The big trend in decorating continues to be the oversized ottoman. Replacing coffee tables in family rooms of all styles, they’re comfortable to use as seating or for just putting your feet up. Since you can often choose your own fabric, they offer a pop of color, pattern or texture to the room.

But they’re only practical as a table when paired with a tray. (Hard to balance a glass on a cushy foam or tufted top!)

No need to spend a boat load of money on a fancy tray. Create your own. I decided to make mine even more interesting by re-purposing an old game board into a chic conversation piece.

I don’t remember what the game was called, but it used marbles and is made from a solid piece of wood. Hand crafted in USA.

It must have been played with a lot since its showing signs of wear and tear. I love the symmetry of the indentations and want to play them up with paint.

As you know, paint can update and change absolutely anything.

First I sprayed a layer of metallic bronze paint, making sure all the indentations were filled in.

Since I might want to use it in our bedroom makeover, I chose a purple for the top coat to  coordinate with the bedding I showed you last week.

I carefully rolled the purple paint over the bronze. Use only a little paint at a time and work slowly. I wanted some of the metallic to show through and did not want any purple in the holes. (It’s much easier to add more paint than to take some off!) Instant patina.

This tray will work on an ottoman or on a dresser. I love how the “holes” look either concave or convex depending on how the light hits it.

The tray was a real find at Goodwill for $2.99. A can of spray paint is less than $5.00 and a sample size paint jar is on a couple of bucks. For less than $10.00 and 30 minutes, I have something original and unique. Maybe I’ll hang it on the bedroom wall…

If you know the name of the game, drop me an e-mail.

Email me at askmerri@goodwillsew.com or post a comment on our Facebook page.