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As with any project, please use your own common sense and discretion. This tutorial is meant to offer helpful suggestions, but it is up to the reader to weigh any risk associated with this project.

What do I use to hang vintage dishes?

I’m glad you asked! I know some people use those adhesive disks which are supposed to be invisible (the kind where you wet the back and stick it to the back of the plate). I’ve never personally tried those, but they make me soooo nervous and I’ve heard too many stories of plates falling off of walls and shattering.

My favorite hanger, by far, is the Tripar wire plate hanger which securely grasps onto the plate and comes with a nail and picture hanging hook specifically for the plate hanger. They come in both white and brass – I like to use the white ones.

You will need to measure your dish before purchasing a plate hanger! They come in several size ranges – just check the measurement specification on the package for appropriate plate size. If you’re on the edge of a different size, go for tighter rather than looser. You never want the plate hanger to be loose on the plate. Also note the maximum weight each size of hanger can hold.

Important Note About Plate Hangers

Be sure to use plate hangers that are coated, not bare ware hangers. The coating is a rubbery material designed to prevent scratches on your plates as well as aid in gripping the plate securely. The hangers I’ve linked in this tutorial are coated. Bare wire hangers may scratch up your plates. When placing the plate hanger on the plate, carefully put the hooks in place and try not to scoot it around too much on the plate. Be sure to use the proper size hanger for your plate – too loose and it won’t securely hold the plate – extremely tight will either break your hanger or put unnecessary pressure on your plate.

A note on removing stickers from plates

If you have a stubborn thrift store sticker stuck on your plate, a short soak in some warm soapy water will do the trick. I use a gentle rubber scraper to scraper off the soapy sticker and it comes right off. I’ve heard lemon essential oil works well too but have not personally tried it.

How to hang vintage plates

1. Gather all vintage dishes and lay them out on some paper – I use scrap paper or newspaper.
2. Trace around each plate with a felt tip pen to create an outline.
3. Cut out all the plate shapes from the paper.

4. Arrange the plates on the floor or a table in the shape you want them on the wall. This gives a good visual for how they will look all lined up.

5. Use masking tape to hang all the newspaper outlines on the wall, measuring with a tape measure (or sometimes I just use the width of my hand) to get the spacing right. Once all the outlines are up there step back to double check that it looks correct.
6. Next attach the wire plate hangers to the plates: just hook the top two feet onto the top of the plate, stretch the springs down around the back and hook the bottom two feet onto the bottom of the plate. If the feet aren’t sitting quite right you can take the hanger off and bend the wire feet carefully with pliers.

7. Use a tape measure to measure the distance between the top of my plate and the “V” shape of the wire hanger meant for hanging on the nail and hook. Remember this number.

8. Working with the paper template on the wall, find the center of the plate template, then measure down from the top the same measurement that you got in the previous step. This is where your nail will go. Put a dot or x there with a dark pen.
9. Hammer the picture hanger and nail into the wall on the black dot, going right through the newspaper. Once your hook is in you can tear off the newspaper and you’re left with a perfectly placed hook!

10. You can test your plate on your new hanger, but if you have multiple plates to do on the same wall I recommend not hanging the plates until all the hammering is done! Don’t want any accidents!

Do you love vintage plates too? Tell me below in the comments how you like to display them! I hope you found this little tutorial helpful and thanks so much for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

I almost talked myself out of posting photos of this bedroom.

Why? Because my mind told me it wasn’t “finished” enough…that the setup is less than ideal…that I should have some sort of vintage quilt on the bed…that the lighting wasn’t right…and maybe it’s not, but it’s our home and my kids enjoy it, so why shouldn’t I share?

In an age where so much of what you see on the internet is perfectly staged and all the details are “just so,” let’s love on real and practical homes: Homes that are lived in and not always “ideal” situations, but they are loved by the people inside those walls who have added their own special touches.

My kids – a boy and a girl – currently share a bedroom while the baby uses the nursery. While we felt bad about moving our girl out of her room, we tried to make the transition as smooth as possible and assured her it’s not forever. Once the baby is older the girls will share a room. (We have 3 bedrooms including the master.)

The past year has been a juggling act of keeping both kids feeling good about the room. It’s involved removing some things and adding others. It’s also resulted in a less-than-ideal bed setup at the moment, as our girl is still in a toddler bed (crib with the side removed). We’ll be getting her a big girl bed before long.

Our kids also share a closet, which we just recently reorganized. I am choosing not to share photos of the inside of their closet out of respect for their privacy, but here are some of the items we added to help us stay organized:

Both my kids love all things that go – airplanes, trains, trucks – you name it! I suppose this room has somewhat of a transportation theme, though I only just realized it as I was writing this post. It’s funny how things come together naturally bit by bit as you add what you like. I just adore these vintage wall decals we found on Amazon! They come in 3 different sizes and this was only the medium – there’s an even larger size! They were the perfect whimsical addition to this big open wall.

Just as in the rest of our home, items have been added bit by bit as we have found them at thrift stores and rummage sales (with the exception of the firetruck lamp from Target a few years back).

