Love and Laundry

diy, crafts, recipes

TV Tray turned into an Ironing Board

September 26, 2012 by Shatzi

Most of you know that I love to sew. I really love it. For a long time, every time I sewed, I would haul out my gigantic ironing board just to press seams. Uggh! What a lot of work. So, I transitioned to a TV tray. I draped a towel over it and used that for an even longer time. It was much, much better, but such an eyesore next to my sewing machine. I finally decided it was time to fix that, so I upcycled my TV tray into an ironing board! It was pretty easy to do.

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

Want to see how I did it?


I started by lightly sanding the wood. It didn’t need very much. My TV tray was old and I think it only had a light finish to begin with.

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

After sanding, I spray painted it black.

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

You really only have to paint the bottom, but I couldn’t help myself and gave the top a light coat also. Can one every spray paint too much?

Then, I measured the top. Mine was about 14 inches by 18 1/2 inches.

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

I cut enough batting to cover the top of the TV tray. You can make it as thick as you want. I used about 3 layers, but I think you could go thinner and it would be perfect. The more you use it, the more flat it will get as well.

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

After the batting was cut, I layered the fabric (right side down) and batting like this:

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

Then, I placed the TV tray on top.

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

Next, I folded the fabric in and took my handy dandy staple gun to staple it in place. (Imagine a staple gun placing a staple next to the hand holding the fabric down. It’s hard to hold a camera, the fabric, and the staple gun at the same time!)

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

I did the outside edges first and saved the corners for last. Here’s how I did the corners:

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

And that’s it! It’s finished!! And this is what I love. I can pull it out while I’m sewing to press seams.

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

And when I’m done, it just folds up and stores nicely next to my sewing machine.

Love and Laundry | TV Tray to Ironing Board Makeover

Now if only I could keep my sewing area looking this clean and organized all the time. Hehe. ;)

There’s more to this post! Click to keep reading.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Erin Biggers says

    September 26, 2012 at 7:27 am

    I love this project. It’s so much cuter than any ironing board I’ve ever seen.

    • Charlotte Rogers says

      August 11, 2018 at 4:45 pm

      Love it i saw one heaver than this for 45 dollars.
      I can make this for bout 8 dollars.

  2. Jenni says

    September 26, 2012 at 7:51 am

    Very pretty!

  3. Dawn Braun says

    September 26, 2012 at 8:12 am

    oh my goodness, that is the CUTEST ironing board EVER!! Such a great idea and the size is PERFECT! love the fabric too…

  4. BrittanyLane says

    September 26, 2012 at 9:22 am

    You are a genius. I have 8 (yes, EIGHT) of those little tables floating around from when I used to teach art. It’s the perfect size for little sewing projects. Love it!

  5. Christa from Controlling Craziness says

    September 26, 2012 at 10:20 am

    So cute. Love the fabric. What a great idea.

  6. Darby Hawley says

    September 26, 2012 at 1:46 pm

    This is wonderful! I’ve got to make one of these! You’re so clever Shatzi!

  7. Emily Dicks says

    September 26, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    I love the fabric, your sewing table and this idea is genius!

  8. Jess from Coxs Corner says

    September 26, 2012 at 6:13 pm

    Man! I need to make one of these! What a good idea!

  9. Mel@Mellywood's Mansion says

    September 26, 2012 at 9:24 pm

    This is a great idea Shatzi, love this!

  10. Marissa Sobaskie says

    January 23, 2013 at 5:15 pm

    So smart! Thanks for sharing. :)

  11. Jaime Z says

    February 25, 2013 at 4:30 pm

    Good one for sure!

  12. Meghan Santa Barbara says

    February 21, 2014 at 12:49 pm

    I really want to make this for my dorm room next year. I found this super cute fabric at JoAnns. But the fabric is a flannel fabric and it says do not iron. I know this is probably self explanatory answer…but should I get a fabric that should not be ironed FOR my IRONING board? Lol.

  13. Gerald says

    July 4, 2017 at 2:37 am

    Wow..you are one creative person. Thats a cute, practical ironing board..

  14. Jennifer says

    August 22, 2017 at 12:49 pm

    Made this for my daughters dorm and it turned out great. When I went to get the tray at Walmart they didn’t have any batting so I used 2 fluffy hand towels and I used VT fabric since that is where she’s going to college. Turned out great!

  15. zelinda says

    December 4, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    How can you make this if your tv stand isn’t flat.

Trackbacks

  1. 20 Dorm Room Items Anyone Can Make - Ritely says:
    April 24, 2017 at 7:51 am

    […] 8. TV Tray to Laundry Board […]

© Copyright 2025 Love & Laundry · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy