Wednesday, October 15, 2008

What Would You Have Done With It?



A couple of weeks ago, we came across this very old suitcase at a yard sale. It is SO HEAVY, I cannot imagine anyone actually carrying it when their belongings were inside.



But it really did capture our attention. Gabe and I (and Sarah-Kate!) love old suitcases. I probably wouldn't have bought it, just because it really was beat up. But, then we saw this sticker.


That sticker and the fact that the price was $1 made up our minds. Just think of its history! My mind just reels with questions. Who owned it? Where's it been? What has it carried? How long has it been around?

I'm not sure who thought of it first, but we somehow both thought of making it into a coffee table. I know what you're thinking.........a coffee table? What would make us think of that?


The bottom of the suitcase was not in good shape at all.

So, Gabe cut a piece of plywood to fit and I covered it with batting (another yard sale for 25 cents) and a piece of vintage-looking fabric (2/3 of a yard @ $1 a yard). I used hot glue.


The most expensive part of the whole project was the legs. From now on, I will be on the lookout for legs, spindles, and finials at yard sales and thrift stores!

The fabric-covered plywood did double duty. It helped make the inside look nice and it gave something extra to screw the screws into.




I primed the legs,

and then sprayed them with this.
You can see that it kind of globbed in a few places, but it really isn't noticible when they are sitting under the suitcase.
So, we attached the legs and here we are! A perfectly old, beat-up, funky coffee table!




With storage space inside.


19 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:07 PM

    Great blog! What creativity you have. You must have an eye for beauty, potential and uniqueness.

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  2. Anonymous2:40 PM

    Wow! I love that!! You must be one crafty lady . . .

    Thanks for stopping by today.

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  3. How cute! And unique!

    Bonnie

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  4. OH, that's really cute! What a great idea.

    Thanks for visiting my blog today. It was fun to have a link to "meet" you over here!

    Blessings,
    Tonya
    ~FV Lady

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  5. It starts with a comment. Then there's a BATW day. The next thing you know, it's blog-stalking! Hahaha!

    Thanks for coming to my BATW day!

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  6. That is GREAT!

    Storage space for the grandkids' junk?

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  7. WOW!!!!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!! GOOD job...

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  8. What a GREAT project!! I love how it looks :)!

    Blessings,
    Stacey

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  9. Looks great! What a neat idea. I would have never come up with it. But Gabe did a great job!

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  10. Anonymous3:49 PM

    Dorothy,
    I love what you did with the suitcase. I like the tea set and the lace and... well, everything!
    It makes me want to have tea with you someday. :D
    VERY creative, lady-friend!

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  11. That is the coolest thing! I like how you showed us each of the steps. Great idea. :-)

    Karen

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  12. I didn't realize how big the suitcase was until I saw it as a table! I can only imagine its life. What a find!

    Thanks for submitting your post!

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  13. What a lovely project. I, too, am a magnet for old suitcases like this. I have one that doesn't even open (one day my curiosity will get the better of me) - but it has a Cape Town, South Africa sticker on it. This was where my husband took his MA, so it was a must-have! Love the blog. Louise

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  14. PS -- You ask could anyone possibly lift these old suitcases, they're so heavy even when empty. The answer is, of course, they didn't. If you had enough money to travel in those days you had enough money for a porter...

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  15. Wow! that is amazing. I love it!

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  16. What a great suitcase, and now what a great coffee table! WOW, you are talented. I'm impressed!!!

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  17. Laurie Morris6:35 PM

    That is even better than you described it. Loved it!!!

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  18. Dorothy.. that is AMAZING! I cannot tell you how much i love this idea. Now I am officially on the lookout for a huge old suitcase, once my buy-nothing year is over that is:-)

    btw, did I tell you how much I love this idea????

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  19. Love it what a clever and unique idea! I must say I may have to try this.

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