Outdoor Serving Tray with Boho Summer Style

When it comes to thrifting, I’m usually like a heat-seeking missile when it comes to anything made of wood. But that means that I sometimes miss out on other upcycling opportunities. And when I spotted a ton of silverplate pieces while at Habitat ReStore recently, I decided to grab something from the pile. We’d recently acquired a new patio set from a friend of mine and I thought I could make an outdoor serving tray to use with it.

Now, don’t get me wrong- I’ve upcycled silver pieces before. Such as this bread basket that I turned into a woven bowl:

And this jewelry tree from a silver candelabra:

So, why not add a tray to the mix and shake things up with some bright colors and patterns?

This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. All blue, bold, and underlined text is a clickable link, either to a product or to a related post. This project is also sponsored by the Charlotte Region ReStore(s).

Upcycling a Silver Serving Tray

I found myself particularly drawn to the silver trays with the raised sides. As I envisioned what kind of makeover I’d be doing, the designs in the metal started to look exotic to me.

The more I hunted, the more I realized just how many silver trays there ARE at thrift stores these days. What was once a staple in so many homes has now made its way to the giveaway and donation pile.

Either way, once I had my trays in hand, I was ready to give them a splashy makeover with summer in mind. Ready to see the results?

Voilà! Easy, colorful, fresh, and fun for serving cold drinks on a hot summer day.

What a transformation, right? And RIDICULOUSLY easy, let me tell you…

If you are interested in the full tutorial for creating these outdoor serving trays, please pop on over to the Charlotte Region ReStore’s blog post! All the details and step-by-step photos can be found on their website- thanks for understanding.

Outdoor Serving Tray with Boho Summer Style

I absolutely LOVE how these turned out- I really, truly do. Even though I had a clear vision in my mind, they ended up looking better in person. Just as colorful and splashy as I had hoped, and perfect for summer.

AND, another bonus comes to mind- no more silver polishing! As someone who polished a LOT of her mother’s silver a few decades ago, I’m still haunted by the smell of the polish.

How nice it will be to enjoy these without that stinky specter hanging over me.

The great thing about this makeover idea, though, whatever transformation you choose DOESN’T have to be as colorful as mine were. And they could certainly be used inside, as well. I just wanted something splashy for our patio with the outdoor furniture that we were given.

But any color and pattern combinations that you want will work! For any season or holiday or decor style. All you need are the basic craft supplies and tutorial- from there, the sky is the limit!

I hope you enjoyed this super simple upcycling idea for an outdoor serving tray. As always, I appreciate your understanding that the full tutorial is on the ReStore blog, and not mine.

And if you enjoyed this easy upcycling idea for summer, then you may also be interested in this wine bottle cooler that I made. It started out as a Habitat ReStore find, as well!

Craft on!

S

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