How to Decorate with Handmade Italian Wall Plates

Wall plates are back big time!

A popular staple on the Italian dining and living room walls in the 50s and 60s, they disappeared for a few decades, only to return in curated compositions of deftly mixed colors and textures.

Geometric Wall Plate by D&G Design handmade in Deruta, Italy

Decorating with wall plates is exciting in so many ways.

And, if you love Italian ceramics, there are so many colorful, artisan-made wall plates to choose from.
The first step is creating a collection of Italian wall plates for your display.
If you start from scratch, you should define a theme before you start searching. It can be a color scheme, a particular style or a period in time if you decide to go vintage.

Geometric Wall Plate by Francesca Niccacci handmade in Deruta, Italy

Once the treasure hunt is finished – is it ever? – the fun of figuring out how and where to display your collection begins. You can really go wild!

Any room in the house will do, starting from the bathroom. A display of wall plates will add a charming, eclectic touch to the bathroom wall, where traditional artworks struggle to stand up to humidity or steam.
Using creative combinations of colors and sizes, you will be able to add character and dimension to odd walls, too vertical, too narrow or just too dark for conventional art pieces.

No display rule should limit your creativity: you can place your wall plates in line, use decorative wrought iron supports, wooden racks, or just cluster them together in a fun hodgepodge.

Geometric Wall Plate by ND Dolfi handmade in Montelupo Fiorentino, Italy