DIY Home Decor Tricks: $10 Distressed Farmhouse Trays {Tutorial}

Hi there, sweet friends!

You know how I love a good thrift store find. Well, I found these vintage wooden folding trays hiding out at a local Goodwill and, at only $5 for a set of four, I just couldn’t pass them up!

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried looking for folding trays, but let me tell you – they can be so dang expensive! At least the stylish ones are. I had been searching for a set for awhile, but none were in a price range I could justify spending.

So, when I came across these folding trays at Goodwill, I thought it would be fun to give them a little chippy, farmhouse-style makeover!

The thing I love about folding trays is that they’re portable, so they can be moved pretty much wherever you need them. In our home, we often use them as a makeshift side table, for eating in front of the TV or even while I’m blogging from the couch. And then I can store them away out of sight whenever they’re not being used! It’s actually really practical, and I love that.

The folding trays that I picked up at Goodwill were pretty worn – they had clearly been lovingly used for many years and had seen better days!

I wanted to give them a vintage farmhouse feel while incorporating some handpainted lettering. I really love how they turned out!

diy distressed farmhouse trays for 10 tutorial, chalk paint, painted furniture

SUPPLIES

set of folding trays
chalk paint (I used Amy Howard in bauhaus buff + black)
clear satin polycrylic (I’ve always used Minwax)
medium-sized paint brush (I swear by Purdy brushes! They last forever!)
fine-tip paint brush
50-grit sandpaper
pack of cloth rags
colored chalk
printer paper (8.5 x 11 size)
clear tape
fine-point marker, black
ballpoint pen
measuring tape

TOOLS

orbital palm sander
printer
PicMonkey (free online photo editing tool)
BlockPosters (free poster making tool)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wipe down each folding tray with a damp cloth rag for a clean surface. Apply two coats of bauhaus buff (or another white) chalk paint, and let dry. (NOTE: With chalk paint, there’s no need to sand the surface prior to painting.)

2. As the chalk paint is drying, measure the length and width of the tray top. Use those dimensions to create a typography design on PicMonkey. To do this, you’ll select “Design,” then “Custom” and enter your dimensions in pixels (I used unitconversions.org to convert from inches to pixels). Next, you’ll choose your fonts (mine were Black Jack, Special Elite and Quicksand) and create your design, saving it as a JPG.

3. Upload your design to BlockPosters by selecting “Create Your Poster.” Then, choose “Upload Your Image” and customize your poster to be two pages wide, portrait, letter and have a border. Select “Create My Poster” and print on two pieces of 8.5 x 11 paper, which you’ll then tape together on the back so that the words line up on each page.

4. Once the chalk paint has fully dried, rub the colored chalk onto the BACK of the printed poster (not the design side), and place it chalk side down centered on the tray top so that the design side is facing up. Next, tape the edges of the poster down onto the tray, and trace the outline of the design with a ballpoint pen. This will transfer the chalk to the tray top. Carefully remove the poster, and set aside.

5. Trace the chalk outline with a fine-point marker. Once the ink is dry, use a slightly damp cloth rag to remove the chalk outline so that only the marker outline remains.

6. Fill in the chalk outline with black chalk paint using a fine-tip brush. Let dry.

7. Then, use an orbital sander to (lightly) smooth out the handpainted lettering and distress the edges of each folding tray. Wipe down with a slightly damp cloth rag to remove any remaining dust residue.

8. Finally, apply one or two coats of polycrylic, and let dry overnight.

And there you have it – your very own distressed farmhouse trays for a fraction of the price! I already had most of the supplies on hand, so this project cost me less than $10 to make.