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Easy Decorative DIY Rope Tray: Gorgeous Nautical Decor for Your Home

Chic and Cheap Nautical Rope Tray You Can Make Yourself with Supplies From the Dollar Store!

This easy DIY rope tray will add the perfect nautical or beachy touch to any table or shelf in your home.
DIY Rope Tray

I love nautical themed home decor. My pocketbook? Not so much. Why is it always so expensive to buy beachy decor? Ropes and rocks and shells are everywhere! That’s why I love simple home decor you can make yourself…even better if the supplies can typically be found at the good ol’ Dollar Store! Case in point: this easy DIY Rope Tray.

This trendy tray can double as a low basket and fits in well with farmhouse or beachy decor. Plus, it’s easy to make! No time to hit the store? I’ve also included quick links to where you can get the supplies off of Amazon and have them effortlessly delivered to you.

Read on for the supply list and instructions for you to make this nautical rope tray that will look perfect on a side table or console in your home.

DIY Rope Tray Supply List

Craft supplies for making an easy nautical DIY rope tray
  1. Foam Poster Board (white)
  2. Decorative Nautical-Style Rope (2-3 packs)
  3. Rocks, Stones, or Seashells (2 bags)
  4. Faux Greenery
  5. Scissors
  6. Hot Glue

Nautical Rope Tray Directions

  1. Start by cutting the foam board down to the shape and size of your choice. (Pictured is a 6×10” rectangle).
Foam board that will be the base of your nautical DIY rope tray.
Foam Board

2. Begin hot gluing the nautical rope around the perimeter (outside) of the foam board.

Start glueing your nautical rope to the edge of the foam board to create the base of your DIY tray.

3. Continue hot gluing the rope around the board, stacking each rope on top of one another. (You can stack as high as you’d like. Pictured is 4 stacks high.)

Continue glueing layers to make the edge of your nautical rope tray.
Continue glueing layers

4. Once you’ve reached the desired height, cut and glue the end of the rope in its ending place.

5. Cut 2 additional 5-7” pieces of rope to create handles. Secure them on the inside opposite ends of the tray. If you’d like more a basket look, you can opt to leave off the handles.

Add handles to your DIY rope craft to turn it from a low basket into a nautical-themed tray.
Add Handles
Completed DIY nautical rope tray with no filler.
Completed Tray with No Filler

6. Once dry, fill the inside with rocks or stones of your choice and faux greenery. Carefully move to your desired display location in your home.

Completed DIY Rope Tray with rocks and greenery
Completed DIY Rope Tray

And voila! Your very own trendy rope tray that you can impress visitors with by saying you did it all on your own. You can keep just how easy it was to yourself. 😉

Some other ideas to make this DIY tray your own is to substitute the rock filler for seashells or sand to make it more beachy, or faux moss for an earthier look. You can also easily change up the look by cutting a different shape in the foam board; try a circle, oval, square, or diamond.

After you make this at home, send me a pic at evergreenandsalt@gmail.com! I’d love to see how it turns out!