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Tray Chic
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Simple Solutions
A simple solution to your clutter woes may be as close as your kitchen cabinet. A stray tray or two -- even a platter or large plate -- can corral items in a beautiful way. Look for display-worthy trays made of everything from casual wicker to wood, tin, vintage papier mache, contemporary plastic, dressy china or silver. We give you 11 ideas for starters. By grouping related small things onto a specific tray, you eliminate searching for those easily misplaced items. And by pulling assorted elements together onto one tray, you visually reduce them to a single object. Who ever thought the simple tray could be so, as the French say, tres chic?
In A Home Office A 13 x 17-inch basket tray (above), fitted with vintage plant pots, holds desktop needs, such as pens, paper clips, sticky notes, pushpins, envelopes and more.
In A Hobby Room Fill a tray with glass jars of different sizes that can neatly hold a multitude of craft supplies, including paints, brushes, beads, pins and glue sticks.
In a Garden Room A waterproof tray groups pots of seedlings or herbs and keeps the tabletop dry.
In A Family Room Keep newspapers and magazines in line in a basket on the coffee table.
