I did this:
Actually, Christian needs to get credit too. He hung all the plates. I was not climbing up 13 feet to hang anything.
I laid them out before hanging, and it helped a bit. The installation ended up being not quite as balanced as I wanted, so we'll add a few more plates on the right to finish it off. But I still really, really love it.
I bought 30 plates in various sizes, spray painted most of them a soft yellow to kinda match our cabinets, and left a spattering unpainted. I love the blue ones, but definitely want to paint the plate hangers so they're more hidden.
I had a few on hand, but made most of the other plate hangers with floral wire and clothing hangers. It was easy, but my hands have just barely stopped hurting from all of the squeezing I had to do with the wire cutters. It was worth it though. Plate hangers are usually about $3 a piece, so if you make your own you can save a whole lotta moolah! Since my plates are so high up, I figured it wouldn't matter what they looked like, and I was right. For plates closer to eye level, you'd probably want to make them prettier.
xoxo,
