Aesthetic Ashtrays for Your Room

An aesthetic ashtray is one that belongs in the room even when nobody is smoking. It sits on the coffee table next to the books and the candle and looks chosen, not tolerated. Getting there is less about buying the most expensive piece and more about colour, shape and where you put it. Here is how we think about it.

What makes an aesthetic ashtray

Three things, mostly.

It fits the palette. The ashtray picks up a colour that is already in the room, or deliberately contrasts with it.
It has a clear shape. A recognisable silhouette, whether a square, a heart or a crab, reads as an object. A generic round dish reads as a utensil.
It is clean. No styling survives a full ashtray. Empty it, wipe it, and it stays decor.

Choosing by colour

Our marbled ceramic squares are the easiest place to start, because the same shape comes in ten colourways. Pick the one that matches the room.

Soft and pastel. Nebula is a pink and violet swirl; Blush is cream with thin rust veins. Both suit pale walls, linen and light wood.
Green and earthy. Sage and Moss. Put them near plants and they look like they grew there.
Warm. Lava in molten orange, or Timber in oak grain. Good on dark wood or rattan.
Monochrome. Storm in black with white veins, or Mist in grey-veined white. For black-and-white rooms and concrete.
A little glamour. Gilt is white splashed with gold. Cosmos is midnight with teal and garnet flecks.

Two squares side by side look better than one. That is why we sell pairs like Nebula & Cosmos and Storm & Moss.

Cute ashtray, or chic?

Some rooms want charm. A cute ashtray brings a bit of personality into a space that is otherwise quite serious.

Egg, a hand-painted fried egg with a domed gold yolk.
Pool, a tiny backyard pool with a duck and a lifebuoy.
Pinch, a coral crab with a domed lid.
Sex, a bone-coloured heart that asks "cigarettes after what?".

Other rooms want restraint. For chic, go for clear or smoked glass (Lucid, Smoke), real marble (Onyx, Veil) or the flat graphic playing cards. They work in minimal rooms because they add form without adding noise.

Where to put it

The coffee table ashtray

The coffee table is where an ashtray does most of its work as home decor. Style it as part of a group: a stack of two or three books, a candle or small vase, and the ashtray. Odd numbers look natural. Place the ashtray slightly off-centre, within easy reach of the sofa, on a tray if the table is glass or delicate wood. A heavier piece such as a marble square or the volcano Crater anchors the arrangement.

The bedside or desk

Smaller and flatter is better. The playing cards (Ace, Club, Spade, Diamond) sit neatly next to a lamp without crowding it. Doubled up, they also work as catch-alls for rings and keys.

The shelf

A shelf is where the sculptural pieces earn their keep. A bulldog, a clog, a pair of cupped hands. Put one at eye level between books and it reads as an object, not a utility.

The balcony

Different rules apply outdoors: weight, a deep well and ideally a lid. Our guide to the best ashtray for a balcony covers it.

Working with Indian interiors

A lot of Indian homes mix materials freely: brass, cane, teak, terracotta, block-printed textiles, marble floors. An aesthetic ashtray should join that mix rather than fight it.

Brass and warm wood: amber glass like Honey or Surge, or the gold-toned resin hands, Grasp. Warm on warm.
Terracotta and plants: the green squares, Sage and Moss, or the coral crab, Pinch.
White marble floors and pale walls: a dark piece for contrast, like Storm or the black volcano Crater.
Bold prints and colour: let the textiles be the pattern and choose something calm, such as clear glass or a plain card.

Light changes everything

Where light falls matters more than people think. Glass wants a window: in daylight, a faceted piece throws small patches of light across the table. Glazed ceramic looks richest under warm lamp light in the evening, when the glaze picks up reflections. Marble looks best in soft, even light that shows the veining without glare. If the ashtray lives in a dark corner, choose something with a light glaze or a strong colour so it does not disappear.

Styling mistakes to avoid

Too small for the table. A tiny ashtray on a large table looks lost. Scale up, or group it with other objects.
Too many competing statement pieces. If the room already has a loud sculpture, choose a quieter ashtray.
Matching everything. One contrasting colour is more interesting than a perfect match.
Leaving it full. A beautiful ashtray full of butts is still a full ashtray.

For non-smokers, too

Plenty of people buy our pieces and never put ash in them. A marbled square makes a good ring dish, a key tray or a place for incense. A hand-painted piece like Swirl is just a nice object. If it looks good in the room, it has done its job.

Every piece is ₹1,500, less when you take two or three. Browse by colour and shape on the Unconventional collection, or see everything.