Learn how to put together this simple and pretty botanical tiered tray to decorate your home for spring with country chic farmhouse style.
When my kids were young, seasonal decorating wasn’t a thing for me.
Besides Christmas.
But the rest of the year, my house looked pretty much the same.
Sure, every so often I’d move things around for a change of scenery, but most of the time my focus was on trying to keep the house looking semi-tidy.
While juggling baseball, basketball, and/or soccer tournaments nearly every weekend.
Not to mention volunteering at the kids’ schools and maintaining my photography business!
The only thing that changed with the seasons was the wreath hanging on my front door.
Slowly, as the kids’ schedules eased up, I started changing up some other items with the seasons.
And do you know what I discovered?
Tiered trays.
They are seriously the easiest and least expensive way to change things up each season!
Why Decorate with Tiered Trays?
There are lots of great reasons to decorate with tiered trays.
You don’t need a lot of items to fill them up, and you can use some of the same items over and over.
They’re easy to move if you want to add that seasonal touch in a different spot.
And they’re fun to decorate!
AnnMarie has some fantastic tips to help you get started if you’ve never put together a tiered tray.
If you’ve been around Simply2Moms for any time at all, you’ve probably noticed that our decorating styles are a little different.
While AnnMarie leans towards modern, industrial farmhouse style, I tend to prefer a more vintage farmhouse chic, but we both love a neutral color scheme.
Anyway, our favorite tiered trays are a little different!
Did you see how AnnMarie styled the same tiered tray in seven different ways?
So good, right?
My favorite tray is a wire tray I got from Southern Living at Home and used to only use to serve cupcakes!
But now I love filling it with seasonal pretties like I did for this neutral Easter-themed tiered tray.
I first put this tray together like this in 2020 and then never shared it with you!
Just took the pictures and let them hang out on my computer…
Until now.
I was supposed to write a quick blog post for you.
Then, last night when I was looking at the pictures, I fell in love with it so much that I pulled everything out and recreated the look again this year.
Some of the things got pulled out of other places I was using them this spring!
So tomorrow I’ll be redecorating a few spots. LOL
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What You Need to Style a Neutral Spring Tiered Tray
I used lots of different items to create this botanical-inspired tray.
Some are decor staples I keep on hand to use year-round.
Others are seasonal things I’ve picked up at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Amazon.
Then a few of the items are things I made myself.
Here’s what I used (links provided to similar products if an exact match isn’t available):
- Mini moss bunnies
- Small flat basket
- Primitive wood bunnies
- Mini birds nest
- Assorted faux greenery
- Assorted decorative spheres
- Greenery spheres
- Tiny galvanized watering can
- Faux artichokes
- 3.5″ clay pots sponge painted with chalk paint
- Greenery leaf wire vine
I also made the jute-wrapped eggs and the chalk-painted speckled eggs using some of my kids’ old plastic eggs.
How to Fill a Spring Tiered Tray
When I start decorating a tiered tray, I like to decide where I plan to display it first.
Will it primarily be somewhere where all sides are visible, like on my kitchen island, kitchen table, or coffee table?
Or will it be somewhere where the back is against a wall, like my front entry table, the kitchen counter, or a buffet table?
The answer to this determines how I fill in the trays.
If the back won’t really be seen, then I just use greenery and textured orbs to create a backdrop and only put the seasonal items on the front and the side(s) that are visible.
But if the whole thing is visible, then I place the greenery and textured orbs in the center and tuck the seasonal items all the way around.
I find it easiest to start with the bottom tier.
It’s fun to create a little vignette that becomes the central focal point for that angle, like this wood bunny next to the little watering can, all framed by the tiny basket.
Then start filling in around that vignette.
I tucked some chalk-painted eggs and a jute-wrapped egg along the front.
Then turn the tray and start adding in more items to play off that first vignette.
The little watering can is filled with some tiny white flowers, so I put the same white flowers into one of the little clay pots and put it on the other side of the basket.
A little moss bunny looked cute next to it, almost like Peter Rabbit in Mr. Magregor’s garden!
This tray was for my kitchen buffet, so I filled in the back with some greenery orbs and other textured orbs to be a backdrop.
On the other side of the basket, I added a faux artichoke and another painted egg.
I now have Eastery spring decor showing on the front half of the bottom tier, with lots of greenery and texture behind in the background.
The bottom tier becomes the guide for how I’ll place the rest of the seasonal decorating items.
Filling in the Middle Level
I like to create visual triangles whenever I decorate.
A visual triangle is repeating a color, texture, or another item in three places to form the points of a triangle.
So I placed one of the three wooden bunnies on each tier but spread them out to make a triangle.
On the middle tier, that bunny is on the left side of the bunny on the bottom tier.
I placed him so that he’s facing in a different direction.
This little bird’s nest with greenery all around it is the focal point for this tier.
It’s positioned just above the left corner of the square basket.
Another tiny clay pot with white flowers is the top point of a visual triangle with the two containers with white flowers on the bottom tier.
Then I filled in the back with more greenery and textured orbs and added some more painted and jute eggs.
Finish With the Top Level
The top layer is much smaller so I didn’t use any large greenery orbs on it at all.
I had one wooden bunny, one jute egg, one tiny moss bunny, and one little clay pot of white flowers left!
So using the idea of visual triangles, I placed them to be the third point of the triangle with their matching items on the lower two tiers.
Then filled in with the rest of the painted eggs.
To finish up, I had some fun with a vine that’s covered in leaves that I found in the wedding section of Hobby Lobby!
It helped to connect all three tiers and added a pretty, airy touch.
See if you can find my visual triangles!
The great thing about tiered trays is you can easily move things around after you get everything arranged.
Step back and look for any holes.
Tilt some things on their side and others upright.
Make sure faces are looking in different directions.
Then put your springy tiered tray wherever you planned and enjoy the bit of seasonal decor you just created!
When the season is over, pull out the pieces that only work for spring or Easter and put them in a container for next year.
You can either start from scratch for the next season or holiday.
Or start with what you put together as a base and just add a few items that are specific for the next holiday or season.
Are you ready to decorate a tiered tray of your own?
You’ve totally got this!
Snap a picture (or 3) of what you create and send them to us so we can admire your creativity.
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If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me or leave a comment!
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