Typically, we think of trays as serving utensils. However, they work well as decorative elements in any room of the house, including the bathroom. Placing items on a tray makes your countertop appear cleaner and more organized, while also contributing to the style of your bathroom.
Here are 17 creative ways to incorporate a tray into your bathroom, whether to hold a few essentials or to serve as a more stylized vignette.
Glittery and Mirrored Tray
Trays keep your fragrances organized rather than strewn about on a counter. Glitter Guide’s simple round mirrored tray complements the retro-style bathroom’s painted brick walls and vintage vanity. Maintaining a spotless mirrored tray requires some diligence, but it’s worth it when you see the sparkles created by the tray reflecting light in the space.
Luxurious and Retro-Inspired Tray
Who inspires your sense of style? Remind them of them by displaying an image on a large tray, such as the one styled by Torie Jayne. This playful photograph of actress Marilyn Monroe, surrounded by fresh peonies and vintage perfume and bath salts jars, creates a decorative and symmetrical vignette.
Modern Lacquer Tray
If you’re looking for something more contemporary, consider a simple white lacquer tray. The tray’s low edge profile will not take up too much visual space in this bathroom by Rosa Beltran Design. Set on a contrasting soapstone countertop, the tray, on the other hand, shines on its own. Additionally, the tray includes a chevron soap tray to protect jewelry from moisture.
Sensual Leather Tray
In this bathroom by Asha Winn Design, an elegant leather office paper tray finds a home. The tray is simple in its contents: a candle, fresh flowers, a mirror, and hand towels. White contrasts beautifully with the brown leather and highlights the silver reflections of the studs along the tray’s outer edges. Conditioning a leather tray that will be used in a moist and humid bathroom will help prevent cracking and deterioration.
Beveled Mirror Tray
A mirrored glass tray gives a bathroom an additional jewel-like layer. Susan Glick Interiors’ tray in a bathroom is classic and understated, echoing the beveled edge wall mirror. It’s completed with a bouquet of fresh white roses, a small photograph, and a few fragrance bottles.
Antique-Style Filigree Tray
Erika Brechtel’s lovely rectangular silver tray demonstrates how you can add a touch of the unique to your bathroom without changing anything else. The delicate silver filigree tray, the small decorative bottles, and the tiny ink print behind the tray all work together to create an irresistible antique-inspired vignette.
Gray Wooden Tray
Becki Owens’s simple but elegant tray is filled with everyday essentials such as makeup brushes, matches, hand towels, fragrances, and lotions. The brush jar and tissue box both feature a delicate, filigreed finish that adds visual interest and reflects the pattern on the wallpaper in this otherwise neutral bathroom. The tallest items are positioned in the back to ensure easy access to everything you need. Assure that any wood tray used in a bathroom is properly sealed to prevent moisture and humidity from penetrating.
Simple Wood Tray
100 Layer Cake demonstrates how quickly and easily a simple wooden tray can be styled with decorative jars, dried flowers, and a geode to instantly spruce up a bathroom. You may even have a similar unused tray waiting to be filled with grooming supplies in your home office or kitchen. This tray’s neutral color complements any bathroom, and its handles make it easy to move. Utilize opaque canisters to conceal less attractive items (such as utilitarian hair clips) that you still want close at hand.
Oval Pewter Tray
The surface of a toilet tank’s top is ideal for a storage tray. On the tank, a simple oval pewter tray is placed to hold a candle, fragrances, and lotions. A smaller tray, such as the one pictured here from The Order Obsessed, works best on top of a tank to avoid getting in the way.
Shallow Silver Tray
This shallow silver tray from Home 2 Me exudes a delicate elegance. Retro glass jars, apothecary bottles, and fresh flowers all work in unison to create an atmosphere of relaxation and luxury. This is the ideal setup for a bathroom with a more traditional style.
Mirrored Footed Tray
The tray complements the antique beveled mirror in this bathroom by Kara Mann. While the bathroom’s overall design is contemporary, the mirror and tray add a touch of glamour. The tray’s white and gold jars and boxes are well-chosen to complete the look. While footed trays prevent moisture from seeping in through the bottom, extra care should be taken to keep the counter beneath the tray clean and dry.
Tiered Tray
This rustic dream bathroom, which can be found on Happiness Is Homemade, features a lovely and functional multi-level tray for hand and finger towels, lotions, and other beauty items. This wood and metal tray organizes the space and provides additional storage space for smaller vanities.
Lacquer Chanel Tray
A splash of pink flowers nestled in a black lacquered Chanel tray adds color to Dresner Design’s modern monochrome bathroom. This tray pays homage to the owner’s passion for classic fashion brands and infuses a minimalist modern bathroom with bold personality.
Faux Python Tray
Try this faux python-patterned tray in an all-white bathroom for a glamorous and eclectic touch. A candle, hand lotion, and white roses are used to decorate the tray. On an all-white countertop, the vignette, which includes a framed black-and-white print, becomes a visual focal point.
Pretty Confectionery Tray
A vintage kitchen confectionery tray adds additional storage space and a touch of quirkiness to this bathroom. Sarah Joy styled this tray to hold everyday essentials like washcloths, soaps, and oils, as well as a bouquet of fresh flowers in a mason jar. Vintage style can also be delicate and dainty.
Hexagonal Aqua Tray
And if you thought only rectangle trays were attractive, think again: this hexagonal aqua tray, styled by Kyle Knight Design, is the quintessential bathroom original. It’s unexpected, the shape contrasts with the surrounding rectangles, and the color is subtle enough not to detract from the surrounding marble’s natural beauty. The coordinating pink flower vases create a delicate and symmetrical pink-and-green vignette.
