cover up the bracket with a platter!You do what works for you though. Another great application is to use these ledges for picture displays in other rooms!  Including wood, brackets, paint and molding this project was not over $25!

Be inspired to be clever =)
Color on wall is Benjamin Moore: Wythe Blue

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From Crib to Plate Rack; Up-cycle project

I was just surfing blogs when I came upon this project, and I had to ask if I could share it with you!  It is from Erin at The Little Apartment on the Prairie.  Anyway, she had a crib that her little one just didn't love!  So she made a beautiful dish display it is TOO COOL check it out:

Once Upon A Time I had this baby.

The baby that I waited nine years for. This baby with the polka-dot nose. The baby that sings songs to herself and tries to train the dog. The baby with the grandma name.

The baby I refinished a crib for when I was 8 months pregnant.
Who also happens to be one of those babies that screams in enclosed beds like cribs or playpens.



 No it wasn't a stage, the behavior never went away. So the crib did.

But on the upside, it became a farmhouse style plate rack:

I saw this picture in an inspired by post over at the Brabourne Farm blog.

Pretty, Simple, and Rustic. So I went to work to see if I could create a plate rack for me!

I took the two sides of the crib railing and removed the hardware. 

I put them side by side to to determine where I would need to remove the rails.

I even held them up against the wall while measuring to ensure my plates would fit into the space.

And removed the pieces that I needed out with a small hand saw. 

It was really a lot easier than I thought it would be.

I used Gorilla Glue to cement the two side pieces together.

 I even caulked a little and touched up the white paint where it was needed. But I don't think the caulking was highly necessary. The Gorilla Glue that I used expanded a little while setting and filled the space in between the two pieces very well.

Below is a picture of the bottle top. A bit was on top from my last use and dried. See how it's bubbled? It expands as it dries. I just thought this looked cool. I know I'm weird. And you think the lid would be stuck on tight. But no, it slid right off. 

 I wasn't going for a finished look.

This is me attempting to cover up an extremely poorly placed phone jack... in the center of the dining area wall! What?!

Here you can see the general idea of how the plates are supported.

Here is my plate rack. I might add a shelf to it later, we'll see. Or maybe paint it green.
No not turquoise or hammered zinc. I think I'll have to find some cute plates with color for it too.

Isn't that just plain awesome? 

And for those old school cribs that aren't up to code, 

this idea is perfect!

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Painted Porcelain Dishes Idea! Craft, Guest

The ladies over at Lemon Tree Creations have done it again, and being the DISH FANATIC that I am, when I saw this party link from Patrice (one of the authors over at Lemon Tree) I was IN total awe!  

Well, as you may have noticed from my last few posts I am in fact a redecoratorholic, (as well as perhaps a creator of fabulous new words?) I have only lived in my first home for 2 years now, but have redecorated the living room, master bedroom, guest bedroom and daughter's nursery 3 different times. Well, seeing as how 3 seems to be the lucky number for creating a room I am happy with, I am planning on leaving my dining room as is, (ONCE I finish redecorating it for the, you got it, THIRD time.) Whew. My husband is worn out just thinking about it!

Moving on, my current "dining room overhaul" inspired my most recent project, monogramed place settings. Back around mother's day my husband took me to one of those "create your own pottery" places in town, and I made this:

Which made me of course think I needed another set of plates to match. The only problem was, I didn't want to go back to the pottery place and spend $12 a plate to make them. So, instead I spent $5.00 on this set of plates from TJMaxx...

Followed these easy steps...

Stenciled

Traced...
Painted (with porcelain marker from local craft store)
Baked (according to paint package directions)

To make this...

It was that simple! And it was so much cheaper than using a paint your own pottery store. It's as easy as picking up a porcelain paint pen at your local craft store! I am intruiged now by all of the things I could do with this idea. Here are some of my favorite ideas for future projects so far...

1)Make for wedding and shower gifts.

2)Monogram bake safe bathroom accessories (soap dish, etc.)

3)Buy cheap dessert plates somewhere and personalize with guests names for dinner parties.

4)Buy pre-glased tiles from hardware store and make a house number plaque.

Hmm, truly the possibilities are endless, and SO much cheaper for all of us on a DIY budget. All together the project cost $9.50 and took about 2 hours prep time, 1 overnight paint drying session, and 25 minutes to bake. Now all YOU have to do is comeback soon to see my dining room before and after. I am in the home stretch, (the fabric for my dining chair redo came in the mail today!)

Okay, isn't that so fun!  I was thinking this would be a great project to use in conjunction dish display something like this.  (Also, the whole finding ugly old second hand pieces to paint and embellish- JUST FOR DISPLAY!)  I love the wedding gift idea!! for sure, what might you use this idea for?

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