Sunday, January 21, 2007

Hanging tole trays

I am so grateful to have my first real laundry room! It's too narrow for useful storage, so I decided to hang the tole trays for a quickie re-do. (Only it's not so quick if it's four months post-move, is it?) Better to use the things I already have--or, as my husband might mutter, better to get those things off the dining room floor already! Here is the other side of the room. We moved these cabinets from the opposite wall, but I still need to glaze them white. You'll notice I keep my file cabinets in here, one on either side of the machines. My mom rescued them from a dumpster, and I spray painted them black years ago. Perhaps we can touch them up with decoration that echoes the tole trays.
We inherited this small tv from relatives. I decided my motivation to iron would be watching Martha Stewart on Tuesdays!
Above is a detail of how I hung these tole trays. Some have proper hangers, but for those which don't, I use nails. I loop ribbon through pierced trays. For large trays, I hammer two large nails into the wall and rest the tray on them. What's nice about that method is that if you need to use a tray, you only have to lift it from the wall! I'll eventually paint or pretty the nailheads with cabinet knobs. For now, I'm thrilled to have the job one step closer to completion!

13 comments:

It's a Mom Thing said...

Meredith,
The trays look beautiful hung up in your laundry room. And ohhh, I'm coveting your large, spacious enough to iron in laundry room. Very nice!
In the spring, once yardsales start popping up, I'm on the look-out for some trays. I haven't seen any in my thrift shopping, not that I've been doing it very long. But they are gorgeous and add such character.
Nice job!

Kim said...

Oh, what a lovely display, Meredith! Do you think you'll be able to stay clear of them when moving the laundry around in the machines?

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love it. Aren't you glad you kept the trays? It looks beautiful.

Kristi said...

They look great up on the wall- what a fun collection!

Monica Wilkinson said...

Lovely! They turned out so nice! I got my Better Homes & Gardens Feb issue in the mail on Friday and there was a feature on a lady who collects tole trays and other tole items. It made me think of you immediately! :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks!

Kim, one reason I considered keeping the trays for the laundry room was that if they did get bumped during laundry, at least they won't break! There's still room to maneuver around them easily, though.

I could have done a pegboard or a coat rack, but I knew shirts and stuff would end up covering it. Better to put up something pretty and make the miscellaneous go to its true home.

Ann @TheAssetEdge said...

Beautifully done!

I'm still hanging pictues in our new house too. I give a big 'hoorah' everytime I finish another room!

Shannon said...

Meredith- This is beautiful. You have a real eye for decorating. I left a comment on the homelessness post but some of mine aren't showing up lately. Just wanted to let you know I'm reading! :)

Anonymous said...

The laundry room looks great!! I like the whole ironing "motivation", too!

Anonymous said...

I so love you laundry room! Some Day maybe...We've moved so many times in 34 years that now I say "Our next house will have..." My current laundry room has to also do double duty as storage for mops and brooms plus it is right between the garage and the house! So you walk through it every day coming and going! Still, you've given me some ideas on how to make it look nicer and work better. Must be cabin fever!! Thanks.

Amy said...

I am loving your laundry room. It is so pretty and those trays add a special touch to your room. Great job! I would not have thought of using cabinet knobs to cover the nails- great idea!!

DonnaB said...

The trays look lovely and it must be pleasant to have such a pretty room to do laundry in!

ShabbyInTheCity said...

I love the look of that wall! I posted about tole trays I think it was two days ago...