Rustic Wood Bed Tray DIY

If you want a quick project that is both useful and impactful, this is the one! I was able to make this project completely from scrap wood and for ZERO dollars.

If you don’t have scrap wood, it still will be a very inexpensive project to complete. I only needed 4 partial pieces of spindle (or you can use one full one and cut down into 4 equal pieces) and 44″ of 2×6″ pine board. The 2×6″ pieces can easily be 2×4’s. You would just need 66″ of 2×4″ and make your platform with three boards instead of the two. A good substitute for the staircase spindles could be crib spindles. Most of us probably have cribs in our attic that no one wants to inherit yet, we hate to lose those memories. This would be a great way to repurpose them. You could even make a bed tray for each family member or child that slept in that crib. No matter what you choose to make your bed tray legs from, you just need to make them a height that is comfortable for you. That is the good part about making household decor yourself. You get to have the exact measurements that work for you. I cut my spindles to 6 1/2″ each.

My spindle pieces chipped a little bit when I cut them with my mitre saw but I figure it just adds to the rustic appeal. I really had that already going for me since one of my 2×6’s was a new scrap and one was a repurposed scrap.

I wasn’t sure which way I wanted the spindles to face. So before you attach them, try them in both directions to get the look you want. The only difficult portion for me was that the spindles were oak which is a hard wood so my finishing nail gun wouldn’t sink them in all the way. I pre-drilled holes from the platform about an inch from the corners so that I could attach the legs with long wood screws.

The wood bed tray will be perfect for when I want to have a few minutes to work before turning out the lights. Plus my husband said he may just make me breakfast in bed one morning!