How to Store Pens by Color (Pretty, Not Overdone)

There is a distinct kind of mental clarity that comes from sitting down at a desk where everything has a home. As an interior designer and architect, I often see home offices that treat stationery as an afterthought, tossing expensive markers and pens into a chaotic “junk drawer” that creates friction every time you try to work. Organizing writing instruments by color isn’t just an aesthetic choice found on social media; it is a functional strategy to reduce visual noise and improve workflow efficiency.

However, there is a fine line between a curated, professional display and a setup that looks like a kindergarten art station. The goal is to create a system that is sophisticated, accessible, and grounded in good design principles. If you are looking for visual inspiration to guide your organization, you can find our curated Picture Gallery at the end of this blog post.

In this guide, we will move beyond basic plastic cups. We will explore the ergonomics of desk organization, the impact of materials on your space, and how to maintain a system that works for real life—including homes with clumsy pets and busy schedules.

1. The Evidence-Based Case for Color Blocking

You might wonder if sorting pens by color is worth the effort, but Evidence-Based Design (EBD) suggests that our environment profoundly impacts our cognitive performance. When visual clutter is high, our brains have to work harder to filter out unnecessary information, which drains mental energy. By grouping items by color, you create “visual chunks.”

This “chunking” reduces the cognitive load required to find a specific tool. Instead of scanning a pile of thirty mixed pens to find a red editing pen, your brain instantly maps to the red zone. This saves microseconds of frustration that add up over the course of a workday.

From a mood perspective, color organization brings a sense of rhythm to a room. However, to keep it “pretty and not overdone,” you must avoid the rainbow effect if it clashes with your room’s palette. We want to use color blocking to create order, not to create a distraction.

Designer’s Note: The “Visual Quiet” Rule

When I design home offices, I apply the concept of “visual quiet.” If a client has a collection of 100 pens in neon colors, displaying them all creates visual volume that can be stressful. In this case, we might display only the black, white, and metallic pens, while storing the vibrant colors in a drawer organizer. You do not have to display everything you own.

2. Assessing Inventory and Editing Your Collection

Before buying a single container, you must perform a ruthless edit. Physical clutter creates mental clutter. Dump every pen, marker, and highlighter you own onto a large surface like your dining table or a clean section of the floor.

Test every single one. If a pen scratches, skips, or is dried out, it must go immediately. If you have promotional pens from a dentist you visited in 2015 that you hate writing with, donate or recycle them. You should only store tools that function well and feel good in your hand.

Once you have your functional set, group them by broad color categories. Do not get too granular yet. Start with these piles:

• Blues and Greens (Cool tones)
• Reds, Oranges, Pinks, Yellows (Warm tones)
• Blacks, Greys, and Whites (Neutrals)
• Metallics and miscellaneous

Common Mistakes + Fixes

Mistake: Trying to sort by exact shade (e.g., separating cerulean from navy).
Fix: Unless you are a professional illustrator, broad color families look better and are easier to maintain. When you are rushing to clean up, you want to toss a blue pen into the “blue jar,” not agonizing over whether it is teal or turquoise.

3. Selecting the Right Vessels: Scale and Materiality

The difference between a cheap-looking setup and a designer look often comes down to the vessel. As an architect, I look at the “weight” of an object. Clear acrylic is popular because it disappears visually, but it can also look flimsy if the acrylic is too thin.

Material Guidelines

Ceramic: This is my preferred choice for hiding visual clutter. If your pens are a mix of brands with ugly logos, opaque ceramic tumblers hide the messy barrels and only show the colored caps. This creates a much cleaner look.

Heavy Glass: Use weighted glass with a thick base. This adds a sense of permanence and luxury. Look for “double old fashioned” glasses or heavy votive holders rather than cheap office supply cups.

Wood and Stone: Marble or travertine cups add texture and organic elements to a desk, which can ground a modern tech-heavy workspace. Wood brings warmth but ensure it is sealed so ink leaks don’t stain the grain.

Scale and Proportion

The container must relate to the object it holds.

• Standard Pen Height: Most pens are between 5.5 and 6 inches long.
• Ideal Vessel Height: Your container should be roughly 3.5 to 4 inches tall.
• The Rule of Thirds: You want about two-thirds of the pen inside the cup and one-third sticking out. If the cup is too tall, you fish for the pen. If it is too short, the pens splay out messily and can tip the container over.

Pet-Friendly Design Considerations

If you have cats, an open cup of pens on a desk edge is a disaster waiting to happen. Cats are drawn to the rattle of plastic and the ability to knock things over.

• The Fix: Use heavy stone or marble vessels that a cat cannot nudge.
• The Alternative: If your pet is a chewer, skip the desktop display entirely. Use horizontal drawer organizers or lidded acrylic boxes. It keeps the animal safe from ingesting plastic or toxic ink and keeps your floors clean.

4. Layout and Ergonomics: The Reach Zones

Where you place your color-coded storage is just as important as how it looks. In ergonomics, we talk about “reach zones.”

Primary Reach Zone

This is the semi-circle reachable with your elbows at your sides (usually within 12–15 inches of the desk edge). Only keep the pens you use daily here. For most people, this is a single cup of black or blue writing pens.

