Turn An Antique Trunk Into a Bookshelf

You know I love shelving, and lately you’ve seen us turn a dresser and sad old wardrobe into an awesome built-in closet, so you should also know I love making old things new again. And if we can combine the two, well, double the love! When I saw how our guest turned this gorgeous antique trunk into a bookshelf, I couldn’t wait to share it with you…

Turn An Antique Trunk Into A Bookshelf | featured on Remodelaholic.com #antique #vintage #furniture #upcycle #trunk #bookshelf @Remodelaholic

Old trunks, suitcases, and chests fit right in with the lovely vintage and travel themes that are so chic right now. I’ve found some beautiful furniture pieces made from luggage that has already had a nice long life:

old trunk into wet bar table, My Sweet Savannah via Remodelaholic.comTrunk into Bar Cart | My Sweet Savannah

old suitcase turned side table, The Weathered Door via Remodelaholic.comSuitcase Side Table | The Weathered Door

old chest turned into coffee table, I Heart Naptime via Remodelaholic.comTrunk into Coffee Table | I Heart Naptime

old trunk turned into seating bench, Destinations Vintage on Etsy via Remodelaholic.comVintage Trunk with Upholstered Bench | DestinationsVintage on Etsy

old suitcase turned shelf, The Little Brown House via Remodelaholic.comSuitcase Wall Shelf | The Little Brown House

And now here’s our lovely guest, Julie, to show you how she cleaned up a hum-drum antique trunk and made it into a beautiful statement piece for her cottage guest bedroom. 

Turn An Antique Trunk Into A Bookshelf
by Julie of Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss

Hi! I’m Julie from Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss , where I blog about everything from home decorating and furniture makeovers to recipes and family life. With a husband, two teen-agers, a 10- year-old, and a 6-year-old, I’m often told I have my hands full. And while that’s very true, I’ve also got my heart full. I’m always busy with something new to show my readers, and I hope you’ll stop by to see me, too!

Today, I’m sharing one of my most recent projects: an antique trunk transformed into a bookshelf for our guest room. Here’s his story…

Turn An Antique Trunk Into A Bookshelf | featured on Remodelaholic.com #antique #vintage #furniture #upcycle #trunk #bookshelf @Remodelaholic

This is Eduardo.

Sure, he’s got baggage. After all, in his previous life, he was a trunk. 

He looked like this when my husband brought him home several months ago. 

old trunk suitcase to be turned into a standing bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

old trunk suitcase to be turned into a bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

And even though he looked rough, we knew on the inside he was full of potential.

So, over the past few weeks, we decided to invest a little time in him and see what he could become with a little T.L.C.

We waxed him up on the outside…

use Minwax finishing paste to clean up an old trunk, featured on Remodelaholic.com

clean up an old trunk to turn into a bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

And removed all the junk from the inside…

remove interior of trunk suitcase to make bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

empty suitcase interior to make a bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

Then my husband made him a nice new liner and cut some shelves to fit…

add liners to inside of old trunk to make bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

cut shelves to fit old trunk bookcase, featured on Remodelaholic.com

And I got busy painting and giving him some new legs.
hardware store legs for antique trunk bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

paint wooden legs for an antique trunk bookcase, featured on Remodelaholic.com

add leg brackets for antique trunk bookshelf makeover, featured on Remodelaholic.com

add leg brackets for antique suitcase bookshelf makeover, featured on Remodelaholic.com

screw in shelves to make an old trunk a bookcase, featured on Remodelaholic.com

shelves screwed in to antique suitcase bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

shelves screwed in to antique trunk bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

And when he was all done, he had become the perfect piece for our Vacation Cottage Guest Room.

And now Eduardo the trunk has become Eduardo the bookshelf.

Turn An Antique Trunk Into A Bookshelf | featured on Remodelaholic.com #antique #vintage #furniture #upcycle #trunk #bookshelf @Remodelaholic

And a very handsome bookshelf he is, too. (If I do say so myself.)

antique trunk bookshelf in the cottage guest room, featured on Remodelaholic.com

antique trunk bookshelf in the guest room, featured on Remodelaholic.com

I love that his new interior gives him vintage charm,

finished bookshelf from an antique trunk or suitcase, featured on Remodelaholic.com

finished bookshelf from an antique trunk, featured on Remodelaholic.com

And yet his well-traveled persona still shows through…

details of antique trunk bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

details of antique suitcase bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

And even though he never told us much about his life as a trunk, he’ll be full of plenty of interesting stories from now on.

details of antique trunk bookcase, featured on Remodelaholic.com 

globe details of antique suitcase bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

wooden mug details of antique suitcase bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com 

knick-knack details of antique suitcase bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

travel momentos details of antique trunk bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

travel postcard shutter display above antique trunk turned bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

travel postcard shutter display above antique trunk bookshelf, featured on Remodelaholic.com

finished bookshelf from an antique trunk and travel postcard shutter display, featured on Remodelaholic.com

I think he’s gonna like it here.

full shot of antique trunk bookshelf in the cottage guest room, featured on Remodelaholic.com

To see more of our guest room (featured in this year’s Feb/March Issue of Cottages and Bungalows), click here.

Sources and stories: 

  • The liner for the trunk is a custom-printed piece my husband made (he’s in the graphics business), but fabric or wallpaper could be used for a project like this as well.
  • We bought the legs at Home Depot for around $3 each.
  • Shelves and legs spray-painted in Rust-oleum’s Satin Heirloom White.
  • Shutter above and items on the shelves were all thrifted or gifted.
  • Rug under the desk is this one from Ballard Designs.
  • Find more about all other pieces in the room in the previous guest room posts on my blog!

Don’t you just LOVE Eduardo? What an amazing transformation, and we didn’t even have to watch a reality TV show to witness it! 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing with us, Julie! Be sure to visit Julie at Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss to see all the other amazing and beautiful things she is doing!

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Lorene has been behind the scenes here at Remodelaholic for more than a decade! She believes that planning projects and actually completing them are two different hobbies, but that doesn't stop her from planning at least a dozen projects at any given time. She spends her free time creating memories with her husband and 5 kids, traveling as far as she can afford, and partaking of books in any form available.

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