A Pop of Color in the Living Room

I'm so excited to share this fun project with you!

Look at these ugly things. They are probably 10 years old and as you can see we use them a great deal. Yes, we are one of those couples who eats dinner in front of the TV every night.

As we make upgrades to the house the wood in the living room is becoming darker and darker with the majority having an espresso stain. So I had the choice of sanding and staining or doing something more unique with these trays.

Remember when I took an old coffee table and turned it into an ottoman? The blues and greens from this fabric have become my living room colors, and were the inspiration for the TV trays.

After I sanded the tops of these trays and wiped clean with a damp cloth, I applied a thin coat of Kilz Latex primer with a small roller brush sold for smooth finishes.

I let these dry for an hour and then applied a second coat of the Kilz primer.

Next, I painted the tops with Behr Interior Semi-Gloss Enamel in Tsunami.

Using my Silhouette Cameo I created a custom pattern and made my stencil using contact paper. For more details on how I made the stencil, see this post I did earlier this year.

This is the fun part! Next, I applied the contact paper stencil to the tray.

I love this Behr paint in Bold Avocado.

Again I used the small paint roller sold for smooth finishes.

I applied two coats, waiting about 10 minutes between each coat. I was working on the back patio on a warm and breezy day so the paint was drying fast.

After the second coat, I waited about 5 minutes and then removed the contact paper stencil carefully and slowly. At this stage, the paint is just a bit tacky. Waiting longer when the paint would be solidly dry may result in the paint peeling as I removed the stencil.

I got perfect edges using this method and was very pleased with the results I got using the contact paper, which is much cheaper than buying the Silhouette brand vinyl or stencil roll.

Once the paint was dry I gave the tray tops two thin coats of this Minwax Water Based Polycrylic protective finish in clear semi-gloss. This will protect my paint from scratches, dings, water (glass condensation) and household cleaning products.

The poly is a very thin product that is cloudy in the can, but dries crystal clear. I had to work fast in the sunshine to get one smooth coat brushed smoothly over the top and sides.

I couldn't be happier with how these turned out!

The colors definitely help bring the living room together and give us a pretty custom tray to eat off of every night.

One last project while I had the paint open...

I've had these two decorative finials sitting near the fireplace for a long time. When I bought them I loved how large and shabby chic they were in this distressed neutral color.

Not any more! They pop with brilliant blue and now accessorize my living room in a big way.