Tray Chic

Do you own a cookie-cutter coffee table? Is there a spot on your ottoman? Is your side table barren?

Stop. Don't throw out your coffee table. Don't buy a slipcover for your ottoman. Don't buy a tchotchke for your table that will end up in your wastebasket in a matter of months.

Why not make it "tray chic?"

Trays are like concealer. They hide stains, lifeless fabrics, and superficial blemishs. They also add dimension and character to an otherwise boring object. (Try using them as a storage device, too -- stack books, place small ceramics or candlesticks, group wine or liquor bottles, or store wine glasses).

Here's some picks for some hot, new trays:

• Go transparent, retro with lucite

• Mirror, mirror on the wall

• A silver-mate

• Go bright and funky

• Take the bull by the horns

• Organize with valet trays

• Cork it

Found your tray? Now, that's tres chic.

It's a "Faux" Sure

Remember back when, when fake was a faux pas? With 7.6 million jobs lost in the Great Recession and the Dow Jones Industrial Average scared of hitting 10,000, faux is about the coolest thing around.

It's faux-fabulous; and here's some ways to bring it home (some and some may not break the bank).

• Jonathan Adler's Mock Croc End Table
• Z Gallerie's Faux Leather Crocodile Frames
• Target's Faux Letter Serving Tray
• Barney's Faux Python Frames
• Pottery Barn's Faux Fur Throw
• JCPenney's Faux Leather Chargers
• Cb2 Faux Pony Chair
  

Go faux it! PETA will probably even friend you.

Trending Twiggy

(ATTN: This has nothing to do with getting skinny.)

Have your shoes ever tracked some leaves inside? Or have you ever found a twig stuck to the fibers of your sweater after an autumn day outdoors? (Um, I have).

Well, now you don't have to feel like you sat in paint or spilled a bite of pasta down your shirt; it's actually stylish to bring a little bit of the outdoors --inside.

A replica of it, anyways.

Here's how to find your own branch, from mirror stands to magnifiers to side tables. (Use the hooks to hang thin-chained necklaces, so they don't kink; or put a selection of birch pillar candles in your fireplace for some wintertime warmth).

1. Twig magnifiers (Jayson Home & Garden)
   
2. Tree panels (JCPenney)
   
3. Twig mirror stand (Anthropologie)
   
4. Branch side table (West Elm)
   
5. Birch pillar candles (Pottery Barn)
   
6. Twig frames from Michael Aram
   

The best part: Fall lasts all year.

The Diamond Diet

Pear-shaped? Emerald-shaped? Cushion-cut, baby. As Mae West said, “I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.”

If only the sultry actress knew that diamonds aren't just for your ring finger anymore--ladies, you don't need a man to put your new pad on a diamond diet.

So, if your place is looking a little dull, try sprucing it up with a little sheen:

• Go glam on your desktop
• Rock-in' doorknobs
• A diamon-mite wine stopper?
• Put a little bling in cocktail hour
  
• Yes, even give a finish to your fridge
  
• Move over tinsel, my tree wants to twinkle
  

West approves. Eat all the carat sticks you want.