Bedside Tray

For me, a nightstand is an essential thing to have next to my side of the bed. I use it to set my alarm clock on and a bedside lamp. I also like my nightstand to have a drawer because I usually read a bit before I go to sleep and so I like to put my book in the drawer (otherwise my cat might nibble on it… seriously). One thing I didn’t have on my nightstand but wished I did was a little tray or bowl to place jewelry in if I forgot to take it off before I went to bed.

Please tell me you have done this before. You are all ready for bed, you crawl in, turn the lamp off, lay your head on the pillow, and then realize you still have earrings in. What do I do when that happens? If I’m not being lazy I turn on the light and go put them in my jewelry box. But if I’m being lazy (which is normally the case) I set them on the nightstand. And then, the next morning I forget about them. Eventually, my cat will find them and play with them, usually in the middle of the night, which may or may not wake me up, and they end up on the floor. Thankfully, I have always spotted them before they have gotten sucked up by the vacuum but theoretically, that could happen. I needed a solution!

One day while wandering around at Goodwill, I can across this ugly little tray:

Well, I think it’s ugly :) But it was only 29 cents and I figured for that price I could make it cute. All it took was a little spray paint and it turned into a gem!

First, I taped it all up so I would only be painting the blue parts.

I chose Krylon gold because my nightstands are silver and I have been mixing gold and silver in the bedroom anyway. I wanted this little guy to stand out.

As soon as it was dry, I ran upstairs to put it on my nightstand.

I also recently bought this cute little bowl at Anthropologie. I’m not sure its actual intended use since it’s sort of a bowl within a bowl but it works perfect for what I wanted. So the little bowl went on the tray onto my nightstand.

And it works perfect. I have already thrown a pair of earrings in there where they sat for a few days with no disturbances from the cat. Safe and sound from the cat and the vacuum!

Yay for objects that are functional and pretty. Don’t you love those kind?