Tray Chic
I love trays! I love them so much that I am starting to build quite a collection. I think that trays are just so chic! They can do more than serve beverages. From the entry way to bedside, they are stylish must-haves that can help you display, contain and organize. Whether you are decorating or entertaining, everything looks better on a tray.
I recently acquired two serving trays that I repainted and embellished a little. Here they are before the transformation. They were not chic at all.
I got the gold one at Target for $7.48. It had a stain on it if you look at the picture. The black one I got at an antique store for $3.95. This thing is so heavy. It is made of solid wood. I love the glass on it.
So how did I transform these trays? With the help of these DIY must haves!
The first thing I did was wipe clean both trays with a soft cloth and sanded them lightly, just enough to let the paint adhere to them. I then wiped them one more time with a clean soft cloth to remove all of the grit from sanding. Next, I primed with Rust-Oleum primer spray can. Note: I actually would have spray painted these trays with Rust-Oleum spray pain (Heirloom White) but when I shook the can, I could tell it wasn’t going to be enough. I didn’t want to postpone this project any longer so I decided to get out my trusty paint brush and decided to paint them instead after the primer was completely dry. I used about 2 coats of the Valspar Medallion Eggshell paint (wait for each coat to dry completely). After the paint was completely dry, I sealed the trays with Varathane No Odor Water Based Polyurethane. This one is the Heavy Use Formula. I’ve used this sealant on my dressers and it works perfectly. It really does protect your piece from heavy use. Here are the trays after they were painted:
But wait! I didn’t stop there. I decided to embellish them just a little bit more. Here is my inspiration picture that I found at One King’s Lane
I love me some One King’s Lane but I believe this tray was selling for $49.95 and I just could not get myself to hit that button for that price. That’s when I came up with the idea of using these:
I got these thumb tacks at Home Depot (I heart this place!) for $1.24 a pack. There’s 60 thumb tacks in a pack. I used two to embellish one of my trays. I literally just eyeballed the design on the inspiration picture and started working on my tray. I would recommend wearing gloves to protect your thumb or other fingers. Pushing those pins in can leave you with a sore one.
For the other tray, I decided to decoupage it with this paper I have.
I just love how they both turned out! I have parties coming up that I’m hosting and these trays are perfect addition to them.
I would be in heaven to wake up every morning to breakfast in bed, with my favorite magazines to read! Ha!!!
Fondue for two anyone? Yes, please!
So nice to serve your friends a slice of cake and lemonade in this tray.
I decided to line this tray with a favorite left over fabric. It is actually the same fabric I used for my living room drapes. This particular tray is now staying in the living room on our ottoman. This ottoman is uneven and I cannot put any drinks on this ottoman or it will spill. I love that this chic tray helps me contain the remotes and some essential reading materials, like Pier 1/Pottery Barn catalogs and we can sit our drinks on them. Yay!
What about you? How do you use your trays?
I also would like to thank Beckie from Roadkill Rescue for featuring my very first reupholstery project today on her blog! Boy, was that a hard project to do but I now have the confidence that once you tackle reupholstering a wingback chair, YOU CAN TACKLE THE WORLD! I truly appreciate you Beckie.
Have a fabulous weekend everyone!
Also, please don’t forget to enter my very first give away. It will start Thursday, February 21 and ends Monday, February 25 @ 8AM. What do you get if you win? You will get a little over 10 yards of really fun fabrics! Click HERE! Hope I get to send this fabric stash to YOU!
Linking to:
Your fingers must have been so sore after pushing all those thumb-tacks in. Turned out great! (I have that same MomSense magazine.)
Yes, they were. I had to stop and put gloves on after a bit. I love reading MomSense magazines and I love my MOPS group.
Lovely,they look great!
Thank you so much Kenda
What a great tray makeover! It looks just like the one from King’s Lane. I love some nailhead trim lately and this is such a great use of it! Visiting from TT&J!
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Thank you so much Ellora
Cute trays! Do the thumbtacks go through to the other side? I don’t think my trays are thick enough. Did you have any problems like that?
Hi Teri! Thank you for the compliment. No they did not go through to the other side on my tray because it was thick. This is also one of the reasons why i went the thumb tack route instead of the nail head trim. Not only are the thumb tacks way cheaper but they are shorter in length than the nail head trim. I suppose you can also try the nail head trims that I’ve seen at Joann’s fabric. It comes in a roll and you push in every 8th nail head or so if I’m not mistaken. Did that make sense?
Yes, thanks. I will look into that.
Great idea! Pinning!
Thank you Val!
Turned out really cute! Thanks for sharing I may have to try and will link back to you. I’m over at designitgirl and Lovelace to refurbish furniture. Stay connected.
Nicole
Awesome upgrade, Mary Anne! I featured you this week:
http://homemademodern.blogspot.com/2013/03/craft-of-week-studded-tray.html
Thank you so much Val! I adore your blog and I’m so thankful to be featured by you.