Hail to the majestic tiered tray! Since I started my account on Instagram, I have seen so many beautifully styled tiered trays. So, naturally I wanted one of my own ha ha :). They are so fun to style and to look at, but let's be honest, they are useless as far as functionality is concerned...unless you take everything off and use it for food at a party. Otherwise, they stand on the counter top, majestic and grand...showing us all the wonderful piece of art they really are.
I knew I wanted a galvanized steel one, because it looked so rustic and farmhouse, but honestly there are so many different styles you can go with. When I finally received my beautiful tray for Christmas from Santa, (thank you honey), I thought to myself, "How the heck should I style this thing?". That's when I went back to my decor foundations: greenery, shine, contrast, wood and white.
Today I want to show you a step by step method of how I went about making my counter top art piece, and it was easier than you (or I ) think!
1- Start with a gorgeous tray like this one from Amazon. Make sure to get one that will be large enough to hold items like mugs and candles. Many seem large but are not big enough. You will need a large one for this project. Mine is 13" x 22". Gather any mugs of your choice. You can use Rae Dunn, English tea sets, pottery or your everyday ceramic mugs. I chose these honed copper Moscow mule mugs for my display because they add such a beautiful contrast to the steel. You can find these mugs anywhere these days, but these babies are from Dollarama!! I chose to add three mugs onto the tiered tray because it felt like the right balance, however you could add as many as you like. Three was great for me :)
2- Try adding some kind of draping element. This could be anything like ivy, tea towels, ribbon or flowers. For this tray, I chose to use my spectacularly versatile wooden beads from Shawna @willowbloomhome . Check out her IG and her Etsy shop! She's located in Ontario, and for those of us in Canada that don't want to spend a million bucks on wooden beads from the US (because of exchange rates and shipping), she's your go to. I love how the lace is in direct contrast with the steel giving it a charming rustic feel. I also added my darling cement pear from my local decor store, Olive and Birch.
3- This next step brings in all the warm homey feels and makes it very personal to you. By adding little signs with words about your beliefs, or your goals, or family emblems, you can make this all about you and what you want to walk past each day and read. I chose my little wooden sign from Olive and Birch that reads, HOME SWEET HOME and my Dollarama rustic cross which reads, THE LORD IS MY ROCK AND MY FORTRESS. These sayings are both very important to me (plus they fit in the spots really well ;). Size is everything with these trays. It's so important to keep that in perspective.
4- This step is so fun because you start adding fun decorative items and start using your creativity. CREATE is the word I'm living by this year. What can you create? Think about that for a minute...the possibilities are endless! Both in life and in decor ;) Here, I added my mini Moscow mule cups!!!!!! Aren't they the cutest things you've ever seen!?? There are 4 to the set from Stokes: black, steel, copper and gold. I just adore them! Thanks again Santa! I also added some mini glass yogurt containers, a mini birch log on the top and a succulent embedded in cement. Try to keep the items as "kitcheny" as possible.
5- The last step has finally arrived! I added a salt rock candle I got at a yard sale to the back of tier 1 so it would fill up the space with an earthy brightness. Then I went around with some faux green sprigs from a peony flower I had in my decor storage closet and placed them where it felt appropriate. Some went into the glass yogurt containers and other just went in between the little bare areas that needed filling. You can't make a mistake...I mean, this is your art piece. Go for it...the worst thing that can happen is that you try again with a new look.
Here's a quick pic you can save for reference of the steps ;) Post your picture when you've styled your tray and tag me on Instagram. I would LOVE to see it! Now get outta here and go CREATE!!!!!! :) Thank you so soooo much for reading and your continued support on my blog and on IG. Have a great week ahead my friends!!!