I think a home that’s been slowly collected is a beautiful thing. That means it’s a collection of only the most special finds and meaningful pieces. The Beatrix Potter artwork below was commissioned by my mom from a young aspiring artist our family knows. She gifted them to us at our baby shower when I was expecting our first child, our boy. The wooden toy box was handmade by my Father-In-Law for our son. The little white table was picked up off the side of the road by my aunt who knows I like flipping furniture. The little lamp on the table was used by my husband when he was a boy and by his dad before him.

We definitely wanted to bring in some whimsical touches that our daughter would love. These sweet fairy decals from Amazon were a fun and unexpected addition to the closet doors. I let our girl decide where the decals would go – and some were meant to go up the wall. It’s not where I would have placed them but it makes it more fun and special that she decided herself.

Her little rocking chair moved into this bedroom with her. You can see the little makeover I gave it several years back in this post. It’s really a fun mix – she simultaneously loves pink and fairies but also all the transportation themed stuff too.

We held back some of the dog decals from the vintage airplanes and put them over the curve of her toddler bed. Just a fun little touch.

Well there’s a little peak of our vintage kids’ bedroom!

Always remember to put things in your home that you love – a slowly collected home is better than a house full of stuff that you only kinda like!

We are all real people living in real houses – it doesn’t need to match a Pinterest photo to be beautiful and to serve you well.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

Vintage and antique ironstone has gained popularity in the decorating and thrifting communities over the last decade. It’s considered classic and desirable (I agree!). While vintage ironstone can often be found at thrift shops, antique stores, and is sold by online sellers like Etsy and Ebay, you do have to keep your eyes open for fakes and reproductions! Sometimes sellers don’t even realize they’re selling you a fake.

First let’s define a few terms.

What’s the difference between a reproduction and a fake?

For the purposes of this blog post I’m defining a reproduction as a piece that was made in the style of vintage ironstone but doesn’t pretend to be vintage or antique. It is a modern piece and is marketed as such.

I label some pieces as “fakes” because they are intended to deceive. When an item is made to look old and is marketed as old when it is a modern piece, that is deceptive and the piece is a fake.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying a modern reproduction!

Modern reproductions are beautiful too and there is absolutely nothing wrong with liking them! The trouble comes when a buyer thinks they are getting something vintage and they’re not. The entire purpose of this post is to inform you so that no one takes advantage of you either purposefully or mistakenly.

What’s the difference between vintage and antique?

It depends on who you ask, but it is generally accepted that vintage is 40 years old or older and antique is at least 100 years old. However, places like Etsy only require items to be 20 years old or older to be labeled as vintage, so keep that in mind when shopping!

What is ironstone?

Ironstone, also called “stone china,” “semiporcelain,” and other names, is a special type of pottery that was developed with the intent to make beautiful yet highly durable pieces more widely available. It was “harder than earthenware and stronger than porcelain” (Kowalsky & Kowalsky 1999). It was first developed around 1800 by William Turner, but patented as “Mason’s Patent Ironstone” by Charles James Mason in 1813 in Staffordshire England. Mason’s patent only lasted 14 years and many other makers quickly jumped on the ironstone wagon and began to produce their own varieties using their own formulas.

What types of pottery are considered ironstone?

The oldest types of ironstone are those that were produced in England in the beginning to middle of the 19th century. These include but are not limited to:

• White ironstone china (blank, undecorated)
• “Flow Blue” (cobalt blue decoration on a white background, often with blurred lines)
• Transferware (patterns and images printed or “transferred” onto dishes)
• “Mulberry ironstone” (decorated with shades of gray, brown, purple-black)
• Copper Lustre Decorative Motifs (have shiny copper bands or shiny floral & geometric patterns)
• and others

Ironstone was mainly imported to America for much of the 19th century, but in the mid-late 1800’s American makers began developing their own formulas for ironstone. They produced their own versions of white ironstone, flow blue, and other types.

What about restaurantware, railroad china, and hotel china?

What are those? They are just what they sound like – highly durable china developed in America for use in restaurants, hotels, and on trains! While these might be grouped in the same general category as ironstone because they have a lot in common, they are truly a category of their own. Collectors may collect both ironstone and restaurantware, but there are many collectors who will only collect one or the other. Manufacturers of these types of pottery included names like Buffalo, Shenango, Homer Laughlin, Syracuse, etc.

Is there a noticeable difference between English and American ironstone?

Generally speaking, old white English ironstone has a cool almost blue undertone to it. American ironstone tends to have more of a creamy white or yellowish undertone.

How do I know if I have real ironstone?

I’m by no means an expert, but here are several ways to tell if you have the real deal:

1. It has a legitimate backstamp.

What is a backstamp? It’s the maker’s mark – a stamp or embossing typically on the underside of a piece of pottery. Not all ironstone is marked, however, so this will not always be the giveaway. Markings also changed over time even within a given manufacturer. This may seem confusing when trying to identify a marking, but it can be extremely helpful in determining the age of a piece! But remember: just because there is a mark doesn’t mean it is legitimate.

