How to Make a DIY Farmhouse Tray and Display Box

Today I’m sharing my DIY Farmhouse tray and display box. I have to be honest, today’s project was kind of a happy accident. I can’t tell you how often I’m in the middle of one project and something triggers another idea. It’s then that I usually say to my Hubby, “Hey, can we (insert task here …build, paint, upcycle) this?”. When we were creating the Hot Cocoa Bar out in the lean-to I needed a tray to bring out all of the fixin’s for hot cocoa . I wanted something a bit bigger than a regular tray and something that could also be a cool part of the vignette. A tray, but more like a display box. Here is what we came up with…

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I really didn’t think we’d have to buy any new materials. I knew we had a bunch of 1″ MDF left over from the Mudroom project (I swear it will be done someday and I will share it) so that is what we used to make the box. I would have preferred to use 3/4 inch because the try is a bit heavy but this was free.

Materials:

1- 12 x 19 piece for the bottom
2 – 3 x 19 pieces for the sides
2 – 3 x 12 pieces for the ends
2 Handles
Wood glue
Nail gun
Chalk paint
Chalkboard paint
Paint brush
Painters tape
Spackle

Update: I decided to add “feet” to the bottom using drawer pulls. See the last picture for the updated look 🙂

He cut the pieces to the right length (12″ and 19″), glued them together and then also nailed them with the nail gun. Once the pieces were put together, and the box was formed, I spackled the joints.

I gave it a coat of primer and then a couple of coats of chalk paint.

So here’s where it gets fun. I decided that on one side I was going to paint a rectangle with chalk board paint. That way I can label it for different seasons or events that we may have like “Happy Birthday” or in this case, “Welcome Spring!”

I sanded it just a bit here and there it to make it look a little more rustic.

I wanted to do something different on the other side so I stenciled the word Groceries. That way, if I don’t want to write anything I can turn it around. It looks super cute in the kitchen!

For the handles, I used the same ones I used for the Picture Frame Tray I made recently. I had picked up a whole bag of them at a thrift store for $1.50 and have used them for a number of projects. I spray painted them Oil Rubbed Bronze for this one.

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Update: So here is where we added the feet. I used these inexpensive wooden drawer pulls.

I painted them with the same creamy white chalk paint and the glued them to the bottom. I didn’t want to screw them in from top because I didn’t want to have a bump in there that you could see or that would cause something in there to not sit flat. I think the feet give it a little more personality.

I like that it’s something different and can be used in different rooms and in many different ways. I especially like that this DIY Farmhouse tray cost next to nothing. 🙂