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1. Establish harmony through color
A grand minimalist’s dream, this decorative plate wall offers scale without overwhelming the eye. However, the sheer number of plates and the different shapes would be overwhelming were they not of the same shade of green. Anchoring the composition in one or two complementary colors helps maintain harmony in large displays.
2. Balance different sizes to create order
Setting up the plates in neat rows makes their different sizes less noticeable in this sprawling kitchen in a Victorian home in south London. The eye roves over all the plates as if looking at one unified whole. The differences in size are only noticeable upon close examination, and at that point the variations in dimension incites interest and curiosity rather than confusion. Another example below shows different sized lebrillo bowls displayed in neat diagonal lines on the wall to create a soothing, orderly display.
3. Set a mood by theme
Selecting a theme can create a specific atmosphere through imagery. Perhaps you’re partial to designs of lush foliage and flowers or drawn to clean geometric shapes.
Are you especially drawn to birdsong and would like to bring that which delights you outdoors into your home? The lebrillo wall display above features lebrillos with various bird motifs: a prideful peacock amid lush foliage, a murmuration of starlings, and a bright-eyed fledging turning toward a large flower.
4. Add an element of surprise
Interiors, like the rest of life, are dreadfully boring without a dash of novelty. The owner of this Connecticut home turned mix and match designs featuring distinct motifs and colors.
Another surefire way to catch the eye is to include an extra-large piece that shifts the balance of the composition toward asymmetry. In the gallery wall below, a large El Carmen Lebrillo Bowl fills the center of the composition. Smaller lebrillos featuring pomegranates, birds and vegetal motifs fill the rest of the frame.
6. Lean into the contrast
White or painted walls: Anything goes, really. Whether your walls are white, painted in the richest Farrow & Ball shade or — dare we say it — wallpapered, you can create an elegant plate wall. A distinctive paint color or wallpaper creates bold contrast in a wall display. Our Florida Fajalauza Lebrillo bowl is a symbol of abundance and renewal. Lush with detail, the decoration becomes especially striking in that combination of blue and green. Flowers, foliage and fruit dance in color over the milk-white surface of the ceramic bowl. Intricate yet balanced, this design catches the eye and fills you with the promise of plenty ahead.
7. Create practical décor for a stuffy corner
The bathroom, an oft-neglected corner of the house, looks elegant when embellished with traditional azulejo tile or decorative ceramics. Unlike prints and photographs which may wrinkle in the dampness of a functional bathroom, decorative plates or bowls will weather that cloud of steam. This display of lebrillo bowls in Pat O'Donnell's London home makes you want to linger in the bath. Here he has played with both scale and color to create contrast.
