Cool Ashtrays: Eight That Earn a Place on the Table

"Cool ashtrays" is something a lot of people search for and very few results deserve. Most of what turns up is a steel dish with a logo or a novelty piece that stops being funny after a week. A cool ashtray should still look right on the table when nothing is burning in it. Here are eight from our collection that pass that test, and who each one is for.

Eight cool ashtrays worth keeping out

01. Chomp

Chomp is a tan bulldog crouched low with its jaws open. The mouth is the ashtray, which is the whole joke and also good design: the ash goes somewhere obvious and the dog looks like it is doing a job. If you want the full set, Chomp comes with Jaw in slate blue and Maw in black as The Pack. For: the person whose friends name their furniture.

02. Stomp

Stomp is a clog, cast in ceramic and glazed black, with a basin in the heel. It is the darkest piece we make. On a dark table it almost disappears; on a light one it reads as sculpture. It has a white twin, Slip, and the pair sells together as The Clogs. For: anyone who likes their humour dry.

03. Pinch

Pinch is a coral crab, claws splayed, with a domed lid. The lid is the practical part. Close it and the ash is out of sight, out of the breeze and out of the way. It is one of the few designs that is genuinely useful outdoors as well as good-looking indoors. For: balconies, terraces and people who hate the look of yesterday's ash.

04. Crater

Crater is a volcano in black ceramic: a peaked ridge, a hollowed crater, and an unglazed flank left rough on purpose. Ash goes in the top, which is about as on-the-nose as design gets. Its snow-capped sibling is Caldera. For: a coffee table that needs one object with some weight to it.

05. Club

Club is a playing card in glazed ceramic with the club suit raised proud. Flat, graphic and quiet, it is the one that goes on a desk or a bar counter without making a scene. There are four in the suit, so you can deal yourself a hand: Club, Spade, Ace and Diamond. For: card players, and people who like things a little wry.

06. Grasp

Grasp is a pair of cupped hands in gold-toned resin, fingers interlaced, palms hollowed to hold ash. It is the most sculptural piece in the collection and the one people pick up to look at. The pewter version is Gather. For: anyone who wants an ashtray that reads as an object first.

07. Rainbow

Rainbow is a multifaceted basin in pressed glass. In daylight it throws light around the table, which is the reason to own it. It is the cleanest-looking piece we make and the easiest to wipe. For: a sunny windowsill or a room that is mostly white.

08. Pool

Pool is a backyard swimming pool in ceramic, with painted tiles, a duck and a lifebuoy. The rim does the resting. It is painted by hand, so every one differs slightly from the last. It is also very hard to be in a bad mood near it. For: people who would rather be on holiday.

What makes an ashtray cool, anyway

We think it comes down to three things.

• It works. A proper well, a rest that holds a cigarette, a surface that wipes clean. A cool ashtray that tips ash onto the table is just a cool object in the wrong place.
• It has an idea. A dog that eats ash. A volcano that holds it. A pool you tap into. The best designs have one clear thought and commit to it.
• It survives being looked at. Novelty wears off. Form, colour and finish do not. If you would keep it out on a day you are not smoking, it is cool.

How to choose between them

If you are stuck, start with where the ashtray will live.

• Coffee table in a busy living room: Chomp or Crater. Both have enough presence to hold their own among books and remotes, and both have a deep, obvious place for the ash.
• Balcony or terrace: Pinch. The lid matters more outdoors than anything else on this list.
• Desk or bedside: Club. Flat, small in profile, and it does not crowd a lamp.
• A minimal, bright room: Rainbow, or another piece of pressed glass.
• A room that needs cheering up: Pool, or Stomp if your humour runs darker.
• A shelf, as an object: Grasp. It looks like it came from a gallery shop, and it reads well at eye level.

And if you are buying for someone else, pick the one that sounds like them. A cool ashtray is personal in a way that most homeware is not, because it sits right where they spend their downtime.

Keeping it looking good

The coolest ashtray in the world looks sad when it is full. Empty it daily, rinse it in warm soapy water, and dry it before it goes back. Glazed ceramic and glass clean up in a minute; the hand-painted pieces like Pool just want a softer cloth and no scourer. Our cleaning guide covers every material.

Buying more than one

A single piece is ₹1,500. Take two and they are ₹1,250 each; take three or more and they drop to ₹1,000 each, applied automatically in the cart, mixed across any designs. There are also ready-made pairs and trios if you would rather not choose. Shipping is a flat ₹250 anywhere in India, with cash on delivery available.

If none of these eight is quite right, the whole collection is on the products page, and our guide to funny ashtrays picks out the ones with the best jokes.