I urge you to ditch your trinket trays for something far more useful – why I swear by a ‘purse bowl’ to cure my chronically cluttered entryway instead
Big enough for all your daily essentials, chic enough to pass as decor, using a bowl in my entryway to house my clutter has elevated the space while making it more organized
I don’t know who decided four-by-four porcelain dishes were enough for real life, but they’ve clearly never met my entryway. Between the sunglasses in rotation, keys, and my beauty products that migrate with me wherever I go, the trinket tray never stood a chance.
Hence the 'purse bowl' – a term coined for a glorified vessel with the footprint of a small sculpture and the storage of a glove compartment to make my chronically cluttered entryway look more intentional.
Technically, it doesn’t have to be a bowl. This home organizing idea could be a box, a serving tray, a pedestal – anything with enough real estate to hold what itty bitty 'catchall' trays try to. Mine fits my wallet, headphones, four lip products, and a perfume oil, with room to spare for keys.
Professional organizers will tell you a designated ‘drop zone’ is an essential tidying method. The bag bowl just makes it…chicer. These are the daily pieces you actually want on display – hair ties, cash, the well-chosen novel you’re mid-way through – they read less junk drawer essentials and more stylishly curated clutter.
The throughline between the familiar trinket catchall and a full-on purse bowl is that both disguise clutter as decor. The latter just has the range to actually hold everything you need when running out the door – and guarantees you’ll never lose your keys again.
Ahead, nine vessels worthy of the 'purse bowl' title.
Show me people with organized living rooms and I’ll show you their marble tray. It’s a decorator’s cheat code on the coffee table, on the credenza, corralling coasters, matches, and even the ugly stuff like remotes. At fourteen inches long, it lets you spread out – and yes, despite being just $50, it is, in fact, real stone.
If you can’t hide the clutter, elevate it – literally. This footed bowl from Pottery Barn (currently on clearance) is your fast-track to a more mature mess. Toss in your keys, headphones, and assorted flotsam, then flank it with something crimson for a Wes Anderson–ish color contrast.
Decluttering becomes infinitely more appealing when the vessel in question is as glamorous as this high-shine, rust-colored CB2 number. Inspired by the ’80s Art Deco revival and crafted by Italian artisans, it turns your entryway drop zone into a design moment.
The simplest way to tame the most cluttered areas of the home? Get a bigger bowl. At thirteen inches across, this one can handle more than just keys and sunglasses (think winter scarves, a baseball cap, even yet-to-be-opened mail). The rounded wooden knobs make it charming enough to live in the middle of your dining table, so no excuses not to use it.
Sculpture first, storage second – though this stately ceramic stoneware bowl does both. Guests will clock it the second they walk in the entryway, and you’ll get a thrill every time you toss something inside. Bonus: it’s food safe, so you can trade your keys for popcorn or grapes when you feel like it.
If the idea of decluttering makes you feel overwhelmed, start small. A supple, low-lipped leather tray like Jenni Kayne’s will do the work for you. Slightly larger than a sheet of paper, it’s big enough to corral the chaos, and it will only get better with age, developing the kind of patina that makes you look like you’ve had it forever.
I once gifted a similar vintage-style box to one of my hardest-to-please friends, and four years later, he’s still bringing it up. This one has the same heirloom sparkle – a gem that earns a permanent spot on your console or desk and collects not just your things, but stories.
Why so serious? Add a hit of whimsy to your most cluttered surfaces with this stoneware bowl from Anthropologie, its glossy surface dotted with painted fruit. The cheerful little illustrations make the space between your 17 lip balms and the glaze feel all the sweeter. Choose between two colorways – crisp white-and-pink or the tonal green pictured here.
Finishing off with not just one purse bowl, but two. This Trellen set of asymmetric bowls nods to the wabi-sabi wave dominating right now, each with generous dimensions (the smaller measures roughly 20 by 9 inches; the larger, 24 by 9). No pile is too unruly. Style them as a pair – console and coffee table – or scatter one on a bookshelf and the other in the kitchen. Coordinated, curated, chaos – just the way I like it.
The purse bowl might not be a new concept, but it's changed the way I organize my entryway. I no longer have an array of trinket bowls within which I scatter the contents of my purse; instead, everything lives in this one chic space. I know where things are when I need them, and it's all easy to grab before I head out the door, too.
