Summer is here! It’s so nice outside we have been spending all our time swimming, playing, and eating outside. The lounge area by our pool has a big ottoman instead of a coffee table so its hard to keep drinks and snacks on it since they can easily spill. So I decided to make a cute summer shiplap tray we can leave on the ottoman to put our drinks and snacks on. I really love the shiplap look so I thought it would be perfect for a tray to give it some nautical vibes since were going to use it mostly outside. I love how it turned out and the color looks like it has been underwater which is perfect for coastal vibes I was going for. Follow along to learn how to build your own shiplap tray.

Tools Needed:

Miter saw and/or table saw

Sander

Clamps

Side Note: You can buy the pieces of wood precut for the size you want or have your local lumber store cut them to size for you if you don’t have a saw. You can also sand by hand if you don’t have a sander but be prepared to put in a lot of elbow grease! I’ve done it before on a smaller tray and it is definitely hard work but totally doable.

Materials Needed:

4 - 1x3x36s - I used poplar boards

1 - 1/4x2x2 plywood

Popsicle sticks

Wood glue

Pre-stain wood conditioner

Stain - I used weathered oak

Caulk

Polyurethane - I used a water based gloss

Paint brush, foam brush, or staining cloths

Cut List:

Planks 14 inches

Sides

-shorter side

-longer side

Plywood

I started this project by cutting the boards into the shiplap planks with my miter saw. For the sides I wanted something low profile so I cut the boards in half to make each side piece. I used my table saw to cut them in half. You can make the sides longer but will need an extra board. Then I put the planks in the order how I wanted them to look on the tray. This is the part where you pay close attention to the wood grain. Look at which side you like and how the pieces flow together, take your time and pick a design you love. Then I like to take a picture of it so if they come out of order I can put them back how I liked it.

After I got the right layout I put the planks with a popsicle stick in between each piece on top of the plywood. This way I knew how big I needed to make the base of the tray. I cut the plywood with my table saw. Then I set it up and took out the popsicle sticks to see how it would look. The popsicle stick is a perfect size for the shiplap gaps.

The next step is to sand everything. I sanded all the plank pieces, side pieces, and plywood with 80 grit, 120, and then 220 to get a smooth texture. After I sanded it I set it all up to make sure it all fit and was flush. I needed to do a little more sanding to make the sides all fit together.

Then I put a conditioning pre-stain on all the pieces. After that was dry I used Varathane stain in weathered oak. I love the look it gave. It has hints of greys and greens which gave it that under water look, keeping with the nautical ocean vibes. The plywood stained more grey but that is the base of the tray so you won’t see it.

After the stain was dry I glued all the plank pieces to the plywood and set up all my clamps, and I mean all of them haha, overnight. You probably don’t need that many or you can clamp a couple planks at a time but I really wanted to make sure it would all be flush. Then I glued the sides and clamped one side and then the other because I didn’t have enough long clamps to do both sides at the same time. Sometimes you have to work with what you have and complete your project in sections. But it is ok because it’s forward progress.

After everything was all put together I added sealant to the sides and then put on a clear coat. I think it came out so well and I love the color. I think the shiplap looks great and it was pretty easy to do. Hope you have fun making your tray!