Good Ideas + Beautiful Objects: A Ceramic Tray For Vanities, Desks + Entryways
“A place for everything and everything in it's place."
The beautiful object: Ceramic Serving Trays
West Elm Stoneware Tray $23 | Light Brass Tray $52 | Black Resin Platter $8 | Handcrafted Ceramic Tray $99 | Gjusta Plate $48
The good idea: Create the illusion of minimalist order by throwing those daily objects that just won’t stay shelved onto a tray. [Desk above: the beauty tray on my desk at The Chalkboard one in-office shoot day.]
For the last decade, my office has been an absolute thoroughfare for new wellness, clean beauty and design goods. Unpacking constant deliveries may not qualify as one of life’s toughest challenges, nonetheless, managing a constant flow of products can become a job unto itself — a weirdly frustrating game of whack-a-mole for someone who loves a bit of aesthetic order. Beauty editors know what I’m talking about. And anyone with inventory coming across their desk every day can relate.
One of my favorite little organization tools became a small ceramic tray - the kind you’d find at cocktail parties for catered appetizers.
I could pull a few products of focus onto that tray for the day or the week and not feel like I was drowning in a sea of boxes and bottles on my desk. If I needed extra space — voilà — I could move the entire tray of products off my desk in one fell swoop.
Controlled Chaos is An Actual Aesthetic
I loved the organizational layer so much that it soon escalated into a full-on tray problem at home: a steel tray on the entry table, a leather tray on my desk, a ceramic tray on the vanity, and marble trays on the bedside tables. They’ve proved so damn useful and weirdly satisfying, I’ve never looked back.
By adding the base layer of a ceramic or marble tray, a sprawl of objects or products can turn into something more like ikebana. Translation: you can create the illusion of minimalism with a bit of controlled chaos.
Once you overcome your shock at my multi-tray lifestyle, buy a tray for one area of your home or office and see how it goes…
+ Bedside: If you hate clutter around the space you sleep in, but also need your evening face mist, serum, oil, crystals, and candles, toss them onto a tray you love for easy access that also feels purposeful, ordered and calm.
+ On the vanity: My medicine cabinet is bursting with products. I try to edit them down regularly, but new products always creep into the mix. On the vanity, I keep only a few daily products like cleansers and tinted sunscreens on a ceramic tray. I recently noticed that Skkn by Kim offers a matching vanity tray with their skincare. There’s just something about having a designated place for things that makes an experience feel elevated and complete.
A vanity tray also keeps everything from getting caught up in soapy water and makes the countertop super-quick to wipe down. Keeping a tray with your evening skincare routine ready to go might help you stay true to that evening routine.
+ In the entryway: Whether you like it or not, clutter does accumulate by the front door. Anything smaller than a breadbox can fit in a bowl or tray — and the visual clutter just hits different. A pair of sunnies or a set of keys are a mess to address, unless they’re cozied up in their own container.
+ The stovetop: A tray for olive oil, a salt cellar and pepper mill means that your countertop won’t be covered in oil and pepper day to day. Creating a sense of place for things just makes sense.
Hot tip: Don’t buy a ceramic tray with too much curvature or a woven tray with too much texture: your objects will constantly tip over, turning your beautifully organized strategy into a daily irritation instead.
Shop the Objects: West Elm Stoneware Tray $23 | Light Brass Tray $52 | Black Resin Platter $8 | Handcrafted Ceramic Tray $99 | Gjusta Plate $48