9. Elegant Leather Valet Trays
A leather valet tray is a timeless, functional accessory that adds an organized, sophisticated touch to any nightstand, dresser, or entryway table. It serves as the perfect catch-all for your daily essentials, such as keys, watches, rings, and wallets. Working with leather is highly rewarding, and this project requires only basic leathercraft tools to achieve a professional, store-bought finish.
To make a valet tray, you will need a piece of thick, vegetable-tanned leather (about 4 to 5 ounces in weight), a rotary cutter or utility knife, a metal ruler, a leather hole punch, and heavy-duty metal snaps or rivets. Cut a neat rectangle or square out of your leather sheet, such as an 8×8 inch square. If you wish, you can bevel and burnish the raw edges of the leather using a wood slicker for a highly polished, professional look. To transform the flat leather sheet into a tray, you need to pinch the four corners together to create raised walls. Punch holes through the overlapping corners, then secure them permanently using metal rivets, or install metal snap fasteners if you want the option to lay the tray completely flat for travel. You can also personalize the leather by stamping your initials into the center using a metal stamping kit, or applying a rich leather stain to darken the natural tone.