Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Treasure Trays

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I've been having great fun with old wooden trays my hubby found. These were originally used for some sort of industrial storage purpose, maybe a product or a tool. He found stacks of them and then didn't have a clue what to do with them.  I cleaned them up, removed all but one divider, hit them lightly with sandpaper and then added color/paint and distressing. I was surprised to discover the sides were made of oak -- folks once used really good materials to craft even their utility trays -- how nice. I was delighted to discover there wasn't a staple to be found anywhere. I hate staples and fear someday our homes will be stapled and hot-glued together.  Good workmanship!!!

So here's how they look cleaned and heavily paint distressed.  The color on this one is apple green and I think it works elegantly paired with  rustic antique tones. This tray is filled with old golf collectibles -- books, golf balls and a trophy used for a vase. I thought it would be a change to arrange something that wasn't a bit more rustic than usual shabby chic fare.

Sooo, I can't make up mind which is my fave color tray. This deep turquoise pops out and is nice, eh?
 Needless to mention, this tray is filled with billiards/pool collectibles. Great for a man cave?


Tennis  or badminton anyone? I think trophies make great vases. That's the lid to an old biscuit tin in back. Any kind of plant arrangement seems to really add to tray decor. 
 

Same red tray but overflowing with just a few of my hubby's old marbles and a handful of his tops. Interesting that this one doesn't photograph all that well and in person, it's irresistible for the colors and textures. And it's tempting to scoop up a fist full of those marbles and play with them, maybe too tempting?

 
Same arrangement , different color trays  - I think I find  the dark turquoise richer than the softer aqua.

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