Tuesday, September 17, 2013

DIY: Vintage Suitcase turned into a Foot of the Bed Table

Vintage suitcases, hat boxes, picnic suitcase, and the like are so tempting to buy because they are usually made from cool materials, bright colors, and with little accoutrements you don’t find on things made today.  We’re going to turn this hip item into something useful for the bedroom.  We will add furniture legs to make it a table, but it will additionally serve as storage space for books, an extra blanket, records – the sky’s the limit.


Materials:

You will need a few basic materials and tools.


  • An old suitcase or something similar (like this vintage picnic suitcase)

  • 4 furniture legs (a large variety can be found at hardware and home improvement stores)
Note: If the material of the suitcase you’re working with is particularly thick, you may need to pull the double sided screw on the furniture legs out a little bit to get some extra room.  Ask at the hardware store about this.
  • Nuts and bolts that fit on the end of the furniture leg

  • Power drill and drill bits
  • Permanent marker
  • Tape measure

How To: 

  1. Turn the suitcase so that the bottom is facing up.  Use your tape measure to determine 4 equidistant (to the outside edge of the suitcase) points.  Mark this with a permanent marker.
      
  2.  Determine what size drill bit you need to use to drill a hole so the furniture leg hardware will fit through the suitcase.  The bit needs to be just a little bigger than the piece of hardware.
  3. Insert the drill bit and make sure your suitcase is placed somewhere sturdy where it won’t move while being worked on – a work bench or table is preferred. Hold the suitcase steady, or have someone help you, while you insert the drill perfectly perpendicular to the suitcase. Determine the drill bit speed by what material you are drilling into. We are working with bamboo here, so I used a slow speed. If you’re drilling through plastic start with a medium speed, and work your way up if you’re not getting through to the other side with the drill. Repeat for the other 3 marked spots.
  4. Insert the legs from the bottom of the suitcase, so the hardware part sticks up into the inside of the suitcase. Place a washer on either side, and the nut on the inside of the suitcase to secure the leg. Repeat for all 4 legs.
  5. Optional: You may want to sew in a piece of fabric or place something over this if you’re going to be putting clothes or scarves in the suitcase for storage as it may get caught on the hardware.
  6. Optional: Paint the legs of your furniture legs to match the décor of your room, or maybe your suitcase has a cool accent color you want to match.

Boring Before 

Fun After! 








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