decorate

I can’t even begin to explain my love of a good tray. They serve a million different functions. We use vintage bamboo trays when we are having BBQs so our guests can hold all their refreshments. I use them to help corral toys around our house - they are especially helpful when playing with play-doh or coloring and we are going between the kitchen and the playroom. I also keep one at my front door so I can throw all my junk in it during the week and then take it around the house with me at the end of the week and put all the items where they belong.

But the best use for a tray, in my opinion, is to help draw the eye to a collection. Just like an area rug helps pull the room together, a well placed tray will help pull the decor of your table together.

Have yall seen the HBO Documentary “Nothing Left Unsaid where the social icon, Gloria Vanderbilt, is interviewed by her son, Anderson Cooper. I am constantly drawn to it and seem to watch it every few months. I am positively in awe and fascinated by Gloria Vanderbilt. Her innocence, style, love and honesty is positively charming. You can tell through the hardships she has endured that she has done a tremendous amount of soul searching and is such a strong woman.

(And as a mother of a son, it is about the most precious thing ever to watch how much Anderson not only loves but ADORES his mother.)

One of the things you learn in this conversation is how she uses her art as a form of therapy. One of her most striking mediums is what she calls “Dream Boxes” where she assembles these fabulous acrylic boxes with items to display an emotion or tell a story.

This one stopped me in my tracks.