Fabric Covered Tray

Remember my living room? Ya, the one that isn’t finished yet :) I have begun adding things to it here and there again and I really would like to make some progress on it because it looks so bare right now. One of the things that has been holding me back is color. I know I want some more color in there but I can’t decide what. I keep going back and forth and basically just putting off the decision. And then my Mom gave me the footstool and that helped a bit because I really love how the green looks with the couch. So yesterday, I did another small project that added a bit more of the green in the room.

I had this old tray that I bought at a thrift store a long time ago that we use while doing stuff for every jot & tittle. I thought about it the other day and decided to change it up to use in the living room.

At first I was going to paint it but then I remembered I had this vintage fabric that I got from a thrift store that would be perfect for this project.

First, I cut a scrap of the fabric that was a bit bigger than the tray. Then I smeared Mod Podge all over it with a paint brush and laid down the fabric on the inside of the tray, smoothing it down as I went. Next, I smoothed down the fabric on the outer edges.

Because the corners of the tray are rounded, I snipped a bit on the corner where the fabric bunched and made it lay down flat.

I let this dry for a bit so the fabric would stay in place. Then I put more Mod Podge on the edges and using binder clips I clipped the fabric down around the edges to keep it in place.

I love binder clips. They come in handy for all sorts of craft projects :)

After it dried, I painted on more Mod Podge as a top layer onto the fabric. And then I had a finished tray:

Believe it or not, I knew the old pattern would show through the fabric and I still chose not to paint it because I wasn’t sure how the Mod Podge would stick to the paint and it didn’t want it coming off. But it’s really not so bad. And I knew I would be covering it up with stuff anyway.

And here is how it looks in the living room:

I thought it was super cool how my new House Beautiful magazine cover just happens to match my living room, the blue and the green! It makes me happy :)

I’m not sure if this will be the permanent arrangement but it worked considering the little bit of time I spent arranging.

You also might notice the pillows on the couch. I moved the bedroom pillows down to the living room for now until I have new pillows made for the couch. We rarely make our bed anyway (only if guests are coming, shame on us!) so we don’t really miss them in our bedroom. And they actually work.

So I definitely want green in the room and I’m still trying to decide on the rest and what the best way to bring it in. Any suggestions? I always love to hear from you all!

I have another question for you. What color would you call my couch? I struggle with the appropriate term because aqua, teal, turquoise, cyan, and robin egg blue don’t really seem quite right. And then I stumbled on verdigris and thought it might be just the right color to call it. And I didn’t even know it was a color. Thoughts? I obviously need your help :)