chevron stripe tray update

I have a particularly big weakness for buying things at thrift stores that have any glimmer of potential to be fixed up into a better version of themselves. One of my new year’s resolutions/goals was to knock a dent in my stash of fixer-uppers I’ve acquired over the past couple of years [yeah… it’s kinda bad], so here’s one I recently finished! It’s amazing how much something as simple as a coat or two of paint can update something so quickly.

materials -

• old bamboo/rattan trays [I got 2 for a dollar apiece at Goodwill]
• spray paint for the base coat and top coat [white and clear, respectively]
• acrylic paint for the accent color + brushes

Here’s what they looked like to begin with. Kind of boring and outdated… but add some paint [while watching a couple of movies… it’s not the fastest process ever if you’re a perfectionist like I tend to be :D], and here’s what you get:

process -

> Tape off the ‘rail’ to keep paint off it, then spray paint rest of tray white. Let dry, make sure it’s the opacity you want; if not, spray another coat on until you reach the desired color.

> Paint accent color stripes. This was easy because I just followed the pattern created by the weave of the strips. It’d be cool to use a stencil or freehand something too!

> After that dries, spray a coat of the clear paint over everything to protect the black/accent color from chipping off.

The black & white really makes the stripes pop… they weren’t overly noticeable to begin with. I’ve only painted one tray so far… got some gold spray paint I’m thinking about using for the rail around the edge I left unpainted in this one for some extra fanciness :D I can’t decide if I want to paint the other one to match, or do something different… any thoughts?!