Fake ironstone sometimes has a backstamp that is intended to deceive.

Unfortunately there are people out there who will produce pieces meant to deceive. Take a look at the name of the maker. If you’re not already familiar with it, search online – see if you can find a history of that maker or something about it from a reputable source.

Fake ironstone will often use names that never existed such as “Victoria Ware” or “Iron Ware.”

Victoria Ware and Iron Ware were never a thing – those names were simply created to sound legit and get people to think the piece was old. Sad but true.

Fake ironstone will sometimes have added “crazing” to make it appear old.

What’s crazing? It’s all those little lines you sometimes see on pottery, especially old pottery. It happens in the glaze layer when the piece has been under stress (working too hard on the job, eh?).

Fake ironstone will sometimes have a date printed on it to make it seem old.

Real ironstone would never be printed with something like “1890.” The date of true ironstone can sometimes be determined by the backstamp, pattern, and shape of the piece.

Look out for historically inappropriate wording.

For example, the term “Flow Blue” was never actually printed on flow blue pottery. That was a popular term used to refer to a certain style. If you see “flow blue” on the bottom of a piece, just know it’s reproduction.

Fake ironstone sometimes has an overly large backstamp.

Sometimes the manufacturers of fake ironstone will put a backstamp on that is way too large and blurry – almost like it’s been scanned and printed. Real backstamps vary in size, but they will not typically be unusually large. Use your gut – if it feels off, it may be a fake.

Fake ironstone uses markings similar to real ones, but just slightly “off.”

You know that saying that there is some truth in every lie? Well producers of fakes will use markings that are very similar to real ones. They often incorporate regal imagery like crowns, lions and unicorns, banners, etc. It’s the details that differentiate it from the real thing. Pay attention to the wording, to what is missing such as “England,” or the presence of a legitimate maker’s name. There are many sources online for identifying maker’s marks and backstamps such as “The Potteries.” I own this book and it is a helpful tool!

If it has a “Made in China” sticker, don’t even bother.

Real vintage ironstone doesn’t have “Made in China” stickers. Enough said.

2. It is heavy for its size.

Authentic ironstone should be heavy for its size. It was made to be super durable and it feels like it too! If you pick up a piece and it feels too light or cheap, it’s likely not the real deal.

Now bear in mind that more delicate things like teacups are not going to be terribly heavy by nature. You may want to use other identifying factors when dealing with “dainty” pieces. Things like pitchers, platters, bowls and serving vessels will all be quite weighty.

3. It has a distinct luster.

What is luster? Luster is the way light reacts with a surface, particularly stone and mineral surfaces. Ironstone has a gentle sheen – it’s not super shiny but it’s certainly not matte. It is smooth and glossy. The appearance of old white ironstone has a depth to it that modern pieces cannot mimic.

It is opaque – you cannot see through it. If you hold a teacup to a light and can see a glow through it, it’s not ironstone.

English ironstone tends to have a cooler blue undertone while American and more modern pieces tend to have a warmer yellow undertone.

4. It may make a pleasant sound when tapped.

I say “may” because this is dependent on the condition of the piece and your ability to hold it without dampening the sound. If you take a genuine ironstone pitcher, dangle it [carefully!] by the handle and tap on it with your other hand’s knuckles, it will make a nice bell-like sound. This is harder to do with something like a platter, but not impossible. If the piece has any major cracks or damage the sound may be altered. If you ever have the opportunity, compare an ironstone pitcher side by side with a modern ceramic pitcher – you’ll hear the difference! The modern pitcher will sound quite shrill compared to the ironstone.

Are there fakes for sale on Etsy and Ebay?

You betcha! I am taken aback by the number of fakes I’ve seen for sale on Etsy at antique prices. I am always so tempted to say something but it’s not my place so I don’t. Be sure to always read the item description, examine all the photos, and ask clarifying questions before purchasing! A quick online search for similar items is never a bad idea either.

I have seen a ton of these pitchers being sold as authentic antique ironstone, sometimes priced over $100. I sold mine in my shop for about $25 as an ironstone reproduction likely from the 1980s (when geese were popular!). There’s nothing wrong with selling these so long as you are transparent it is not antique.

What are some of the most common names in ironstone?

There were SO many ironstone producers over the decades and centuries, but here are a few notable ones. In English ironstone:

• Mason’s Patent Ironstone
• J&G Meakin
• Johnson Brothers
• T&R Boote
• Wedgwood
• Wood & Sons
• Burgess & Goddard

In American ironstone, here are a few notable names:

• Knowles, Taylor, & Knowles
• Homer Laughlin
• William Young & Sons (WYS)

Where can I find genuine ironstone?

You can find ironstone lots of places! My favorite place to find it is in thrift stores (I love the hunt!), but you can certainly find great pieces elsewhere like Etsy, Ebay, antique and consignment shops, and other reputable online vintage sellers.

Well that’s about all I have for today! I hope you have found this quick tutorial on ironstone helpful. Feel free to drop a comment or question below and thanks so much for reading!

Sharing is caring! Be sure to save this for later or share with a friend!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!