Fir Key Tray for entryway
We recently splurged on a small, seemingly unimportant item: a key storage receptacle. I feel that simple, elegant solutions to reduce clutter are often overlooked in a home. In our tiny space, this is extremely important. I always get a peculiar feeling when I look at people's lived-in, recently renovated places: I start worrying about the possible clutter at our future home.
Living by myself in an apartment overseas has made myself hyper-aware of my lifestyle preferences and habits. One of the things which I already knew about myself is my high tendency to forget where I leave things, and this is exacerbated by my habit of leaving things wherever convenient. To prevent this, I need a permanent spot for most things, even items used daily, like keys. In my rental apartment here, I have solved this easily by using a 3M Command plastic hook on the wall to hang my keys.
However, I always want the most elegant solution possible for my dream home. Enter Brian's fir key tray from Urbancase, which cost us US$88.50 including shipping. Bit pricey for a small block of wood (albeit hand-carved).
The tray just arrived today. The workmanship is fairly good, varnished on all sides that matter (all the sides not against the wall or facing the floor). However, the varnish is slightly sticky and I am a little concerned that it will trap dust particles on it over time. I can't judge its functionality yet as I have to wait another 1.5 years for my home to be ready.
It is quite a bit larger than I thought it would be: roughly 30cm in length. I hope it doesn't overwhelm its surroundings! It seems like a lot of things I purchase in the US tend to be a lot bigger than expected (like the Portland lantern I purchased earlier). I am slightly disappointed in the size, and can only pray hard it doesn't diminish the space in my home.
Note on my purchase: I did search around for other key trays, but found mostly hook type key storage rather than trays. Trays are visually neater, and go better with my entryway hooks for bags and jackets. This was by far the most minimalistic and elegant design I found in a suitable size.
