Trays can complement design, control clutter and tell stories
At its heart, good design is all about telling our stories.
My favorite spaces are those that wrap me up in the world of the people who live there. The furniture and accents we select for our homes work together to give glimpses of who we are and what we hold dear.
Trays are the ultimate tools for telling your stories in your home. I view trays filled with tableaux as artwork, simple stages on which the one-act plays of our lives come alive.
You will find them in just about every room of my cottage, holding things that are precious, such as family heirlooms, and everyday, such as our TV remote.
While working with a customer recently, I was helping her make her home a better reflection of her style and personality. On our checklist was styling the open hutch in her dining room and creating a display on her living-room coffee table. She had lovely accents, but what she was missing was a good selection of trays. We fixed that.
To make her hutch less staged or fussy feeling, we used trays to help it tell a series of interesting stories.
For example, we placed a tray on a shelf and filled it with bottles of after-dinner drinks and glasses. It made her hutch not only functional, but also visually appealing.
I used a tray in a similar way to house tea cups in the bookcases that line my diningroom walls.
Because our cottage is small, we have to use just about every inch when we entertain. Trays are essential when we take the party to the living room, den or outside. I like to keep trays on my end tables, ready to fill with drinks or snacks when friends drop by. To make your drinks service more appealing, poke in an accent.
Trays not only make everything that sits upon them seem special, they are also attractive workhorses, beautifully corralling all our stuff. For example, in my bathroom, I have a round silver tray on my vanity that holds a glass compote filled with my jewelry and a mug full of makeup brushes.
I filled in the empty spaces with little treasures that make me smile, such as petite framed photos of my family. Take away the tray, and you’ve got a cluttered mess. Add the tray, and it looks like artwork.
I like to use trays in my kitchen to pull together things such as cooking utensils, vinegars and oils; the makings for my morning cup of coffee; or dishes and silverware ready to put on the table for dinner.
Place one on your office desk to hold pens, paper clips and papers. In your family room, fill a tray with your remote controls, magazines and books. It’s a great place to put your reading glasses so you don’t lose them.
Trays also make fabulous artwork. In bookcases, you can tilt a tray on its side and use it as a backdrop to a display, giving the space added depth.