How To Create A Gallery Wall Using Silver Trays – Nine Easy Steps

Thank you all for the kind comments on my dining room reveal post a couple of weeks ago, I really appreciate that so many of you took time out of your day to stop in and leave sweet comments.  It has really encouraged me to continue with my home renovations – even though they are taking so much longer than I anticipated!

I received a few questions asking about the silver tray gallery I hung on my dining room wall.  It seems a few of you are interested in the process, in particular, how to figure out a nice looking arrangement, and then adhere them to the wall.  It was really a lot less complicated than you would think and I hope I can explain it in an uncomplicated way.  I’m sure there are many different ways to hang a gallery wall, but after patching up a bazillion nail holes before re-painting my dining room, I was only interested in a nail-free way to hang my silver trays.  Read on for the step-by-step instructions for this project (I promise to keep it short and sweet).

1. Figure out where you would like to display your silver.  It can be in a kitchen, a dining room, a family room, craft room, or even in a bathroom.

2. Gather your silver platters, bowls and plates, and pick out the pieces you would like to display.  I had a collection of various shapes and sizes that I had picked up over the years, mostly from thrift stores and garage sales.  I used a combination of polished pieces, pieces in various states of tarnish, and an interesting mix of sizes and shapes.  I would probably not use grandmas best silver for this project, but do what feels right for you.

3. Gather your supplies.  You will need craft paper or newspaper, a pencil, scissors, your silver pieces, a cleared off table or some space on the floor, and 3m Velcro (make sure to read the label to determine if it is the right strength to hold the weight of your particular pieces).

4. Clear off the kitchen table or some space on your floor and use this to try out various arrangements of your silver pieces.  Don’t be afraid to position and re-position, work and re-work.  I personally like a bit of an arch shape at the top of my gallery, but keep playing with it until you find an arrangement/mix of pieces that is pleasing to your eye.  Once you have determined the perfect presentation, pull out your camera and snap a picture, to use for reference.

5. Take your silver pieces and trace them onto the craft paper.  Cut out the templates.

6. Using your photo as a guide, transfer your templates to the wall, taping them with painters tape.  Play with the pieces until you have the spacing the way you want it, and everything looks as close to your picture as possible.

7. Turn your silver pieces over and determine the best placement for the Velcro.  Heavier pieces may need up to 3 strips of Velcro.  Once you know where you will be placing the Velcro, clean those areas well with rubbing alcohol (I would not recommend skipping this part!  Trust me, you don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of your silver crashing to the floor, don’t ask me how I know!).  Adhere your Velcro to the silver. Now stick the other piece of Velcro to the one on your silver, and remove the backing (see picture below; this is the piece that will stick to the wall).

8. Remove one template at a time and replace with your silver piece, pressing your silver firmly to the wall.  You may need to hold it there for a couple of minutes to make sure it is nice and stuck.  It is best to start with your middle piece of silver and work your way outward.  Continue until all of your silver is attached to the wall.  Now stand back check out your gallery wall.  Hopefully all of your pieces will be straight and evenly spaced, but don’t worry if they’re not!  You can easily remove the silver and re-position it – that is the beauty of Velcro – it is very forgiving!

 9. Now pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

I hope you found this information helpful.  What is your favorite way to display silver?  I would love to hear about it in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by!

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