Victorian Switch Plate Cover

Decorative Victorian Switch Plate Cover

When you design every detail of your dream kitchen, including a splurge on old-world scalloped back splash tiles, it seems wrong to finish things up with a plain plastic light switch plate cover.

Over the years I’ve made more than 50 decorative switch plate covers for other people’s homes and it seemed natural to do a special one for our newly remodeled kitchen. (Check out the full kitchen project here: Chocolate and Vanilla Kitchen Remodel)

Chocolate and Vanilla Dreams

Our new cabinets were a rich brown called “Chocolate Pear” which I paired with a delicious creamy wall color called “Vanilla Skies.” You will find this color-scheme carried over to the switch plate design. While the color selection for the plate came easy, deciding on a design was much harder. There are modern elements in the simple cabinet moldings and the brushed nickel handles. The vintage-style scalloped tiles, in contrast, were meant to be all about opulence and drama.

The switch plate had to sit on top of that highly patterned scalloped back splash. I needed a design with just enough presence to hold its own without becoming too much pattern on pattern.  I went with a simple hand-carved harlequin pattern on the center portion. It reflected the angle of the grout in the scallops, but in a very subtle way.  For the frame, I stamped a strip of chocolate brown clay with swirl pattern which I sculpted into a 3-D design. The finished frame reminded me of stamped vintage leather.

Oh, the possibilities

The swirl frame is such a versatile design. I’ve done versions in blues and whites for an ocean theme, black and antique gold for a Victorian Gothic room, but my favorite version was for a little girl’s “Princess” room.  For that one, I created  two single toggle plates with purple frames and bright yellow centers.

I could see the design working in a Parisian room with a  black frame paired with a pale pink.

If you are interested in custom plates, please visit my Etsy store (YoungCreative)  to see some of my most popular designs. Don’t see what you are looking for? Contact me with your ideas and I’ll get you a price quote.