Upcycling a Vintage Serving Tray

Display your children’s art in a unique way by upcycling a vintage serving tray into a practical frame with this easy DIY tutorail.

One of our favorite ways to upcycle an object is to reimagine it as something new! Today we’re going to show you how easy it is to upcycle a vintage serving tray into a frame to display a loved one’s art.

The before image of a dark faux wood rimmed serving tray with handles. The inside has a glass panel covering a vintage embroidered cloth.

Reimaging a Vintage Serving Tray

I bought this tray many years ago, thinking I would be a typical housewife and use it to serve coffee and tea to my guests.  One thing I am not however, is typical.  

I hardly ever use trays for serving. So what was I thinking, why did I buy this tray?  Was it the folklorish look with the fake needlepoint?  

It has been sitting in my kitchen for years, buried under jars of honey and tea. I spotted it one day with my upcycler’s antennas (anyone who upcycles knows what I am talking about) and decided it was time for it to shine! So today I share the upcycling of a vintage serving tray into a frame!

How to Upcycle a Vintage Serving Tray

The first task was to take it apart and see what it was all about. This is the cardboard and the wood is not even wood.

The back side of the vintage serving tray.

It is chipboard with a wood laminate finish.  So I will have no qualms about painting it. 

The pieces of the vintage serving tray taken apart.

I tackled the  handles and decorative metal first.

Close up view of one of the metal handles painted black.

Then I painted the wood a white color.  I needed about 5 coats to hide the brown.

Close up view of the vintage serving tray frame painted white.

Once it was painted I wanted to put something special inside the glass.  I am going to use this as a picture frame.  And it will go into my daughter’s room, whose favorite color is blue.  

After searching through a ton of childrens artwork I found this piece which has special meaning.  It was made by her brother when he was much younger and still living with us.

Completed upcycled serving platter with a child's painting of trees mounted behind the glass.

This is a lovely way to preserve the work and she will be reminded of him when she sees it hanging in her room.  And  the artwork can easily be changed and replaced with something else. 

A child's artwork mounted behind the glass of an old wood serving tray painted white and hanging on the wall.

We hope you enjoyed this upcycled vintage serving tray. Did it inspire you to reimagine an underused item collecting dust in your home?

A vintage serving tray painted white with black handles used to display children's artwork.

Additional Tray Makeovers:

We have loads of additional easy upcycling ideas here on The Boondocks Blog. Here are a few serving tray makeovers we think you’ll enjoy:

Large silver platter decoupaged with an image of vintage birds with a nest.
Decoupaged Silver Platter
Metal tray painted black and embelllished with a dark green bow adn two silver bells as holiday wall decor.
Upcycled Tray Holiday Decor
Picture
Close up image of completed project with text overlay reading old tray repurposed into picture frame.

Hello, we're Jane & Sonja, sisters, moms and lifelong crafters.

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