Plated Imperfection

I like to cook. I enjoy food’s presentation, known as “plating.” And I agree with Voltaire, who wrote “Perfect is the enemy of the good.”

A client recently let me have an adorable plant stand  – one less thing for the poor client to dispose of. It matches a planter, probably once a stair rail, I’ve owned for years. BUT OHMIUNIVERSE, the ugly shelves. And just so, I resolved to replace them with silver serving platters. Took about two weeks of hunting through thrift shops to find the pieces. About 1/2 hour to remove the old boards. About another 1/2 hour to double-sided tape the plates on the supports. Fifteen minutes of elbow grease to polish them just a little. Voila.

If I’d insisted on every salver being identical, I never would have finished. And truth is, I like the variety. If I’d insisted on every plate being exactly placed on the stand, I never would have finished. If I’d insisted that every plate be completely stable on the supports, well, yeah, that might have been useful (wry face emoji here), but I can keep the lightweight stuff on the wobbliest surfaces. So a bit of shine instead of depressing black, rough planks.

1st & 2nd shelves

3rd shelf

side view of 3rd shelf

4th shelf

5th shelf

6th shelf

7th shelf

And if I’d insisted on getting these photos pleasingly aligned, this really would NEVER have been posted.