DIY - Wooden Plant Tray - Spring Decor

Spring is in the air - home decor with yellow tulips on tray

I don't know about you, but as soon as the freshness of Spring is in the air, I got a little carried out bringing the first blooms of the season inside my home. The funny thing is that, I like to display the little plants and flowers in special containers, something rugged it, something earthy or fun.

As you can see, I like to use regular bowls, soup bowls, bowls with little feet or lots of texture.

The color and loveliness of vintage blue Mason jars are beyond compare.

Dark pink tulip bouquets in vintage Blue Mason jars -

Even the basket in the little bike can be turned into a flower display.

Coffee table Spring decor - Tulips inside milkglass cup and little bike

This time however, my focus was not only in the container, since I had a good amount of soup bowls I scored at a thrift store. The thing is, all by themselves, the bowls looked lonely. However, that wasn't a big problem for this do-it-yourself-er gal that has a huge bunch of wood in the garage.

A few chair legs and some wood scraps were the main material to build a couple of little trays to host the flowering tulips in the soup bows.

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blue leg chairs repurposed on little trays

And here are all the materials and directions if you want to whip a couple of these easy to build rustic trays. A perfect weekend project.

Using a miter saw, I cut out two - 1-inch pieces from each chair leg. I needed eight little feet.

These are the materials you'll need to build one 19.5" x 14.5" x 5.5" tray:

For the tray plate:
1- piece of wood or ¾" plywood → 19.5" x 5.5"
1- ½" x ¾" x 4' moulding
4- 1" feet
For the handle:
2- 1" x 2" x 12"
1- ½" x 20" round dowel

You can build this little tray using a drill, wood glue, a hand saw, hammer and nails. However, power tools make the process faster and easier. ;)

1. SECURE FEET

Glue the feet to the underside of the main tray board. Precision is not necessary. Set them close to the corners.
Once the glue dries, flip the board and if desired, drive a couple of 1¼" brad nails to secure them even more.

| Ryobi Cordless Brad Nailer |

2. INSTALL BORDER MOLDING

Cut the flat molding to size and secure it around the perimeter of the tray with glue and 1" nails.

3. ADD A HANDLE

I gave the trays a tall handle in order to give the plants space to grow. Here, I was checking how high I needed to go.

tulips in soup bowls a top wooden tray - rustic decor

Drill a ½" hole, centered and 1½" from the top on each side handle, in order to accommodate the dowel rod. Drill pocket holes on the opposite side and use glue and 1¼" screws to attach the handle to the tray.

Use wood filler to cover nail holes and gaps, sand and paint or stain as desired.

I gave the trays one coat of acrylic paint. Then, they were distressed to bring out a bit the wooden tone.

soup bowls repurposed as planters holding yellow tulips -

The handle and feet were left intact to show that yummy patina.

Ha, only one day and those flowers were almost in full bloom!

How to build a little wooden tray out of chair legs and scrap pieces of wood

The little trays with the daffodil planters were placed on the build-ins in my office. Spring decor is slowly being added around the house.

You can give them a look during my Spring Home Tour right HERE, as part of my friend's Marty from A Stroll Thru Life Spring Home Tour!