Cavendish Lacquer Trays, Set of Two

These are large. 56cm is well beyond a typical decorative tray.

Check your coffee table before ordering. At 56cm the large tray occupies most of the width of a 120cm table, so if you want it as a styling piece rather than a serving one, the small is usually the better choice.

They nest for storage, so the pair takes the cupboard space of one when not in use.

The 6cm rim is deep enough to matter. A shallow lip lets a glass slide off when you turn a corner; this one does not.

Handles cut through the rim rather than added on.

Most trays either have no handles at all or have them fixed on, which is where they work loose. Here the handles are cut straight through the raised sides, so there is no join, nothing to detach and nothing projecting beyond the footprint. The tray stays a clean oval whether you are carrying it or looking at it.

The high-gloss burgundy lacquer is the other half. Deep enough to reflect the room, and a proper wine red rather than a bright one, so it reads as considered rather than loud.

Burgundy is also an unusually useful colour for a tray. Most are natural, black or metallic. A deep red gives a neutral room a single strong note without committing to a coloured piece of furniture, and it works particularly well through autumn and at Christmas without being seasonal.

The oval shape softens a coffee table full of rectangles, and it is easier to carry than a rectangular tray of the same area because the ends taper into the hands.

• Handles cut through the rim, with no join to work loose
• High-gloss burgundy lacquer, deep enough to reflect the room
• Genuinely large, so they carry rather than just decorate
• A 6cm rim, deep enough to stop a glass sliding
• Oval, which softens a table full of straight lines
• They nest, so the pair stores in the space of one
• A colour almost no other tray offers, useful in a neutral room
• Two sizes, one for serving and one for styling

On a coffee table or a console, a tray contains the objects that would otherwise spread. Candle, small bowl, a stack of two books. The small size suits this; the large is usually too much of the surface.

It earns its keep when people are over. A full coffee service or drinks for four, carried in one trip, which a 35cm tray will not manage.

A deep burgundy is a strong note in a neutral room. Do not pair it with another saturated colour on the same surface; let it be the single point of interest against timber, linen and stone.

One other reflective thing nearby, a mirror or a glazed vessel, so the lacquer does not sit alone as the only shine in a matt room.

A glossy surface under a table lamp picks up the light and doubles it. On a dark sideboard in the evening that is worth having.

Never submerge them or put them in a dishwasher. These are MDF under lacquer, so water reaching the core will swell it and lift the finish permanently. This is the one thing that will ruin them.

Wipe clean with a damp cloth, dried straight after, and a dry microfibre cloth for fingerprints.

A high-gloss finish shows everything. Fingerprints, dust and water spots are all more visible than they would be on a matt tray. That is the trade for the depth of the polish.

Nothing abrasive. A scourer will dull a lacquer permanently and leave a matt patch that cannot be polished out.

Use coasters on the tray if drinks are standing on it for any length of time. A wet glass base will mark a lacquered surface over time.

Check with us before using them for food. A lacquered decorative finish is not automatically food safe, and it is worth a message rather than an assumption. Serving crockery and glassware on them is not a concern; food placed directly on the surface might be.

The set ships nested and packed together. Current timescales and charges are set out on our delivery page.

Not sure whether 56cm suits your table, or whether they are right for food? Ask us. Reach us via our contact page or live chat.

If they are not right, our returns process is straightforward, and everything is covered by our guarantees and warranties.

Our price match promise stands if you find the same piece for less elsewhere. Fitting out a hotel or a holiday let? Ask about trade accounts.