I am so excited about this project. This tray is perfect for a coffee table because it has a little drawer to hide things like magazines and remote controls. Another idea is to put school supplies in it for a homework station or have it on a kitchen table and store things like extra silverware and napkins. It is rather heavy so it won’t really work for a serving tray. But it is nice to have where it will stay in place and be able to serve as some hiding place organization.
I partnered with Rayan from The Design Confidential on this project. I told her what I wanted and she designed it and showed me how it was done. For the full plans click here to learn how to make a coffee table tray with drawer.
In addition to the supplies Rayan listed I used some Minwax stain with Charcoal Gray mixed in. It was the first time I tried a colored stain. Even with pre-wood conditioner (put this on the bare wood first) it seemed splotchy and not like a stain at all – probably because Lowes added pigment to it which made it more paint-like than stain-like.
So I decided to sand some of it down and put a Minwax Special Walnut over the top of it. It didn’t darken the colored stain but on the places where I sanded it darkened and made it look much better.
I then followed that with two coats of a wipe-on poly (sanding between coats) and it was done. On the right you can see the inside of the drawer that has just the colored stain on it.
I purchased some pulls from Lowes and drilled them in place. (Brainerd Copper Highlights Bar, and Gatehouse Aged Bronze Pull).
It kind of looks, grayish, blueish, brownish. It is a weird color but I kind of like it. I wanted to do something other than paint or stain which is why I opted for this finish. What do you think?
I love how it looks like a vintage crate with the space between the drawer and the top piece. However, if you wanted to cut a drawer front to have no space between that and the top 1” x 2” you could certainly do that.
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Disclaimer: As part of the Lowes Creative Ideas Creators & Influencers I am challenged each month with a project from Lowes. They compensate me for my time with gift cards to Lowes.
I really like this project but have a question…doesn’t the bottom drawer scrape on the table when opened? Also, I think this would be great for a craft table but add another drawer or two. Perfect for storing “up” and getting some of the stuff off the table!
Yes, I love how it utilizes vertical space and hides away some of the junk. 😉 It does not scrape the table because there is a bottom on the tray. The drawer fits inside just like any drawer does.