DIY Greek Key Tray Makeover (Ikea Hack)

 
For the last year I have had a large tray sitting on my dresser just looking awfully plain. I picked it up at Ikea for $7 on a whim.  Of course I did...most of my Ikea purchases are on a whim.

Since then I have been debating about what to do with the tray. I couldn't just keep her white, could I? No, of course not.

I had some gold metallic spray paint in the garage that caught my eye recently and then my plan started to fall into place. Originally, I was going to make a striped design on the tray with the painters tape and then I had an 'ah ha moment'...I would try my hand at a greek key design. 

If you follow 2IY on Instagram, you know I found making the design to be harder than it looks.  I received some samples of 3M Scotch Blue Painters Tape so along with a ruler, and some patience this project goes pretty smoothly.

I used a roll of  .94" Scotch Blue Painter's Tape to create the design.

I started along the long edge with just a straight piece of tape.   I created the first key by just eyeballing the size and length of the tape.  On the remaining three sides and corners I used a ruler to measure the original key's tape pieces to make sure they were all the same.

Cutting the edge of the tape straight is important or you will get some overhang which will of course show up when you spray paint the tray.  I used an exacto knife to trim those little areas after I was all done taping off the tray.

Right before I spray painted I went around the entire design and pressed down all the edges of the tape really well to prevent any paint bleed.

Then I just spray painted the entire tray.  After the first coat dried, I added a second.  Only after both coats were completely dry did I remove the tape.

And now the moment of truth....

I had very few areas of bleed.  In those area I just scraped the paint off easily with a knife.  I love the way the tray looks on my coffee table.  It really pops against the black table.

Disclaimer: I received samples of 3M Scotch Blue Painters Tape but all opinions are my own. 

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