Around the House

Happy Monday! It's a new week and a new month, so I thought I would get things rolling with with a new weekly feature called Around the House. I plan to cover everything from art to organization and anything that falls in between. Today is a bit of a twofer. (Is that a word?)
My love of trays and organization was created mostly out of necessity when we lived in a tiny 900 sq.ft. apartment. I understand that by most "city" standards that is pretty large, but we live in Dallas where the state moto is "everything's bigger in Texas." And although the rest of our apartment was quite large, our kitchen was tiny and severely lacking of cabinet storage. With everything sitting out on our counters, I became desperate to create some sort of order among the clutter. I am now convinced that you can have a ton of things out on display and as long as they are neatly arranged on a tray, they look great!

Whether it's make-up, coffee cups, memos or vases a simple tray can instantly create a focal point, transform clutter to beauty and brighten up an otherwise mundane collection of goods. Here's the best part, they're inexpensive! Ikea has some really fun trays for under $10; Target introduces new melamine plates and trays with practically every new holiday and I have found some amazing vintage trays at local thrift stores and estate sales.  I'm sure ebay has some gorgeous finds as well. Take a look at how others display their wares on the beloved tray. I do so love a good tray! xo

images via candi mandi on flickr, hownowdesign on flickr, design*sponge