Try This: Easy DIY Serving Tray

Playing hostess for the holidays is much more fun with the right accessories. A comfortable, chic party dress is a must, but so is a beautiful serving tray (or two, or three!). We cover the bar in our kitchen with snacks and treats for our party guests  to enjoy, and a few trays can be a great way to organize the food chaos. When it comes to serving drinks, I do the same thing. All of our mixers are stored on a tray on our dining room counter, and then we serve house cocktails on a tray for our friends to enjoy.

As you’ve probably surmised, I love using serving trays while playing hostess, and I love using them in decorating my home too. Always ready to add a new tray to my collection, I whipped up this new one using just a couple of bar pulls and a cutting board. And it only took me five minutes to create!

Creating this tray is as simple as attaching the bar pulls to the top of a nice cutting board, but if you need a little guidance, I’ve included steps below.

Supplies:
-cutting board (I used this one)
-long bar style drawer pulls (I used these, though this is a less expensive option.)

Tools:
-power drill with drill bit
-measuring tape
-pen or marker

Step One: Place the bar pull handle onto the cutting board close to the edge and make sure it is centered width-wise. Use a measuring tape to measure the distance from the edges of the cutting board to the point where you will be placing the screws that attach the handle. Write down this measurement.

Step Two: Remove the handle and mark the points you measured in the previous step. Before drilling, make sure you measure the distance between the two marks to verify that it matches the distance of the attachment points on your actual handle.

Step Three: After triple checking your measurements against the handle, drill into the cutting board with a drill bit that matches or slightly exceeds the size of screws for your handles.

Tip: Place a piece of scrap wood beneath the cutting board when drilling to avoid damaging your work surface.

Step Four: Use a screw driver or your power drill to attach the handle to the cutting board with the screws that came with your bar pull handles. If your cutting board doesn’t have bumpers on the bottom that raise it up slightly, you will want to either countersink your screws or cover them with little rubber pads.

How simple was that? You can completely customize the look and cost of your tray with different cutting boards or handle styles.

Such a great party tray, but this guy would also look great on an entry table to corral catch-all dishes or incoming mail. I love it! –Mandi

Credits // Author and Photography: Mandi Johnson. Photos edited with Stella of the Signature Collection.