turning tray

teak frame, dual-tone laminate

Finn Juhl designed the Turning Tray in 1956 as a considered alternative to silver platters and cheap plastic — a tray that belonged in neither category. The curved teak frame and precise corner joints are built to his exact specifications, no screws or bolts, the wood doing all the structural work. The tray is reversible: one side always black, the other in color. You choose which version the day calls for.

The original trays are on display at Juhl’s house museum in Charlottenlund, Denmark. Architectmade reissued them from his original drawings, following his specifications down to the choice of colors and the corner detail that makes picking it up without handles feel completely natural. Juhl entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen without any background as a craftsman. What he brought instead was an artist’s eye and a precise understanding of how objects should feel in use.

selected because it is the object in the collection most likely to be mistaken for a piece of art — and it is also just a very good tray.