“Trayscaping” Is the Tiny Decor Trend That Makes Any Room Look Instantly Elevated

Does your living room feel a little lackluster? Are you unhappy with your coffee table, or hoping to make your kitchen island more of a “wow” moment for guests? There’s a design solution that is rather small, but super impactful: a display tray. It’s a trick designers use for a curation moment that turns heads (and provides personality, too!). 

Now coined “trayscaping” by pros, this mini decorating trend helps you pull together gorgeous displays that look neat and serve as an extension of your personal style. And as soon as you start working trays into your designs, everything else seems to fall into place.

Trays give your personal mementos and accessories a place to live — and instantly make a room look more curated (even if it’s just necessities, like a bottle of hand soap and a sponge!). Just as a perfect vase frames a floral arrangement to truly shine, trays are the perfect vessel to host a bouquet of beautiful things.

Start by finding a tray that you love. It can be any shape, height, material, or color — just make sure it’s large enough to make an impact on the surface you’re working on, but not so large that you’re left with zero surface space.

Natural materials could be a great place to start. Marble, wicker, wood, or metal provide a great neutral base that you can build on.

Then, arrange your display using objects of various heights and textures (it shouldn’t look visually uniform!). Experiment with tall vases, candlesticks, or lamps paired with wider, shorter bowls, lanterns, or trinkets. You can stack books to help add height and interest.

If your tray is placed up against a wall, you can even work artwork into the space to give your display a fun background.

Trayscaping not only keeps your display items looking more intentional, but corralling items using a tray also cuts down on the visual noise that could be making your home look and feel more cluttered. 

Apartment Therapy editors have also previously covered using trays to help create more function in each room. If you’re hoping to eat more fruits, for example, a trayscape can be a visual reminder to do so; the same can be said for journaling, for example, if it lives in a beautiful tray on your bedside table with pens, candles, and a mood light.

Give trayscaping a try in your home and watch your disjointed centerpieces and displays come together in a snap. Sometimes, decor items just need a landing spot to call home.