Shabby Cottage Tray

Mr. Shabby and I bought a desk that needed a little bit of work and a lot of cleaning up.  Inside one of the drawers was this cutlery tray. Someone must have thought it went with the desk, but it didn't. As with most things I buy, it was pretty sad and dirty, almost a throw-a-way. I decided to rescue the tray with a little TLC and some imagination.

This is what it looks like after very little work. This is one of the quickest, easiest projects I have worked on in a long time. The paint color I chose actually matches better than the pictures show.

This is a "before" picture. It is really in very good condition except for the stains and years of dirt and grime.

There's no way I would have used this without a good cleaning and scrubbing.

The first thing I did was take it apart. Then I gave it a quick sanding, using my Makita hand sander. The dividers just slid out and the back was just attached with tiny nails.

I just happened to have some really cute shelf liner, which was very easy to apply while it was all taken apart. The pattern is called Garden Grove. It is very colorful and quite versatile. This would be handy in a craft room to hold supplies, etc.

I love how it turned out. It is now clean, pretty, and useful. Plus, it is rather large, about 14" by 14".

I only used one coat of satin latex paint. This would fit perfectly in a shabby chic or cottage décor.

I painted the backside, too. You never know when someone is going to turn it over and inspect it. This project cost very little, almost nothing. I had purchased the shelf liner at a garage sale for fifty cents and I used very little paint.

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