Copy Cat Chic Room Redo | Bright & Bold Entry

Today’s bright and bold entryway is by Michael Penney from the January 2010 issue of House & Home, and designed almost exclusively using budget pieces from Chinatown, Ikea, and the always dubious sidewalk! What I love about this room, surprisingly, are the plates on the wall. 


I’ll never forget walking into my new college roommate’s room for the first time and seeing loads of green plates on the wall. Like, as décor for a 19 year old’s bedroom (I had Beatles posters so I obviously thought I knew a lot about what was cool). I thought it was weird but Elizabeth was waaaay ahead of the rest of us when it came to fashion and general style, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. 


As it turned out, she was from a small town east of Dallas where the ladies are very traditional (and very pro-plate) in their interior stylings, and since her mom paid for the décor in her room, she had to have some plates too. We became instant best friends, so between Elizabeth and my boyfriend (who is also from that town), I have yet to meet anyone there who doesn’t have at least a handful of plates on the wall. 


I’ve attended enough engagement parties and weddings there that I’m a reluctant expert in the ancient art of picking china patterns (my friend Colbie has a formidable wall rack of the ‘His Majesty’ Thanksgiving pieces if anyone needs some turkey-themed suggestions) and discussing everyone’s Waterford and Wilton Armetale collections. 


It all seems too genteel and Southern for me, but while it’s still not my style exactly, I’ve at least come around to understanding (and kind of liking!) a few plates on the wall because I know now that with the right mix of objects and furniture, seemingly fussy old plates can actually be a great contributing player to décor for any age or style. 


I’ve listed some Wedgewood Willow Blue plates here since it’s widely available and affordable, but I would recommend checking out thrift store or resale shops in your area that tend to have decent tableware selections because there are usually stacks of cool plates for pennies. Also in my browsing I found a really cool nightlight if anyone’s in the market for a non-Disney or Glade-scented option (you could even plug it in under this hall table if you needed a light source there).

Another thing I wanted to mention is that these are shed antlers, meaning that the deer shed them naturally. They’re real and cruelty-free for anyone who’s wondering, and they’re also sometimes sold as training aids for hunting dogs, meaning that they’re often available through somewhere like a ranch or hunting retailer and waaaay cheaper than most fake replicas and especially anything sold by furniture/décor stores. I particularly wanted to mention this because yesterday a friend sent me a picture from an art gallery where small pieces of wasps’ nests were being sold for $500 and up. Like…the kind of wasp nest that you knocked off the eaves of your house with a broom last week. I know we are all are here because we’re savvy shoppers, but the arbitrary and ridiculous pricing of some things STILL never ceases to amaze me.

mirror $115

console $139

chair $277

umbrella stand $88

lamp $50

lamp shade $15

vintage crate $40

6” plates $7 each (x6)

plate hangers $18 (pack of 6!)

antlers $15

red boxes $10, $13

super white by Benjamin Moore