Tray Cool: 17 Beautiful Desk Trays for Staying Organized
At this point, most of you are back in the swing of things, back to school, back at work after an end-of-summer voyage, and getting things organized for a productive fall. We spent the better part of August oohing and ahhing over all sorts of ways to keep your workspace organized, but we’re bringing back the desk organization theme with today’s helpful roundup: beautiful desk trays!
We know, we know. How can something that keeps the top of your desk in check be beautiful? Thanks to bright colors, reclaimed wood, and brass, there are 17 ways they can be just that. And no matter how minimal you are, we’re betting you need a place to keep your keys, phone, sunglasses, and at least one pencil ;)
1. Kaleido Trays ($16-$78): At the top of our list, we have these awesome color blocking, geometric trays that fit oh-so-nicely together. And the colors? Love!
2. Stacking Wood Trays ($128): These stacking trays remind us of the Dewey Decimal System, thanks to the brass label-holders at the front. If only there were drawers that went with these…
3. Vintage Wire Paper Tray ($14): Go for the simplistic retro look and use a simple wire tray to collect your odds and ends.
5. Plywood Desk Tray ($68): We love how this looks almost as if it was unfolded. The grooves at each corner of this tray make it easy to corral items with cords that need to charge.
6. Magnetic Box Set ($450): The price tag on this one is pretty darn high, but we dig the look. We wonder if you could hack something similar with a few trips to the hardware store.
7. Vintage Desk Organizer ($23): Our favorite and possibly the simplest on the list, this has a groove for your pens and glasses, a stand for documents or even an iPad, and one more cubby for the rest of your goods.
8. Blue Desktop Tray Set ($14): Or you can go for the over-saturated look with this insanely bright blue tray set.
9. Oak Archive Tray ($150): An accordion tray? We’re in. This would be great for organizing papers and files if you don’t need a full-on file cabinet.
Classic Modernist Station
must be cool. It’s as minimal as they come, with a place for one pen, one pair of glasses, and your smartphone.
11. Desk Organizer Tray ($17): We love the candy-colored pink on this tray, made to fit snugly with your desktop computer.
12. Vivid Stacking Tray ($46): This tray system can be configured in a few different ways, and is held together by a simple elastic strap. The colors look pretty darn familiar, don’t you think?
13. Vintage Wood Curio Tray ($25): We’re betting you don’t keep corncob pipes and taxidermied birds on your desk, but this tray is ready to hold so much more. It could also work as a wall piece for keeping small items organized.
14. Admit One ($14): If you’ve got a different set of odds and ends each day, go for a tray with less compartments like this theatre-inspired one.
15. Cast Brass Stationery Tray (contact to order): How gorgeous are these brass trays? We can’t totally tell if it’s three trays or three sections of one big one, but we love the shape and metallic hue.
16. Brocade Stackable Tray ($15): Still have paper documents to organize? Get a letter tray and call it a day. You can always use the top for non-paper-shaped essentials.
17. Wooden Pen Tray ($18): Last, a simple tray for pens, pencils, erasers, and classic office supplies. This would also make a great bedside table for your phone, earplugs (noisy neighbors are the worst!), and a sleeping mask.
