Serve up some style with pretty — and practical — pieces.
Your New Year’s Eve party is the perfect chance to show off special serveware and update your kitchen with a cool new platter or tray.
Lorna Aragon, home editor at Martha Stewart Living, suggests using pretty trays to organize your bar. “On top of a side table or buffet, put your liquor bottles on one and glasses on another,” she says. “This creates visual interest and also makes cleaning easy.”
The Rosanna Inc. Jet Setter Tray Greek Key in Pink & Gold ($46 at rosannainc.com) would serve a bar beautifully, or could even act as the anchor piece of art on a mantel display.
The Nambé Braid Serving Tray ($150 at Macy’s) would also be a handsome bar piece, or could be employed as a serving platter with its braided, chrome-plated handles.
Aragon’s go-to trays are the West Elm White Rim Lacquer Trays ($34–$44). “They make them in different colors every year, they come in different shapes, and they’re a great basic,” she says.
For artistic types, head to the Museum of Modern Art’s online shop, where there’s a collection of trays printed with motifs from the archives of artists and designers, such as the Alexander Girard Diamonds Large Tray ($75). Paola Navone’s Fish & Fish Small Fish Dish ($18, both at store.moma.org) is inspired by green, Depression-era glass.
Aerin’s Modern Shagreen Cocktail Tray ($395 at aerin.com) is an elegant, oval piece in chocolate or cream, trimmed with brass.
The Waterworks Canyon Drive Large Wood Pedestal ($550 at waterworks.com) is made of black walnut and ebonized oak, trimmed with sleek slivers of brass.
Give serveware a different purpose, and you’ve got a real conversation piece. The acacia-wood Kate Spade Wooden Round Cutting Board ($30), with bright blue trim, could display colorful fruits. Or put a group of candles or a tangle of fairy lights on the Kate Spade Raise a Glass Serving Tray ($48, both at katespade.com), a round serving tray with a bold graphic ampersand, for a contemporary centerpiece.