A Farmhouse Inspired Tiered Tray

This Farmhouse Inspired Tiered Tray is a fun way to decorate with real farmhouse style!

After July 4th passed, and I took down all my Americana decor, I was left wondering how to decorate my favorite tiered tray next. There isn’t really another holiday coming soon, and we’re stuck right now in the dog days of summer.

Inspired by another socially-distanced antique shopping excursion my husband and I went on last weekend, I decided to use some of my new finds to create a true farmhouse inspired tiered tray.

How I Made My Farmhouse Inspired Tiered Tray

My Newest Treasures

The Entryway

I decided to place my tiered tray on the entryway table this time, because right now I have these lovely flowers that my husband surprised me with on the kitchen island. 💕

I usually like my tiered tray on the island, so you can see it from all sides, but with the mirror behind the entryway table, you can still see the items reflected from the back! I like the effect.

Here’s What’s on the Top Tier

  • A toy truck that used to be in my son’s bedroom when he was a child
  • A horse shoe that hung for years on the side of my parents’ garage
  • My little house, that here looks like an old, white farmhouse ( from Hobby Lobby)
  • A mini galvanized metal tub that reminds me of one I used to take a bath in as a child! (from Hobby Lobby)
  • The DIY wood block sign I made myself (instructions at the bottom of this post)
  • An old pocket watch with a braided leather strap that we found in my dad’s dresser recently, while cleaning out my parents’ house. I imagine it belonged to one of my grandfathers, but have no way of knowing for sure, since it wasn’t marked or labeled. It’s another one of those things I wish I knew more about, but now it’s too late to ask. 😢

And the Bottom Tier

Farmhouse Cooking…

  • Mini cast iron skillet (from Hobby Lobby)
  • Mini vintage rolling pins (from Antiques Iowa)
  • Mini vintage toy mixer (from Good JuJu Vintage)
  • Mini salt & pepper shakers that used to be my grandmother’s

Vintage Farmhouse Architecture….

  • The vintage bullseye salvaged molding reminds me of an old farmhouse, with its chippy white paint (from Bella Patina)
  • The vintage-looking key set (from Hobby Lobby) you might remember from my July 4 Vignette. This time, I took off the red & blue keys and added the green one back, to make the colors work better for this.

The Farm…

  • I printed this picture of the family farm I spent a lot of time on as a child and placed it in a clearanced frame from Hobby Lobby
  • The vintage toy tractor is from our trip to Antiques Iowa a couple of weeks ago
  • Cast iron pig (from The Dusted Attic)
  • Vintage chicken pepper shaker (from Bella Patina)
  • Cast iron horse (from The Brass Armadillo about a year ago)
  • Galvanized metal mini milk can (from Hobby Lobby)

Easy DIY Wood Block Sign

You might remember how I made my own easy DIY Wood Block Signs a few months back to use on my Spring Garden Tiered Tray.

When I painted all my odds & ends blocks white, and then distressed them, I left one block blank and undecorated, thinking I’d add something to it later when I had a need. Well, now was that time!

Here’s my blank wood block

I wanted some kind of sign for my farmhouse theme, so I used my leftover block and created one. My inexpensive mini alphabet stamps have again come in handy, but I wanted part of the text to be in script, rather than block letters. Sometimes, I just wing it, and hand write the lettering, but if I want it to be a bit more precise, this is the easy method I use.

  1. Find the word and lettering style you want to use. I simply printed mine from online, on plain white paper. Make sure it is the appropriate size to fit your wood block.

2. I cut out the words in a strip to make it easier to handle. Then used a pencil to color in the BACK of the paper where the letters are. This will function sort of like old-fashioned carbon paper. Remember that stuff? 😜

3. I placed my word strip on the block where I wanted it. Notice that I left extra paper on both sides to give me something to hold onto, to make sure the word didn’t slip around.

Then use your pencil to trace the lettering carefully, with firm pressure.

4. By tracing the front of the lettering, the heavy pencil markings that were made on the back, will transfer to the wood block.

5. I then used a fine tip black sharpie to trace over the pencil.

6. Finally, I used my mini alphabet stamps for the remaining text. It does not have to look perfect– in fact, since I was going for a rustic vibe, I didn’t want it perfect. Imperfections are what makes this work, so relax and don’t worry about “mistakes”.

The little nail imprint was already on the wood piece I found in the shed, but I love it!

Nostalgia…

I think this is my favorite of all the tiered trays I’ve done so far. I love how it lets me showcase some of my treasures that otherwise would be packed away in a box someplace.

The older I get, the more connection I have to my Iowa roots. This tiered tray functions as unique home decor, but also invokes a little bit of nostalgia at the same time. 💕 🚜 🌽 🐷 🐴

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16 thoughts on “A Farmhouse Inspired Tiered Tray

  1. Your tray is so great and everything on it has a special meaning. I might need to copy the farmhouse picture! I have a picture of how the farmhouse I grew up in and I just love your idea.

    1. I hope you will do something similar with your farmhouse pic. It’s just a nice way to connect with some of your memories and family history. I love having these little things out where I can see them, rather than tucked away in a box or photo album. I’d love to see a picture of yours!
      -Niky

    1. Thank you so much, Pamela. I appreciate you taking a minute to share your sweet comment!
      -Niky

  2. Oh my gosh I truly love this! Every single item has its place and together it all looks so perfect. So cool that you have farming roots. Lovely that you embrace it, too:) Thanks for sharing at Vintage Farm. xo Kathleen

    1. Thank you so much, Denise! I love having my “treasures” out where I can enjoy them. 💕
      Thanks for stopping by…
      -Niky

    1. Thanks so much, Robyn. It makes me happy to see some of my own personal family treasures out where I can see them. 💕

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