Secondary Reach Zone

This is the area reachable by extending your arm fully (roughly 20–25 inches). This is where your color-coded collection should live. It is visible and accessible, but not cluttering your immediate typing or writing space.

Grouping the Vessels

Do not line up ten cups in a straight soldier row against the wall; this looks rigid and institutional. Instead, cluster them.

• The Triangle Rule: Group three containers in a loose triangle shape.
• Use a Tray: This is the number one trick designers use to make clutter look intentional. Place your jars of sorted pens on a low-profile tray (leather, lacquer, or wood). The tray frames the collection, making it look like one cohesive unit rather than several scattered cups.

5. Styling Strategies: The “Not Overdone” Look

To ensure your color sorting looks sophisticated, you need to manage the color palette of the pens themselves in relation to the room.

The Ombré Effect

If you are using clear containers, arrange the pens inside so the ink colors face outward or create a gradient. This requires maintenance but looks stunning. However, for a lower-maintenance approach, simply grouping “Warm” in one cup and “Cool” in another is sufficient.

The Neutral Buffer

If you have a neutral room (whites, beiges, oaks), bright yellow and red pens can be jarring. Use a “buffer” container. Place a container of black or grey pens between the colorful containers and the rest of the decor. This acts as a visual bridge.

What I’d Do in a Real Project: A Mini Checklist

If I were styling a client’s home office today, this is the exact process I would follow:

• Step 1: Select 3 matching ceramic tumblers in a matte finish (white or charcoal).
• Step 2: Place them on a rectangular leather tray to anchor them to the desk.
• Step 3: Sort pens into three categories: Essentials (Black/Blue), Editing (Red/Orange/Pink), and Creative (Greens/Blues/Purples).
• Step 4: Place the tray on the left side of the desk (for a right-handed client) in the secondary reach zone to keep the mouse area clear.
• Step 5: Check lighting. Ensure direct sunlight isn’t hitting the pens, as UV rays degrade plastic casings and dry out ink.

6. Horizontal vs. Vertical Storage

While vertical cups are the most common “pretty” way to store pens, they are not always the best functional choice for the ink.

Felt Tip and Markers: Many manufacturers recommend storing dual-tip markers horizontally. This ensures the ink stays distributed to both ends. If you store them vertically, one tip may dry out while the other becomes oversaturated and messy.

If you must store markers horizontally for longevity, you can still color code! Use clear stackable acrylic drawers or a desktop wine rack cubby system. You can stack the blue markers in the top slot, reds in the middle, and greens at the bottom. This preserves the life of the art supply while maintaining the visual sort.

Gel and Ballpoint Pens: These generally prefer to be stored vertically with the tip down, or horizontally. If you store a ballpoint pen tip-up for years, gravity pulls the ink away from the ball, creating air bubbles that stop it from writing.

7. Finish & Styling Checklist

Before you consider the project done, run through this final checklist to ensure the setup is durable and practical.

• Shake Test: Bump your desk table. Do the cups rattle or slide? If so, add small silicone bumpers or museum wax to the bottom of the vessels.
• Visual Scan: Step back to the doorway. Do the pen cups look like clutter from a distance? If yes, move them to a shelf or inside a cabinet, or switch to opaque containers.
• Capacity Check: Are the cups stuffed so tight you can’t pull one pen out without lifting three others? Remove 20% of the pens. Storage needs breathing room.
• Lighting Check: Is a desk lamp pointing directly at the plastic containers? Heat can warp acrylic and dry out pens. Adjust the angle.

FAQs

Q: How do I handle pens that are multi-colored or have busy patterns on the outside?
A: These are the “visual noise” offenders. I usually test them first. If they are amazing to write with, I store them in an opaque ceramic cup so I don’t have to see the busy patterns. If they are just average pens, they go into a drawer organizer, not the desktop display.

Q: Is it better to store pens cap-up or cap-down?
A: For aesthetics, cap-up usually looks better because the caps indicate the color. However, strictly for ink flow, ballpoints do better tip-down. I recommend prioritizing function: if you use them daily, store them tip-down. If they are for occasional display, cap-up is fine. Note: Never store felt tips tip-down without a cap, obviously, but even with a cap, gravity can cause them to leak into the lid.

Q: How do I keep dust out of the cups?
A: Open storage collects dust. It is an unavoidable fact of interior design. I recommend emptying the cups once a month and wiping the inside with a microfiber cloth. If you have allergies or hate dusting, switch to a seductive set of acrylic drawers or a lidded box.

Q: Can I mix brands in one cup?
A: Yes, provided you group by color family. However, try to keep heights relatively similar. A 4-inch mini marker gets lost in a cup full of 7-inch brush pens. Grouping by scale is just as important as grouping by color.

Conclusion

Storing pens by color is more than a satisfying organizational hack; it is a design choice that prioritizes cognitive ease and workflow. By choosing the right materials, respecting the ergonomics of your workspace, and editing your collection down to the essentials, you can create a system that serves you rather than distracts you.

Remember that your home office should feel like a space capable of holding your best ideas. When your tools are respected and organized, you approach your work with a different level of intentionality. Start with a purge, choose vessels that have weight and presence, and enjoy the calm that comes from a well-ordered desk.

Picture Gallery