I love tiered trays. I've been planning to buy one at Hobby Lobby for years, but just never had the room for one. Now that I've set up a coffee bar, I knew I would be getting one. We live miles from a Hobby Lobby or Michaels or Bed Bath and Beyond, but I can't seem to wait until we visit the city again to get one. I have not liked the decoration of the coffee bar, but just wanted to have it ready for the family for the holidays. You can read on the site about the furniture makeover I did for the coffee bar. Anyways, I was never satisfied with the decoration on the coffee bar. It really was just the basics this year, but everything takes time and now that the holidays are over, I am ready to pretty it up.
I knew the first thing I needed was to get some height on this coffee bar. I am somewhat limited with the window, but have some great ideas for the sides of the window I've been investigating on Pinterest. Stay tuned... So to get that height, I wanted a tiered tray, but am not willing to wait until my next trip to the city. Patience is still not my virtue, even though God has been working on me most of my life in that department. When will I get it! Today was not the day.
You can see in the first picture a rectangular, metal basket. I purchased that at Wal-Mart some time ago. I also got two circular ones that I used for lots of things. Bread basket, fruit basket, decorating a table, centerpieces, lots of uses. Currently, I was using one as a centerpiece on the dining room table.
I was shopping the Dollar General's after Christmas sales and found some candlesticks for $6. I got all the black and wood ones they had. I love candlesticks for crafting and decorating. Another very versatile piece if you ask me. I was actually decorating with them on the mantle and it occurred to me that they would make a great pedestal for a two tiered tray for the coffee bar.
So the wheels started turning and I wondered what I could use for the trays. I've seen people use trays and oven burner covers and cake pans, but I didn't have any of those things. But I did notice the centerpiece on the dining room table and thought to myself, "Those could work." The baskets were fairly large which I liked for holding all the K-Cup pods, tea and hot cocoa, but I did worry a little because they are wire baskets and may not have enough surface area to adhere to the candle holders.
Here's what I had. I don't know how much I paid for the baskets, but I did get them at Wal-Mart some time ago and the candle holder was $6. I thought I'd just glue those together with E6000 and be done. But like I mentioned before, I was a little worried about the surface area of the wire baskets having enough substance to adhere to the candle holder. The base went together great and seemed to have a good hold. I wouldn't say it could never break, but it was going to hold enough weight to work for the coffee bar. But I was having trouble getting a good hold on the top basket. Because the top was not as wide as the base on the candle holders and the rim of the candle holder was raised, I was only able to adhere it to the four straight metal pieces that went through the circles on the bottom of the basket. I needed to get some height in the middle of the candle holder. My mind was scrambling for a solution as I was really liking how the project was coming together.
My daughter-in-love, Tess Sayles, saved the day. She has her own business making candles. Check her out on Facebook at Sayles Chandlery. She makes great smelling candles and they are all over my house. Well I had one sitting on the kitchen counter where I was working and thought maybe that lid would work.
It fit perfectly in the middle of the candle holder and gave it so much more surface area for the adhesive to attach the two different items. It worked so well. I just needed to give it a quick coat of paint for it to blend, just in case anything would show.
I was able to use E6000 around the edge of the lid and attached it to the surface of the candle holder top.
Then I was able to adhere the first circle as well as the four straight cross pieces to the top of the lid inside of the candle holder. It has a very solid hold. Now I wouldn't say you could pick up the two tiered tray by using the top tray especially if it is loaded on the bottom tray, but I do not worry that it will tip over or not hold the weight I would put in the top basket. Again, I am sure that would have it's limits, but I really like how the finished product looks on the coffee bar. And it didn't cost me anything but the price of the candle holder for $6. Again, if you had to buy the baskets, I don't know what to tell you they would cost. I really just have no recollection, but knowing me, I didn't pay that much for them. Either way, my guess is you could probably come up with something that would work in your home as well. Maybe not in all cases, but a lot of you could.
Here is the finished product. The candle holder on top is not attached. I just put it in the basket to add even more height for now. I will be filling it up with decorations, maybe some candy and straws, we'll see... That part is yet to come. Also, that candle is another one that Tess pours. She has three sizes and is always adding more scents to her collection. Check her out at Sayles Chandlery on Facebook. You won't be disappointed.
Here is a picture of the tray on the coffee bar. I think the height adds great proportion to the bar and gives me many more opportunities for decorating and adding more goodies to the bar. This is definitely a work in progress, so keep tuning in to see what more is being done.
Thanks again for checking me out and I welcome any ideas or comments you have. Subscribe and let me know what you do with your coffee bars. Have a great day and keep making your world beautiful.
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