15 Awesome DIY Decorative Trays
When it comes to making retro-inspired DIY projects, we have a soft spot for upcycled household items that were once all the rage but not so common anymore. Even though the piece was just bought and altered and not really retro, we like that things like trays look downright 50s tacky because people don’t have them in their homes as often as they did a few years ago. That’s why we’re always looking for new ways to transform even the simplest plastic or wooden pallets, upcycle them in various ways so we can use them for decoration, serve breakfast to a loved one in bed, or go old-fashioned and for Guests are served a cup of tea in style.
Just in case you’re weirdly obsessed with Pretty DIY Tray Like us, here are 15 of the cleanest designs we’ve come across on our crafting and upcycling adventures so far!
1. Crochet Lid Tea Tray
View in gallery
Are most of your crafting and DIY skills generally in the yarn crafting realm, so you like to break the mold by incorporating things like crochet into your other crafting projects? In this case, we have a feeling that this crochet tea tray lining idea is right up your alley! Check out this pretty lace crochet pattern from Craftionary! We love this because even though the pattern isn’t very intricate, the finished product looks intricate. If the default is a bit too large or too small, you can also adjust the size to better fit whatever size tray you’re using.
2. Wine cork tray
View in gallery
Does anyone who knows you know you’re a wine lover? Then maybe this wine cork idea is just right for you! 21 Rosemary Lane recommends keeping your wine corks for a few months, cutting them in half so you can glue the flat side down, and then sticking them along the surface of the tray from side to side. We love that they glued a length of similarly colored twine between each column of corks to fill in the spaces that would mess up anything you put on the tray and make the surface a little flatter.
3. Wood Chip Mosaic Tray
View in gallery
If you want to get crafty in a really hands-on way, do you always gravitate towards mosaic-inspired crafts because you like that feeling like you’re solving a puzzle or making a puzzle? Well, even if your goal is to get a more rustic or natural effect, mosaic tricks are great because you can use them to piece together pieces of wood, like Style Me Pretty does here. We love that not only did they arrange the pieces in herringbone-inspired shapes, but they also intensified the pattern by painting a few stripes of their favorite color.
4. Stenciled tray with thick edges
View in gallery
When it comes to pattern making, we admit we can be a little picky about size, consistency and evenness. If we’re going to put all the effort into it, we just want to make sure things are neat and looking right! That’s why we think stenciling is a great DIY skill. We love how Craftionary gave this tray a simple facelift, not only did it print a pattern on the surface of the tray, but they also chose a bright contrasting color to paint the outside.
5. Painted Geometric Tray
View in gallery
Are you a little torn between the awesome shapes that the mosaic technique we’ve shown above will give you and the idea of painting your pallets because you’ve always loved freehand painting and using bright colors?Well, who said you have Choosing between the two? We love the way Design, Dining and Diapers mimic a mosaic pattern by piecing together various geometric shapes, but also get creative with their paintings by making each shape a different bright color.
6. Colorful Tile Tray
View in gallery
maybe you actually Do Plan on using the tray you’re changing for things like serving tea, so you hope the crafty facelift you’re giving it is for holding things and Easy to clean? In that case, maybe you prefer to use this colorful tile idea outlined in Design Sponge! It’s like serving tea to your guests on a small piece on the kitchen counter; stylish but durable in case it spills while carrying.
7. Recycle Bold Pallets in Cardboard Boxes
View in gallery
Is your interest in making or custom trays more decorative than practical, so you don’t need it to be very sturdy or calm? In that case, maybe this upcycled cardboard box lid idea will be good for you! We love the way Lili Koi Joy used the lid as the base, but added a lot of style and personality by carefully covering the whole thing with bold patterned materials. If you have wrapping paper or wallpaper on hand, you can also use wrapping paper or wallpaper instead of fabric in a color or pattern you really like.
8. DIY Tea Tray for the Yard
View in gallery
If you’re making something that harks back to a more retro era, would you prefer to keep its quirky, old-fashioned quality rather than make it look too bright or too modern? In that case, we thought this idea of an upgraded classroom yard stick might be better for you! See how Craftionary cuts their yard sticks into small pieces and then assembles them tightly and smoothly over the entire surface of the tray.
9. Trays made of picture frames with handles
View in gallery
Have you really been going through our list looking for a way to make your own decorative tray instead of just changing or upgrading one? In this case, we feel that this tray made of a few cabinet handles and a sizable picture frame might just be the design for you! Ashley Anne shows you how to make one like this, filling it with patterned fabric or bright scrapbook paper underneath the glass for some design and personality. We love the idea of being able to swap out what’s inside as the space changes.
10. Fabric Cutout Tray
View in gallery
Speaking of fabrics and trays, have you tried fabric decoupage? No matter what we’re doing, we love fabric decoupage so much that we use these skills at almost any opportunity. DIY trays are no exception! See how Yummy Mummy Club brought their plain plastic trays to life by removing the brightly colored, boldly patterned fabric on the top.
11. Bottle Cap Mosaic Tray
View in gallery
Are you intrigued by the wine cork ideas we showed you on this list earlier, but you’ve never been a wine lover, you actually prefer beer if you have a choice? Then try saving your caps! We love the sleek, tacky look of this glass bottle top mosaic tray from Sweet Something Design, especially since you can paint the top in any color combination you like.
12. Metallic Silver and Painted Floral Silhouette Tray
View in gallery
Ever since we mentioned them above, have you been thinking about how much you like the neatness and uniformity of your stencil, but you’re just not sure the repeating pattern is the look you want? Then maybe you’d rather stencil a shape! We like to use stencils to create images because the proportions are always correct and the edges usually look cleaner. We love the way Design Sponge decided to paint its floral shapes black to make them look like shades or outlines.
13. Fancy Chalkboard Tray
View in gallery
Have you always liked to keep your color scheme minimalist? Maybe you actually just like the idea of making something that you can still change as you like when you’re done. In either case, black chalkboard paint will be your best friend! We love the way The Red Chair paints the surface of the tray, allowing you to write a greeting message while serving breakfast to your loved ones in bed. We also really like the contrast between their chalkboard elements and plain white edges.
14. Resin Covered Coin Tray
View in gallery
Have you been scrolling through the tray options we’ve shown you so far and love the idea of putting pieces together like we showed you in the bottle cap design, but you actually want to be able to use the tray when you’re done when nothing you set on it wobbles and spills? In this case, we feel you will find the resin covered tray tutorial from Being Brook very useful! We absolutely love their penny cover designs, but you can apply this resin technique to any number of ideas.
15. Reclaimed Wood Bed Tray
View in gallery
If you were making a tray entirely from scratch, would you prefer to make it look a little more rustic-chic, or maybe a retro-inspired but stylishly weathered look? In this case, using reclaimed wood is a good idea for you! We love the way Scavenger Chic built this beautiful looking wooden tray out of an old shallow drawer, some gorgeous metal drawer handles and shortened legs or an old side table.By adding legs you can do Actually Eat breakfast on a tray while you’re still in bed!
Discover more articles in our categories DIY Home & DIY Projects et Tips & Crafts .
Thanks for visiting we hope our article 15 Awesome DIY Decorative Trays
, don’t forget to share the article on Facebook, pinterest and e-mail with the hashtags ☑️ #Awesome #DIY #Decorative #Trays ☑️!