
While hosting a party, have you ever prolonged refilling that tray of bruschetta just long enough for your guests to catch a glimpse of (and compliment) your new decoupaged
John Derian? Do you love your shmancy delftware salad plates you scored at the
Rose Bowl Flea Market so much that you hesitate to grab one when fixing up some nachos (just
too casual!)?
If so, you'll likely agree that sometimes a plate is just too pretty to be carrying out its intended purpose: serving food.
Rather than banishing your favorite dishes behind cupboard doors, take a tip from some of Lonny's favorite decorators and display them artfully on a wall:

If your preferred platters share a common color scheme, follow the advice of Houston-based antiques dealer,
Kay O'Toole. In her kitchen (above), she flanks a sunny window with symmetric arrangements of glazed-white pottery.
Click here for more of O'Toole's home.


A quad of retro floral cocktail plates watches over a food prep station at
Grace Bonney's place (left), while an assortment of blue-and-white china mingles on a brick wall at
Anthony D'Argenzio's Brooklyn abode (right).

Lisa Sherry takes it up a notch with this climbing formation that hangs above a vintage laundry cart, repurposed as a bar. The eclectic mix of shape and pattern reflects the poppy, eclectic attitude throughout
the entire house.
So what say you? Do you proudly display your dishes, or prefer to keep them closeted? Share your own "plate art" with us on
Instagram and
Facebook @lonnymag, and for more daily decorating ideas, follow us on
Pinterest!