Dear P&P readers, you're in for a rare treat today...I'd like to introduce to you the author of my latest blog crush-- Divya of "Sound Horn Please". Yes, the lady with the vivacious, effervescent personality and I have decided to switch places for the day, so check out SHP for my post once you're done reading Divya's brilliant post on trays! Take it away Div........
Trays: Inane? You think?
Hello P&P readers! I author, scribble, post at Sound Horn Please. I am extremely kicked to be writing at one of my favourite Indian decor blogs today! When GB and I decided to do a blog swap, she emailed me with a wonderful idea for her post. Well, I came up with ummmm..... ahhhh…. errr…. trays! I didn’t even think the idea was worthy enough to run past GB. But the word ‘Trays’ festered and followed me around while I brushed, commuted to work, kept popping in when I was working and then I finally got back home and gave into my ’idea worm’. I promise that the rest of the post is solely dedicated to my ‘idea worm’ without any more of my ramblings (except for a few needed comments ;) )
Now we all know the traditional use of trays- Load beverages or food. Serve guests. Dump it back in the kitchen.
Or what every designer, professional and amateur, knows: place it on your center table and load coffee table books on it.
Want to get creative? Want to trail off the beaten track? How about buying some of that inexpensive peel-off or paint-on chalkboard and re-purposing your old wooden trays and turning it into your ‘Menu for the day’?
Or consider it art and hang it on your wall?
A little bit of handiwork and turn it into lovely tealight candle holders...
Or stick a photo on it and convert it into a gorgeous photo frame?
If it is an antique hand hammered copper or brass serving plate you’ve lugged from back home….
Just display it! 'Nuff said!
Or cram all your coasters or tiles into a tray and turn it into something innovative like the ones below.
I’m leaving you with some eye candy…..
….and a whiff of South India- Yes! That is ceramic stoneware that could almost fool you into thinking you are eating off a banana leaf !!
-Divya
Divya, thanks for the tray-riffic post (yup, undisputed queen of bad puns here! LOL!!!). I loved all those ideas but my fave has to be the tealight holder tray.
I. Want.
What about you, gentle reader? Which one of these will be making headway into those sweet dreams tonight?
PS: Don't you just love her? :D Thanks Divya! So here's how the blog swap works--I'm posting over at SHP today. Go check it out, and, in case you still haven't discovered her blog, be sure to peruse all the desi(gn) delights she's posted on thus far! TTFN!
What a fabulous idea to swap!!! I would get these if I ever served any one!!! Cool post though! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat Idea of Blog Swap - Divi and Gagan...:-)
ReplyDeletewhat lovely trays!! makes you want to pick all of them and bring them home....
Awesome eye candy ! i love the peel-off chalk board tray idea and the one with coasters pasted on it..
ReplyDeleteI have a brass bamboo tray and it is one of my favorite accessories in my home!
ReplyDeleteAwesome tray ideas...this post makes the humble tray look so versatile. Lovely post.
ReplyDeleteSo much fun and pleasure to look at your blog swaps, Divya.. and Gagan.. Divya, I loved the copper Taambaalam and the mock banana leaf best! one nice way of showcasing the plain round copper tray is to paint a rangoli design on it with copper parts shining through here and there..try it out!
ReplyDeleteI think "Trays" is a wonderful subject matter . I love all your choices, Divya. You know the ceramic banana leaf tray, we have them here in plastic :). I still love the real thing. You can buy them in bundles at the wet market here and I still think they make the most beautiful trays :)
ReplyDeleteI am popping over to read your post , G.
The banana leaf is funny, never seen before.
ReplyDeleteGreat ways to use the tray!
ReplyDeleteLoved the banana leaf and the copper plate.
Such a pretty post!! I have two plain ones.. Your post is giving me ideas to what I can do with them.. just need some energy to do it:))
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ReplyDeleteLovely post Divya...loved all of them especially the ones in the eye candy pic. but my fav is the one with blue coasters...I want.
ReplyDeleteOK, so this blog swap thing is a tres cool idea! Get it? Tres tray??? OK lets move on! No seriously what a great idea. Both vivacious prolific fabulous bloggers, and my fav is, HAS to be the hammered copper one! I want....
ReplyDeleteOh my.. I love all those trays.. they are lovely!! I absolutely love the colourful ones..
ReplyDeleteHa ha.. blog swap is awesome!! I've sent you a mail this morning.. about it as well... Sorry.. I was off blogger for a while and didnt see this.. :-)
Great Post!Who would have thought that trays could be so versatile.Thanks for the awesome pics.Both your guys rock..BIG TIME.
ReplyDeletesalivating on those brass trays! lovely.
ReplyDeleteA great post..trays have always been a fav with me as well. I love the candle idea & the chalkboard is a big weakness..so there :)
ReplyDeleteSuch great ideas all under one roof! This gotta be the post of the week for a reader like me. Wouldn't it be a great idea if you guys can also do some DIYs around trays? Now that you have teamed up. :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the swap idea and I must say I love so many of these items. Love the tea light idea and love the first tea set.
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool idea to swap blogs for a post. I love the kettles.
ReplyDelete@Padmaja: You are a person after my own heart! We do the rangoli paintings, back home, on brass/silver plates during pujas or other auspicious events :)
ReplyDelete@Susan- I'm going to stop commenting on how alike we are. But yes, you get the plastic ones in India too- don't like them. As I don't really get the real thing here, I will happily settle for a ceramic version :)
@Kamini: Given how hard it is to hand hammer- had to do it in metal embossing class years ago, good eye I would say!
@Bedazzled- I was kicked that you chose the DIY ones. Must be the shared Chennai-ness ;)
@Pree- Food for thought. But I would say Vineeta has that covered. And how!
@everybody else: Thank you girls!