Antique Steamer Trunk Turned Coffee Table

Date
Feb, 15, 2014
Antique Steamer Trunk Coffee Table

Antique Steamer Trunk turned Coffee Table

My parents picked this trunk up at the annual antique show in Bouckville, NY for $10. I knew it was a gem and would be the perfect project for me. Right off the bat, I imagined turning it into a coffee table, I just wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do it. I went home for Labor Day Weekend and finally got to see this piece with my own eyes. It definitely needed some work and TLC but I was up for the challenge. I have to give a shout out to my dad and brother for helping me get started. This is what we were working with…

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The bottom inside was coated with paper that was pretty loose and falling apart at this point. We used a wire brush to scrape it all out before spraying the entire outside and inside with a hose.

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Next, was trying to figure out what we were going to use on top of the trunk. Glass was a suggestion, but I was pretty stuck on the idea of using wood. If we didn’t have anything laying around, we would of headed to Home Depot and checked out what they had. Luckily, my brother found some old scraps of pine wood that would be perfect. He glued a few pieces together and my dad cut it to size for me. The rest of the work I would finish back at home.

My next step was freshening up the wood panels on the outside. I read on Pinterest that a good trick for this is using Coconut Oil, which I happened to have a jar of. I ordered it from amazon.

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This stuff works wonders. Check out the before and after below of how the wood turned out.
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Amazing! I used some hot water and soap to clean up the green canvas, which didn’t help too much, but did get some of the dirt off. Next up was staining the Pine. I learned that Pine is a very soft wood and doesn’t soak up stain very well. To fix this problem, my dad gave me a jar of pre stain conditioner.
Image I applied 3 coats of stain to get the look that I wanted.

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In-between waiting for the coats of stain to dry I tackled the inside of the trunk. There were tons of possibilities with this, but since we were going to use it as a coffee table and the top would be down most of the time, I figured I wouldn’t spend too much time on this and just paint it.
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 went with a neutral color and it did a great job covering up all the old wood and canvas. As you can tell from looking at this trunk, it’s very old and has a lot of rust on it. I picked up a wire brush from the store and went to work on a few of the accents. I could have spent hours upon hours doing this, but my little arms can’t handle all that work! I might go back later on and do some more, but for now, I cleaned them up the best I could.
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Even though I didn’t get all the rust and dirt off, I really like the way they look. I think it cleans it up just enough to still keep the antique look.
Once the stain was dry, I applied a couple coats of Polyurethane to seal it off. My dad came up with the idea for attaching the wood to the top. He cut four small squares of wood about a half inch thick. I glued each of these to the corners and once those were dry, applied another coat of glue to the top of them. We placed the wood on top where we wanted it and covered it with a towel and placed an old tire on it overnight to help weight it down and stick.
We debated selling this piece, but it’s just too cool to let go of. It’s a great new addition to our living room and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my dad and brother. Thanks for the help guys!
Antique Steamer Trunk Coffee Table
Antique Steamer Trunk Coffee Table
Antique Steamer Trunk Coffee Table
February 16, 2014

brepurposed

31 Comments

  1. Reply

    Oh My Heartsie Girl WW (Linky)

    August 26, 2014

    Hi Bre I found this project for your trunk, I love how it turned out, and I wanted to let you know that it is featured on my Wordless Wednesday. I would love to have you stop by and join in the fun! Have a great day!
    Karren
    Oh My Heartsie Girl

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 26, 2014

      Hi Karren! Thank you so much, I’ll be sure to stop over 🙂

  2. Reply

    Carmody Tisdale

    August 20, 2014

    Bre this is beautiful! I will be featuring you tonight @ “On Display Thursday”

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 20, 2014

      Thank you Carmody!! Have a great day 🙂

  3. Reply

    Jen @ Migonis Home

    August 20, 2014

    This is great, Bre! I’m featuring this over at the Enchanting Inspiration party tonight at Migonis Home! 🙂

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 20, 2014

      Thank you so much, Jen! Can’t wait to stop over tonight 🙂

  4. Reply

    Glenna @ My Paper Craze

    August 16, 2014

    Wow! Your coffee table is amazing! I can’t believe they found that trunk for $10. What a steal. I love that you chose to use wood for the top. It looks fabulous. Thanks for sharing with Creative Spark Link Party. Have a great week!
    Glenna @ My Paper Craze

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 17, 2014

      Thanks Glenna! It was definitely a steal! Hope you had a great weekend 🙂

  5. Reply

    Desiree @ The36thAvenue

    August 16, 2014

    Loving it… Featuring you tomorrow!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 17, 2014

      Yay! Thanks Desiree 🙂

  6. Reply

    Pam@over50feeling40

    August 14, 2014

    Love this! A great idea and excellent job…thanks for sharing on the Thursday Blog Hop!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 14, 2014

      Thank you Pam!

  7. Reply

    Caitlin | belong with wildflowers

    August 14, 2014

    Stopping by from the Pin It Thursday link-up // This re-do came out beautiful! I have several antique trunks that I’m giving a face lift. I never would have thought to use coconut oil! That’s awesome.

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 14, 2014

      Thank you Caitlin! Coconut oil works wonders 🙂 On more than just furniture!

  8. Reply

    fabulosa

    August 13, 2014

    This is the most beautiful trunk that I have ever see. I have one, do not know yet the look I`m going for. +Creative Sparks My Paper Craze.
    http://fabifabu.wordpress.com/

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 14, 2014

      Aw you are too sweet! Thank you so much!

  9. Reply

    Kelly

    August 13, 2014

    Well done! Love it. Pinned

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 13, 2014

      thank you so much Kelly!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 14, 2014

      Thank you Kelly!

  10. Reply

    Crystelle Boutique

    August 13, 2014

    Wow! What a fun trunk! I have a similar one that I use as a nightstand, but the top is not conducive for things staying upright. Haha! I guess I never thought of adding a level top like you did, you smart girl you! Looking good! 🙂
    xox, Crystelle
    CrystelleBoutique

  11. Reply

    Kristina @ My Own Home Blog

    August 13, 2014

    I love old trunks! 🙂 This is so great! I just saw this on Work it Wednesday, thanks for sharing it there!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 13, 2014

      Thank you Kristina!! So glad you stopped by 🙂

  12. Reply

    Malia

    August 13, 2014

    What a great idea to add the pine to the top. It’s a beautiful piece and o special since you Dad and brother helped!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 13, 2014

      Thank you so much Malia!

  13. Reply

    Michelle @ Elegance & Enchantment

    August 12, 2014

    I love this so much! When I first clicked the link, I thought for sure that you had spent $100-$200 on that trunk. What an unbelievable find— and you made it look like so beautiful. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      August 13, 2014

      Thanks Michelle! I’m thankful my parents found this great find for me 🙂

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Hi, I’m Bre! Follow along as we renovate our current home and share modern DIY ideas.
 

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