DIY Coffee Table Tray & The Birth of Humor

It was an ordinary summer day…so I thought.  Little did I know the warm day with the cool ocean breeze was going to be the day I realized my Hayden has a real sense of humor.  I always knew he was funny, creative, and loved to tell stories, but this was the day I had a glimpse into his intellectual comedic personality…

When he was about 2  years old we were shopping in the housewares section of Stein Mart (big surprise right?) and another woman was scolding her child saying, “Dammit sit down.  Dammit I told you…”.

Being the sponge that he was Hayden picked up on that particular word and it took us about 6 months to totally extinguish it from his vocabulary.

Fast forward to this past warm summer day…

The boys and I were headed out for a pizza lunch and Luke yells out from the back seat, “Stop that Hayden!  You’re freaking me out!”.  Hayden tells him right away not to say that.

I share the story with Hayden about his particular vocabulary when he was little, being careful to spell out the word d-a-m-m-i-t so we don’t have a repeat.  I tell him how little kids will pick up on the smallest of words and will adore repeating it over and over if it gets a reaction.  He understood.

We ate our pizza lunch, hit the newly opened pet store, and were riding back home when a crazy driver passed us and a string of cars on the right going super fast.  We were all very startled and Hayden called out, “What an idiot!”.  Immediately, Luke repeated after Hayden.

Hayden and I were about to have a moment.  I looked over at him with a knowing look and he looked at me with a look of disbelief.  Then his facial expression changed to one of delight and as his eyes smiled at me he silently mouthed…

dammit.

We giggled all the way home.  Even with our laughing, “idiot” has not been added to Luke’s vocabulary.  Thank goodness…or it would be “freaking me out”.

Now, I promised you a DIY coffee table didn’t I?  Well, here she is in all her glory.

In her previous life she was a quickly put together tray made to hold Legos.  In fact, her dimensions are perfect for 4 green squares of Lego boards.  A few 1x2s and some MDF on the bottom.  Simple…no frills.

One day while out rummaging through the garage I ran across her and her chipped up gray paint and I wondered…How would this look on my dining room table turned coffee table?

She’s the perfect size.  She just needed a little makeover.  Some blue paint to match the shutters with the dreamy sconces was a great place to start.

I felt like she needed a little pop of pattern on the inset.  I ran across this lovely wrapping paper at Michael’s and thought it would be perfect.  I cut it to size and am living with it for a little bit before I decoupage it down.  So far, I love how it looks on the coffee table.

I added just a little bit of fall to the coffee table.  I adore orange pumpkins on blue and white porcelain.

I would totally recommend a large tray to anchor the bits and pieces on a coffee table.  This little flower on its own is lost, but anchored in a collection makes if feel like part of a bigger scheme.

It makes such a difference in creating a sense of presence as well as keeping things looking tidy.

I really love these boxwood balls.  When I posted about my favorite store I shared that I picked up a couple of these.  I adore them on top of a candlestick or vase.

This Wednesday, I am super excited to host the Autumn Gatherings Fall Blog Hop with 9 other bloggers.  Be sure to come back to check it out starting Wednesday.  This is actually the only bit of orange in the house for fall since I am doing a non-traditional fall home this year with coastal elements sprinkled throughout.

Hope you have a fantastic day!

Nancy

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