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How to Hang a Plate Wall Without Hooks

By Courtney ODell

Jul 29, 2013, Updated Aug 29, 2020

I’ve been planning a plate wall for a long time. My husband, who lived outside of London for a few years as a kid, LOVES allt hings British, and seriously adores Blue Willow style plates. I’ve been collecting some for a while, and when my mom found a bunch at estate sales and thrift stores, it was time to start our plate wall.

I looked all over for the best way to hang plates, but I just DO NOT like those plate hooks. I want an easy way to hang plates on the wall- just as is. I knew I could use command type strips, but with heirloom plates, we didn’t want to risk it. So after hours of searching, I came across the perfect solution to hang a plate wall without hooks- english plate discs!

I got my plate hangers from eBarb- they came super quick and were easy to use. They hold even LARGE and heavy plates and come in a variety of sizes.

My husband was skeptical that they would hold the plates well, but after hanging them over a month ago, we have had zero issues and the hangers are still securely in place.

When I got the package, i saw a bunch of plain looking paperish-fabricish discs. All you have to do is simply wet your fingers with some warm water and rub them across the backside of the disc to activate the glue. It will get thick and tacky.

Then, lay the adhesive side to the plate and smooth it on. Let it sit for about five minutes and make sure it is completely in tact with the plate. If it looks like it is not touching in one area, add a *little* more warm water and reactivate it by rubbing your fingers on the area. Then firmly place it back ont he plate.

I pushed down on the disc as it dried a bit for the first few minutes just to be sure all of the disc dried to the plate evenly.

Set the plates in a cool, dry place for 24 hours to dry.

After 24 hours, hang them up with by the hook on the disc to a nail in the wall. THAT’S IT!!

You can move them around as you please, and the discs stay SECURE to the plates. I did need to remove one disc from a plate (I hung it upside down and didn’t realize it until it had dried for 24 hours). Getting the disc off involved a few sessions with warm water. It will completely come off and will NOT harm your plate, but not very easily- which is reassuring if you want these as display-only pieces, like I do.

We’re going to keep adding to the collection and probably fill up the entire wall eventually. I placed my plates in a fairly random order- I like that it isn’t too matchy-matchy. But as our collection grows, it will probably change and I can move them around easily.

What do you think? Do you decorate with plates? (or have some blue willow style plates you want to sell us??)