Trays. I spent much of this past weekend looking for them. I needed one for my daughters’ bathroom to corral their innumerable bottles and jars and sprays. I need one or two for a photo shoot. I need one to put on a client’s foyer table for keys and mail. I always need trays for coffee tables and dressers and butler’s pantries…
The truth is that you never can have enough trays. Have a messy pile of, well…anything? Put it all on a tray, and all of a sudden it becomes intentional. “I’m the mail, and I’m meant to be here, because I’m in a TRAY!”
We all could use one on a front hall table…
On the vanity…
On a dresser in the bedroom…
On an ottoman for magazines or drinks…
Or on a bar, of course.
To me, the most fun trays are vintage — and thanks to Etsy, Chairish, and 1stdibs, you no longer need hours of leisure time to track them down. Just be careful with the size when you order trays online; have a tape measure at hand to help you picture the tray to scale.
When vintage isn’t the look you want, I also like trays from Pigeon & Poodle, AERIN, and Serena & Lily.
Here are some interesting finds right now:
An Ikat tray! Never seen that before.
Winsford tray in shiny etched brass.
Découpaged Fishnet tray.
Love the whimsy of this Eyes valet tray in porcelain.
These wood and bone trays from High Street Market are rich and gorgeous, and they work with so many styles. Don’t put these on a piece of wood furniture, though (obviously ;) ). They’d look great on white or glass.
Finally, I saw this divine blue tray at Hillwood recently, and I already regret not buying it. Maybe they still have it. I should call.
You may have a tray right now that’s tucked away, forgotten, ready to be put to use somewhere unexpected. If you don’t have a tray, well, you probably need one.
Annie Elliott | bossy color is a design firm based in Washington, DC. Annie’s design work and decorating insights have appeared in local and national publications, most recently The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the podcast, The Home Hour.