Grovemade Keyboard Tray and Trackpad Tray for Mac review

June 15, 2015

Grovemade's new accessories for the Mac add some warmth and comfort to your office setup.

Apple's austere, minimalist design aesthetics can leave your office feeling a bit cold and sterile. Grovemade is bucking to change that with a line of hand-crafted wood accessories it makes in Portland, Oregon. The company's latest effort, the Trackpad Tray, is designed for Apple's Magic Trackpad, and it's the perfect complement to Grovemade's Keyboard Tray.

The Keyboard Tray and Trackpad Tray are both part of Grovemade's Desk Collection, a series of accessories that include a laptop stand, a monitor stand (also suitable for iMacs), mouse pad, wrist pad and other desk accessories.

The Keyboard Tray fits the Apple Wireless Keyboard perfectly. Underneath the keyboard is room for spare AA batteries, business cards, paper clips, pens, and other things. An aluminum base complements the aluminum construction of the Mac superbly. The cutouts under the keyboard and the bottom of the tray itself are lined with cork. The tray is designed to enable you to simply pivot the keyboard up to access the gear underneath.

The Keyboard Tray measures 11.8 inches long and 6.2 inches deep. it's angled to help maintain the standard pitch of the Apple Wireless Keyboard, though it does raise the keyboard slightly.

The Trackpad Tray is cut from the exact same cloth as the Keyboard Tray. It's reinforced with aluminum and uses the trackpad as a lid to hide space underneath for two extra batteries. Other small items can rest in a cork-lined pocket. Just like the Keyboard Tray, the Trackpad Tray is cork-lined on the bottom to help protect your desk surface.

Like other Grovemade products, the Keyboard Tray and the Trackpad Tray are available in either walnut (darker) or maple (lighter). Walnut is pictured here.

Grovemade's products aren't cheap, but they are very well-crafted. This isn't cheap Ikea-style particle board and melamine. It's solid wood, sourced locally in Oregon, hand-sanded and filed, oiled and waxed to bring out the natural finish.

At $99 and $69 respectively, the Keyboard Tray and Trackpad Tray are not inexpensive. But they're gorgeous, well-crafted gear that adds a warmth and natural touch to your Mac office that is well worth the price.

Keyboard Tray