Connie Limoncelli
(Photo courtesy of Lonny)
Ever look at a photograph of a beautiful interior and wonder why your own home can never look that pristine and put together? Well, one reason is that the majority of homes featured in magazines and photo shoots are styled to within an inch of their lives by some very talented people. That means all the clutter goes out and gorgeous touches like fresh flowers and carefully layered books go in. No real room that is actually in use can resemble a set all the time, but there are a few tricks to help bring some designer chic to your own home. One quick and easy ways happens to be all the rage right now in the design world: trays!
The great thing with trays is that they practically scream out for a stylish collection of goodies, making it easy to create vignettes on coffee tables or consoles. The homes of celebrities like Nicky Hilton and The City‘s Olivia Palermo have also upped the cool factor for trays. Both Hilton and Palermo’s interiors feature vintage designer trays–by Chanel and Hermès, respectively–and while these might not be readily available to the masses you can easily replicate the look with one of the beautiful trays to be found at stores from Urban Barn to IKEA.
Trays are not only beautiful in and of themselves they’re also completely functional. Aside from their obvious uses–like carrying things–trays also come in handy if you have a fabric or leather coffee table. Have you ever tried balancing a glass on a leather ottoman repurposed as a coffee table? Not always easy, but it becomes clean and simple if there’s a tray in place. And when you’re not serving you can fill your tray with pretty objects to decorate your living room table in a streamlined, stylish way.
Photo courtesy of Lonny
If you want to create a bar area on a console, or a vignette of cool bottles and glasses, using a tray as a base ensures that everything will stay orderly and collected. Line up glasses and bottles in a way that’s pleasing to the eye and be sure to add in something that shows your personality, too, like a sprig of your favourite bloom or a gorgeous glass decanter.
Photo from tinyassapartment.blogspot.com
Tealights reflecting off a silver tray set the scene for any party, gathering or dinner. Balance the tray on an über hip Moroccan-style leather pouf to ratchet up the style tenfold.
Lately python print trays have been all the rage, their neutral palette being perfect for decor schemes from the transitional to the classic. Don’t forget, though, that trays also look great in other faux animal fabrics like croc as well as a variety of colours and lively prints.
Of course, trays are not just for communal areas like living rooms. Use them in your bedroom to group your jewellery, on your vanity to hold make-up or perfume or to give a touch of organization and elegance to any bathroom.
While some trays, especially those fashioned out of real silver, can run you hundreds or even thousands of dollars this is a trend that can be done affordably. We’ve put together some options for you if you decide you’d like to try out this très chic trend in your own home (all under $65 except for the D.L. and Co. Mother of Pearl Skull Tray from Barneys, which is a little pricier but so fab it had to be included.)
