vintage dishes + painted spice rack= easy update to blah wall

I’ve always been stumped with this wall. Our old, still-chugging-along stove leans against it at a weird angle, it’s obviously bright turquoise (our choice after much paint testing) and it is uneven. We could not figure out what to put on the wall but knew it needed something that couldn’t catch fire and wouldn’t fall into a pot of stew.

I’ve been casually searching for and sometimes finding plates for a plate wall I knew I wanted to do at some point but never amassed enough to light a fire under my ass and get it done. On a whim, I stopped by a thrift store my girlfriend had been telling me about for weeks. She swore the Salvation Army on Clybourn was completely different than it’s sister off of Grand in River North, which is extremely over-priced and lacking in bric-a-brac. I walked in and hit the jackpot. Two aisles of nothing but plates in every shape, size, color, age, wear and style. I purchased about 25 of them for less than $1 apiece.

plates and plates and plates and plates

Breakdown
6 plates from Salvation Army: $5.50
1 plate from Ikea: $1.99
7 Plate holders: $9.03
Spice rack from Village Discount Outlet: $2.20
Orange spray paint: $3.29
8 glass spice containers from Ikea: $5.98
Cream dispenser from Value Village in Milwaukee: $1.99
Total: $29.98

plates and spice rack make friends with the wall

I’m slowly getting the kitchen together and I swear I’ll finish painting all the way up to the ceiling soon… more photos of my little home coming soon!