An Antique Trunk With History
by
Marcela Pena
3 Materials
Some time ago I received an email from a lady who wanted to sell some old stuff. I chose what seemed interesting for me, and this old trunk was among the pieces I brought. The lady explained it was about 100 years old, and it had come from Italy as her grandmas luggage after World War I
I always clean and sand pieces before starting to work. When I sanded this trunk, look what came up:
One of the sides had this inscription revealed: John M. Norris, Buenos Aires, Argentina. I wrote to the lady asking who this person was, because it was not an Italian name. She didnt know anything about a John Norris, and the name remained a mystery for some time. But that is the end of the story! I will show you what I did with the trunk before...
The surface was damaged. I couldnt do anything tidy and nice with this. And it was impossible to peel it. So I had to cover it somehow
Have you ever worked with "cartapesta"? It consists of small squares of rough paper, something like grocery paper ( papel madera in my language) glued one over the other until you cover the whole surface. Paper and glue together make a solid mixture and it is very useful to cover any uneven surface.
After cartapesta was completely dry, I painted all sides in a creamy colour. Once again I used cardboard (painted and varnished) to create divisions on the lid. Like this:
I printed an antique label in my home computer ( got it from the interesting site The graphics Fairy) and transferred to the front using copy paper
I wanted to leave testimony of that mysterious name, so I printed it as well, as if it were the name of an antiques shop.
Hand painted frame and words...
and here you can see the finished label.
Look at the finished old trunk makeover. It was nice and tidy now, ready to be used as decor in any corner!
After I finished the whole work, I received a new mail from the lady who sold it to me. She said she had made inquiries in the family and found out that the trunk didnt belong to her grandma but to a grand aunt. She had worked as a maid for an American diplomat, John Norris, who was assigned to Buenos Aires for some years. When the Norris family returned to America, they left their trunk to their loyal maid full of presents for her. Nice story, isnt it?
The inside was covered with burlap and trimmed with lace
and I painted the mysterious name inside too.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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4 of 217 comments
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This is done very professionally!! Many things I see on this site are tacky & cheap looking I wonder why they bothered to waste the time & money. However every now & again, something, such as this, is just amazing!! Well done!! I'm impressed! I have an old bow top wooden trunk that you have inspired me to redo!!
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Glad It was inspiring, Ana!
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That is a really nice trunk! U did a Great job!
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Thanks a lot Rita!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
this is lovely. I have a couple in really good condition BUT now I can consider buying one in need of help. Question: how much did you spend on this project?
What paint did you used for metal and trim?
As Sharon, previous question, had asked, what color paint was this and how did y9u get the antique look to the yellow color? If y9ou could e mail me the answer, that would be Great!! Love the color!!! lizstensgard@comcast.net