China on Dining Room Walls

Trying to find appropriate, but not over-used, dining room wall decor can be a challenge. I wanted something unique to fit within the perimeters of our room.  I finally settled on mounting china on the walls, but not in the form you might expect.

 On one wall in the room, we have a lovely family painting.  

But across the room, on either side of a corner cupboard I had two blank walls.

 I considered a mirror or an arrangement of plates.  Both struck me as too predictable. What to do?  Once I had drapes made for the room, the fabric became a starting point for my creativity.

 

I remembered in Baltimore seeing a graphic shadow box display at Patrick Sutton Home.

That amazing collection of sea urchins in the shadow box was unforgettable.  But, hmm....dead sea creatures?  That didn't sound very appetizing for a dining room.  What could I substitute?

Then I remembered the white porcelain flowers my daughters had given me for Mother's Day.

They are the perfect size and are fabricated of a matte china. How perfect is that?!

My next problem was finding a large quantity of the porcelain. A call to the shop where my daughters had purchased my Mother's Day gift only yielded a few flowers--not enough. After much searching on the web, I located the china flower distributer on the West Coast.  (Now, I will admit that it took courage to pull the trigger on placing an order large enough for what I had in mind.  What if I didn't like the outcome? I was fairly certain the finished product would look good, so I took the plunge and ordered--fifty china blossoms!) 

When the flowers arrived, I visited several frame shops looking for just the right shadow box to compliment the frame already in the room.  

I chose a simple gold frame which also matches the chandelier in the room.

In discussing my idea with the owner of the frame shop (The Right Angle), she suggested using a thin white filet inside the frame to draw out the white flowers. Great idea!  It really makes the display cohesive.

Next, I took home several mat samples to hold up against the wall color.  The one I chose is a very soft pearl-toned silk mat, a subtle contrast to the white porcelain, while still allowing the flowers to stand out distinctly from the background. In addition, the silk mat's sheen provides a subtle contrast to the matte finish of the flowers.

Finally, I decided to have two shadow boxes made, because the corner cupboard cried out for something on each side.  (I am partial to balance.)

Well, what do you think of the final product?  Should I produce more china-in-a-shadow-box for marketing?