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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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May 19, 2014

DIY Wall Plate Rack

Do you ever have projects that you put off for…oh…say about 5 years?

Ummm…yeah…me neither! 😉

In our kitchen there is a narrow wall that you pass by on your way to the dining room. Or if you are coming from the dining room you pass it on the way to the kitchen. You get the idea!

I like to call it ‘The Forgotten Wall’. Just something you pass by on your way to bigger and better things…like coffee.

plate rack on wall in kitchen atthepicketfence.com

Oh sure, I made half-hearted attempts at giving it some attention. There was the chalkboard that looked fine but no one ever stopped to read all of my beautiful quotes carefully written with hopes of encouraging and inspiring. Because it’s a wall you just pass by after all.

Well, friends, I think it is safe to declare that ‘The Forgotten Wall’ is now my most favorite part of my entire kitchen! It is forgotten no more!

How to Make a Wall Plate Rack atthepicketfence.com

It only took me 5 years and one long afternoon to help the wall fulfill it’s destiny by making a very basic wall rack.

How to Make a Wall Plate Rack

1. Build a simple frame using the size of wood appropriate for your space. Because this is a narrow area I went with 2×1’s. I had Lowes cut the ledges to fit the width in between the size and also 2 additional pieces for the top and bottom.

plate rack frame

 2. Cut molding to trim out the top and bottom and add detail to the frame and attach with wood glue.

molding detail

 3. 2 rows of screen molding cut to size and attached with nails or wood glue hold the plates in place.

screen molding detail

I painted the entire thing a lovely shade of ivory and hung it right up on that forgotten wall.

DIY plate rack hanging on wall

I think I might have heard it sigh.

It was a sigh of relief…of satisfaction.

Because it finally looked like it was always meant to look.

This incredibly simple and basic plate rack that only took 5 years and one long afternoon to make looked like it had always been there.

plate rack on wall

It looked like it belonged.

Like it was special…remembered.

And that’s really what we all want, after all, isn’t it?

DIY hanging wall plate rack

To know that we ‘belong’…that we’re special, remembered.

We don’t want people to just pass us by without really noticing us.

Because we all know how absolutely amazing it is when someone recognizes our capacity for great things.

Our ability to truly shine.

And we also know (or we should know!) that it feels even better to be the one to recognize the potential in someone else…to speak it into their life…and to watch them shine!

It’s really pretty awesome the lessons which can be gleaned from a plate rack, isn’t it? 😉

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21 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, DIY Tagged With: decorating, DIY, kitchen

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Comments

  1. martina says

    May 19, 2014 at 4:50 AM

    I LOVE IT Vanessa and love the silver platters you added to it!!

    Reply
  2. Stacey says

    May 19, 2014 at 5:47 AM

    That looks fantastic! I’ve seen a couple of other people do the same thing and it always makes me stare around and try to decide where I could do the same. What a fun way to feature platters and plates that you love.

    Reply
  3. Susan says

    May 19, 2014 at 6:38 AM

    Now, if I only had the wall space to hang this~ Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Wanda says

    May 19, 2014 at 7:01 AM

    Thank you for sharing this! I really like it and have a spot where this would work great.

    Reply
  5. BasementWaterproofing.com says

    May 19, 2014 at 10:13 AM

    Awesome plate rack! So creative, and a great way to display your favorite plates 🙂

    Reply
  6. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    May 19, 2014 at 10:56 AM

    Vanessa, this is so awesome!!….I so love it….great idea and looks beautiful….Amazing job…pinning away!

    Reply
  7. debbiedoos says

    May 19, 2014 at 1:24 PM

    Very cool Vanessa! What a neat idea:)

    Reply
  8. Sandy says

    May 19, 2014 at 2:27 PM

    It’s beautiful, perfect, and I love it. I am searching for the wall in my house. May have to be a dining room wall, but I have beautiful pieces to share.

    Reply
  9. Donnamae says

    May 19, 2014 at 2:36 PM

    I have that same wall in my kitchen….thanks for the inspiration! 😉

    Reply
  10. Ann says

    May 19, 2014 at 2:53 PM

    Oh my gosh. I want one of these! Not sure I could make it myself though! It’s totally perfect on that wall and I adore the silver trays. Well done girl!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      May 19, 2014 at 5:14 PM

      If I can do it YOU definitely can do it Ann!! 🙂

      Reply
  11. Yvonne @ StoneGable says

    May 19, 2014 at 7:30 PM

    Vanessa, your wall plate rack is amazing! You are AMAZING! What a perfect place for a plate rack and I love the silver! I’m running through walls in my house to do the same!!!!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      May 19, 2014 at 7:31 PM

      Thank you so much Yvonne!! I could totally see this on a wall in your gorgeous home! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Annalee Fuerstenau says

    May 19, 2014 at 8:40 PM

    Oh my goodness, what timing! I was pondering what to do about that same type of wall in my kitchen just a few hours ago and now here you are with a beautiful and creative solution… Thank you for saving me five years of brainstorming and procrastination! Although, this is yet another project to add to my giant list so it might actually take five years to get to it 🙂

    Reply
  13. Linda @ It All Started With Paint says

    May 20, 2014 at 6:22 AM

    So now I’m eyeing walls in my kitchen and dining room for a possible diy plate rack! Love this idea and think I could actually make one myself too!

    🙂 Linda

    Reply
  14. Richella Parham @ Imparting Grace says

    May 20, 2014 at 7:46 AM

    Vanessa, you are brilliant! What a wonderful use of that little space. Bonus: a place to display and store those big trays. It really does look as if it’s always been there. And great lessons learned from it as well!

    Reply
  15. Mimi says

    June 26, 2014 at 1:24 PM

    Nice project for a small unused space. It adds a nice decorative touch as well.

    Reply
  16. Marilyn says

    June 25, 2015 at 4:52 AM

    Love it and who knew how simple — my only question is how did you attach it to the wall? I’m going to do this in the kitchen between 2 windows.

    Reply
  17. Christy says

    December 27, 2015 at 6:33 AM

    I just saw the article in Better Homes and Gardens and loved it idea. Only question is how did you attached it to the wall?

    Reply
  18. Ella says

    January 2, 2016 at 1:00 PM

    What kind of bracket did you use to hang your rack? I got a space that would work for this rack and I can take all my travel and display them

    Thanks
    Ella

    Reply
  19. Christy says

    January 7, 2016 at 9:44 PM

    Love it, but I have a question … what’s the paint color on that wall? I love it too!!

    Reply

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