Trays are the hidden gems of home décor. Large or small, wooden or metallic, there is a tray to suit all your styling and entertaining needs.

Here are five ways you can use trays in your interior design:

1. As a dining table centre piece – a tray can be a great addition to your tablescape. It can contain your centre piece or many of your design elements. If you have a tablecloth, using a tray as a base for your decorative accessories is a practical choice too – you can just lift the tray off the table when you need to change your linen!

2. On a coffee table – I love the use of trays on coffee tables. It just looks so stylish. If you have a large tray, consider decorating it with a bud vase, a scented candle, coasters and a book / magazine. The tray keeps everything organised and looking gorgeous!

3. Decorative Accessories – Trays are the perfect way to display your most treasuered decorative accessories. Pop ceramic eggs in them for Easter, mini pumpkins in the autumn and beautiful glass baubles at Christmas. A winner year-round!

4. Kitchen Organisation – How many times have you taken your dining accessories (salt and pepper, napkins, cutlery etc) from one place to another? A tray can help you with this task and also give these items a beautiful home when they are not in use.

5. In bedroom design - I don’t know about you, but I use a fair amount of skin care and make-up products. I don’t really want to store them in a drawer, but I also want to avoid chaos on my dressing table! A tray is the perfect solution - allowing you to keep things to hand without ruining your zen bedroom design.

Here's to celebrating trays in interior design!