Colour Crate / Hay
The HAY Colour Crate takes the industrial stacking crate and makes it fit a home or studio through colour and material discipline. It is moulded from 100% recycled post-consumer polypropylene, with a perforated grid that lets air through and lets you see what is inside without opening anything. The range runs across many sizes, from mini up to extra-large, plus square and cube formats, and because widths and lengths are shared they stack securely in mixed combinations; lids and wheels are available, and the crates fold flat when not in use. Colours span muted tones to bright primaries. A crate that looks right on a workshop shelf also looks right under a kitchen counter, which is the point of applying design attention to a format usually left purely utilitarian.
Design intent
- +Recycled polypropylene is an honest match to the job: the crate is built for rough handling, and the recycled material performs like virgin plastic while lowering its impact.
- +The perforated grid gives airflow and visibility at once, so contents stay legible from across a room, the main advantage over a closed box.
Trade-offs
- -The open grid offers no concealment and no dust protection; storage that needs to look tidy or stay clean wants a lid, sold separately.
- -Bright colourways read as visually loud in a pared-back room; the format announces itself more than neutral storage does.
The HAY Colour Crate takes the industrial stacking crate and makes it fit a home or studio through colour and material discipline. It is moulded from 100% recycled post-consumer polypropylene, with a perforated grid that lets air through and lets you see what is inside without opening anything. The range runs across many sizes, from mini up to extra-large, plus square and cube formats, and because widths and lengths are shared they stack securely in mixed combinations; lids and wheels are available, and the crates fold flat when not in use. Colours span muted tones to bright primaries. A crate that looks right on a workshop shelf also looks right under a kitchen counter, which is the point of applying design attention to a format usually left purely utilitarian.
Design intent
- +Recycled polypropylene is an honest match to the job: the crate is built for rough handling, and the recycled material performs like virgin plastic while lowering its impact.
- +The perforated grid gives airflow and visibility at once, so contents stay legible from across a room, the main advantage over a closed box.
Trade-offs
- -The open grid offers no concealment and no dust protection; storage that needs to look tidy or stay clean wants a lid, sold separately.
- -Bright colourways read as visually loud in a pared-back room; the format announces itself more than neutral storage does.