Paintable Wallpaper Tray Makeover

A forgotten roll of paintable wallpaper turned out to be the perfect craft supply to makeover an old thrift store tray.

In no time flat, and for free, I had a brand new piece of elegant, vintage styled home decor.

How fabulous.


Well folks, it's officially summer now, my all time favorite season and that means I've been spending time at the beach, by the pool and at yard sales.

I just love those Saturday morning treasure hunts.

Of course, I don't really need anything, I've amassed quite a collection over the years.

As a matter of fact, the this little cottage was getting overwhelmed, so two weeks ago, I had a yard sale of my own.

It was a great way to clear out the storage rooms.

And make space for some new fun finds.

I sold a lot of home decor, some original Exquisitely Unremarkable designs, a few rugs, a patio set and books. Lots of books.

It felt great to purge.

However, along the way, I also unearthed a few pieces that I'd tucked away and forgotten about.

Like this second hand wooden tray.

It was a thrift store purchase from a few years ago.

One that had a rather dramatic before and after.

However, when I also stumbled upon a brand new roll of paintable wallpaper, I knew it was ready for another one.

Now, I'd never used paintable wallpaper before and frankly, I wasn't sure how my idea was going to pan out.

I'd bought it with the intention of adding it to the bathroom, however I never returned it when I decided to stencil the walls instead.

Turns out, just like peel and stick wallpaper, it's very, very easy to work with, looks fabulous when applied and honestly, it looks great painted or just left alone.

I started by dusting off my old tray and rolling out the paper on the kitchen table. 


Then I measured the paper out on the tray and creased it where I would need to cut. The paper is rather thick and stiff so it didn't tear.

I cut along my crease line with scissors, moving slowly, so I didn't deviate from my line.

I could've flipped the paper over and made a pencil line with a yardstick if I was worried, but I'm not a perfectionist, so I winged it.

The next step was a bit messy, since it involved water. To make this paper stick, you need to immerse it in water for a few seconds and then pop it into place. 

Ideally, I would've had a bucket nearby to submerge my paper, but I'm a lazy crafter. 

Instead, I literally ran that one piece of wallpaper under the kitchen faucet, gave it a shake and applied it to the tray which was on the counter.

I mean it was just water. Sticky water, but water nonetheless.

Positioning the paper was easy, I just moved it around until it was even on both sides and straight. The glue was very forgiving while it was wet.

The keep the paper in place, I used my hand and then a damp paper towel to apply pressure and smooth it down.

My wallpaper was textured, it has a relief pattern it on, so pushing too hard would ruin the raised design. I had to go slow and be mindful.

Again, the paper was pretty tough, but I didn't want to chance it.

Once it dried, and I was sure all the edges were secure, it was time for paint.

I started by removing the hardware with a screwdriver and wiping the tray down again, to remove any dust or debris.

Then I grabbed a foam brush and painted the wooden side panels and the wallpaper with the same white mineral paint I used to makeover my hallway mirror.

Of course, you could use any paint you like.


Any color you like, too.

I went with white since I wanted the tray to provide a neutral background for some of brighter pieces, but this paper would be deliciously dramatic in a dark hue.

Plus, it comes in all kinds of patterns, so there's lots of choices.

I've already used it in two other places...so keep an eye out for those DIYs.

The last steps in this makeover process was to clear coat the entire piece for a teeny bit of satin shine and reinstalled the hardware.
When it was all done, I had a brand new tray that I'd found at my own yard sale.

To display the brass candlesticks, I'd recently found at someone else's. 


You see how that goes?

😉

What will you be doing today?