Serving Tray Redux: From Bad to Beautiful
Posted in DIY, Interior Design, Things of Beauty by evie s. on March 3rd, 2008
I picked up this ugly un-finished serving tray with a duck motif at an estate sale a couple weekends ago. It only cost me $3, and it wasn’t too difficult to have a vision for its makeover. I decided to use some vintage wallpaper that I purchased a year ago to decoupage the inside of the tray. The paper was being saved for something special so I could maximize my enjoyment of the pretty gold pattern.
Here are the steps:
- First I painted the entire tray (bye bye ducks) in an off-white color.
- Then I measured the inside of the tray using some junk paper as a template. I placed the template over my vintage paper and used it to trace the shape.
- I cut it out and used some sepia toned decoupage and brushed the underside of the paper.
- I placed the paper on the tray being careful to align it properly. (One tip is start with one side and work your way over to the other side, otherwise you might have a lot of air bubbles.)
- Let it dry then apply a top coat to seal the paper.
- I thought it needed something else, so I just stenciled a pattern along the outside handles with a brown acrylic paint.
I really enjoy looking at it in my living room, and it looks great with accessories placed inside. The possibilities were endless when it came to redoing this tray and it could have a million different looks depending on what paper you use, the colors, etc. It made for a great weekend project.
You can see more photos of this fabulous project here and here.
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » before and after: evie’s serving tray says:
[…] before and after: evie’s serving tray evie from things of beauty sent in this fantastic serving tray transformation. it’s rare that i look at a sad tray and think “i bet i could turn this into a great […]
March 6th, 2008 at 11:02 am
AmyE says:
Beautiful, but where’s is the table base from?
March 6th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Cat says:
Hi Evie… I love your tray idea- it’s the perfect table! I’m wondering where you found the stand? Is it just an old luggage wrack?
Fabulous work!
March 6th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Amy says:
Where did you get the legs for the table? It looks great, by the way!
March 6th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Robyn says:
It turned out absolutely beautiful. I am only wondering…where did the legs come from?
March 6th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
evie s. says:
The legs were actually another great find at an estate sale…just a couple bucks and already in good condition. I believe it was a vintage luggage rack before. I’d been looking for a tray for the stand for awhile, so when I found this tray, it was a “thats perfect!” moment.
Glad you girls like it and thanks for the comments!
March 6th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Susan says:
I LOVE it!
I have had the same idea in my head for a small table in my living room. Your post has inspired me to go for it!
March 7th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
interiors redunn says:
beautiful job! what is the base made from???
thank you.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:13 am
evie s. says:
Hey Alicia, it is just a solid wood base. Not sure what kind of wood, but it’s in great shape!
March 19th, 2008 at 8:52 am