Decorative Plate Wall

This may sound a little old-fashioned to you - like it did to my husband - but I love pretty plates and don't mind a few displayed on the wall.  I understand that some people may get flash-backs (some good, some bad) of visiting grandma's house and seeing a plethora of floral plates hung all over the dining room walls, but let me reassure you that wall-hung plates can be beautifully displayed in an updated fashion...with some tasteful moderation and design-savvy execution.  If you're not quite convinced, I found some great example pics on a blog I love called Addicted 2 Decorating:

 original pic from addicted2decorating

 original pic from cottageandvine

original pic from mmmcrafts

original pic from viewalongtheway

original pic from dwell

I love the organic flow of the plates in several of the pictures.  I think it really freshens up the concept and keeps it from looking stuffy and old.

I decided I needed a little decorative plate action in our dining room to add some color to the beige walls and help tie in our huge ever-present Texas star.  (Aside: My poor rooms never know when they're going to be targeted for another project...sometimes I feel sorry for them like they're a victim of my never-ending design obsession.)  I found these little gems at Pier 1 for a steal, and the rest is history:

Here's the dining room wall before it was subjected to my plate project:

We always have our star hung somewhere in every house we live in.  It reminds us of our Texas roots no matter what state we currently call home.  Most of you are rolling your eyes right now and those of you who understand are probably from Texas...just sayin' y'all.

And, here is the dining room wall after the attack:

I like it...but it will be a work in progress because I'd like to throw off the symmetry a bit.  It's hard for me because I like order, but I'm digging the "flow" of the plate walls above.  When I let loose and let it flow, I'll update you.

If you're interested, this is what I used to hang the plates (about $3 at the local hardware store):

If you want to hang plates without running to the hardware store, I found a great tutorial on how to hang plates with paperclips and hot-glue on the In My Own Style blog.  Diane does a great job of walking you through the process so check it out {here}.

What do you think?  Are decorative plate walls a "no" or a "go"?  Give us your two cents.  -Kristen