Antique Suitcase Makeover
2 Materials
Hey everyone! Today I am sharing a DIY project that I have been wanting to do for a long time. My mom came over to St. Louis to live when she was 18 from my grandpa and ma's farm in rural Illinois. She brought ALL of her belongings in this suitcase! Her life on the farm was definitely different than my childhood or especially my kids!
I've had this suitcase in my basement forever and when I opened it I found it packed with Barbie clothes from my childhood. I washed the Barbie clothes and gave them to my daughter. I left the suitcase open for awhile to air it out, because they had a wood burning stove in the farmhouse and I could still smell it inside the suitcase! I haven't done anything to the inside of the suitcase (maybe later), but I did paint the outside of it and I added a pinstripe to it! I have been looking for pieces to place on the bottom of my console table to decorate it with and it is the perfect addition! Plus, every time I look at it, it makes me think of my momma. :)
Here is a before photo of the suitcase.
I painted one coat of primer on it and two coats of paint. I used paint that we had leftover from painting our hall bathroom.
I just adore the inside of this suitcase! I opened up the suitcase and painted around the leather on the inside. I did this with a small craft brush.
I decided to paint the pinstripe on the top and back side only, because I wanted to paint the handle the darker gray. It would have been too much adding a pinstripe behind it.
And, here is how it turned out! I really need to get a mirror to hang behind this console table (I have my eye on one at Hobby Lobby), but one thing at a time, right? The suitcase looks perfect on the bottom! Sadly, I will be changing all this decor to Christmas decor VERY soon. A bloggers job is never done!
Hope you enjoyed this antique suitcase makeover. I have seen so many ideas on what you can do with an antique suitcase, such as turn it into a table, bar cart, decor... you name it! I actually didn't tell my mom I was painting her suitcase until I was done and to my delight, she loved how it turned out! I was a little nervous she'd be upset I painted it... but, nothing is safe in my house! :)
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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3 of 4 comments
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Thanks so much, Lauren! My mom loves how it turned out.
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It's beautiful. I'm glad you didn't strip out the inside. I'm sorry I let some go that I had.
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