TV Tray Table Makeover

9 Materials
1 Hour
Easy
Giving these old TV Tray Tables a fresh new look with a simple makeover means they won’t be hidden away now. I’ve had these trays for years and they do come in handy at times, but they were in need of a new look. A couple of coats of paint and stencils took them from looking old and dated to fresh and new.

I see these stands at thrift stores frequently and I always think about how I should do something with mine to make them look like they belong with my decor instead of feeling like they should be kept behind doors. After their makeover, I’m now happy to pull them out for use. 


I used a HomeRight Sprayer to paint two of these with Behr Ultra Pure White Eggshell paint.


I’m going to have these in my sun room and most of the pieces of furniture in that room have been distressed. I used my palm sander around the edges of the trays and along the legs to lightly distress both tray tables.


I wanted to dress them up a little though so I opted to stencil them both with shell stencils. 


I had both the starfish and the sand dollar stencils on hand as well as the Waverly Chalk Paint in Rhubarb. The top coat is Craft Smart Chalky Acrylic Paint in Deep Peach that I had left from my vanity makeover.


How To Paint a Stencil on TV Tray Tables:
Position Stencil and secure with painter’s tape
Use a spouncer brush to apply dark shade of paint
Use second spouncer to apply lighter shade of paint
Allow to dry and remove stencil
To protect the tables from spills or watermarks, they were sprayed with Minwax Polycrylic Matte Protective Finish Spray.


Are a set of these tray tables hiding somewhere at your house? Give them a new look that works with your decor!


Since I had all of the products I needed on hand for this, the total new cost was zero. That's always a win!


Resources for this project:
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Beverly Roderick at Across the Blvd
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  • Tara Tara on Oct 09, 2018

    Do you need to sand the tables down before spray painting? Love this idea and I have SEVERAL of these tables and would love to do this!

  • Pamela j Baergen Pamela j Baergen on Oct 09, 2018

    How do you handle painting the legs? When you fold up the trays, part of the old finish shows. If you paint it, won't opening and closing the trays grind off the paint?

  • CJ CJ on Oct 10, 2018

    What is the name of the tent like item you used to spray paint your items in. I need one badly. Please let me know where I can purchase, thank you.

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