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Upcycled vintage suitcase side table

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Upcycled Vintage Suitcase Side Table

I found a gorgeous mustardy yellow vintage suitcase, which I upcycled into a fabulous side table. Not only that, I added extra character to the case with some vintage luggage labels. You can download these vintage luggage labels here for free. This vintage suitcase side table looks great either bedside table or as a coffee table. The storage it creates is an added bonus.
 
My sister in-law has a fabulous collection of vintage luggage labels and hotel stickers from Bergen which she kindly lent me for this project. I have scanned these lovely labels into a pdf which you can download and use for your own projects (see below).
 
Upcycled vintage suitcase side table. This tutorial includes a free download of vintage travel stickers and labels.
 
Bergen travel labels for vintage suitcase upcycle
 
Upcycled Vintage suitcase side table - with free luggage label printables.
 

Why Bergen ?

If you have been following my blog you will know that I like to personalise my crafty creations whenever possible. My husband’s family are originally from Bergen in Norway and it is one of our favourite places in the world. Being brought up in Hong Kong I have travelled extensively, especially around Asia and Europe.
 
Norway is the most stunningly beautiful country I have ever visited. If it wasn’t also the most expensive Paul and I would be tempted to live in the Fjords. I’d already made a map chair to celebrate my love of Norway, so I decided to continue with this theme when decorating my vintage suitcase side table.
 

 

Bergen Norway

Bergen http://www.all-free-photos.com/


 
Upcycled suitcase side table - Pillarboxblue.com
 
 
This post contains amazon affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to see my disclosure policy.
 

How to make an upcycled vintage suitcase sidetable

I was lucky to find this suitcase at my local auction house, and because it was in a bit of a poor state, I managed to pick it up for just a couple of pounds. I’m always on the lookout for old suitcases at the auction or in charity shops. I can normally pick them up very cheaply as I’m happy to have the more unloved suitcase ready to revamp into something wonderful like my denim suitcase.
 
Part of the charm of this particular case was its colour and aged look so I didn’t want to do too much to the outside of it. I just gave it a good clean with some leather cleaner. I used wire wool to scrape away an excess rust from the hinges and lock.
 

PART ONE: Relining a vintage suitcase

  • The inside of the suitcase was in a particularly bad state so I ripped out the old lining and gave it a new one. In the past I have lined my suitcases with fabric such as my map case. However this time I decided to use wallpaper. The only reason I used wallpaper and not fabric is because I had some lovely Orla Kiely paper scraps left from previous upcycling projects that I thought would look great with this vintage case. The colour was perfect and the print had a lovely vintage vibe to it.

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  • I cut out pieces of wallpaper to fit the sides and the lid of the suitcase with a small overlap. The wallpaper was applied using wallpaper paste.

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  • As I was going to fit legs to my suitcase, I needed a firm base to attach them to. I cut a piece of plywood to fit the base of the suitcase, covered this in the wallpaper and inserted it into the case.

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    Lining a vintage suitcase with wallpaper - Pillarboxblue.com
     
     

    PART TWO: Adding legs to a vintage suitcase

  • To turn this vintage case into a side table I needed to give it a bit of height. I bought four 6″ hairpin legs of amazon. Hairpin legs in various colours and styles.

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  • To attach the legs to the suitcase I simply drilled holes in the bottom of the suitcase and using attached the hairpin legs by screwing through the bottom of the case and into the plywood base I’d inserted.

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    Vintage suitcase side table _ Pillarboxblue.com
     

    PART THREE: Decorating the outside of a vintage suitcase

  • I printed out the luggage label and travel stickers pdf: Bergen Labels. I then cut these out very carefully.

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    Bergen vintage luggage lables
     

  • Using a decoupage glue I stuck the cut out labels on to the suitcase. Some were stuck randomly, others were used to hide particularly bad blemishes on the case. I then covered the top of the labels with another couple of coats of the decoupage glue to protect them.

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  • To complete the vintage travel look to my suitcase, I made a luggage label by printing out both sides of the Bergen Label pdf on to a cream coloured heavy paper and then sticking them back to back. I used an eyelet tool to punch a hole into the luggage tag and added a rivet and old twine to complete the vintage look.

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    Vintage Bergen Luggage tag - Pillarboxblue.com
     
    I love this upcycled vintage suitcase side table not only does it look great with all those lovely old luggage labels and hotel stickers but it’s really handy for storing my magazines.
     
    Upcycled vintage suitcase side table and storage - Pillarboxblue.com
     
    Upcycled vintage suitcase side table - with free luggage label printables.
     
    Upcycled vintage suitcase side table with free luggage label printables.
     
    If you like the Vintage suitcase side table you may also like my nightstand post:
    DIY Nightstand from an old wine crate
    Or you might like my other vintage suitcase posts
    Easy no sew denim suitcase
    Brilliant vintage map suitcase
     
     

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    2. Just pure awesomesauce!! I love so many bits, especially the snazzy legs, liner & stickers! Great upcycle – I’ll be featuring your DIY at this week’s Friday Favorites – thanks for linking up to #fridayfavs

      Reply

    4. This really is very cool! I love that you lined it and chose the hairpin legs for it. Your choices for the details really keep with the style of the case. Well done! I hope you have a great weekend!
      Smiles!
      Terry
      The Curator’s Collection & Making Broken Beautiful

      Reply

    8. There was way more to this project than meets the eye! This is a great transformation Claire. While out thrifting I’m always on the lookout for old suitcases but haven’t found one yet. Thank you for joining us again this week at Celebrate Your Story link party and we can’t wait to see your next project!

      Reply

    12. A close friend of us is from Norway too, and we can’t wait to visit the Fjords. They go each summer to visit family, and I think it would be the best season for me too… cold and I are not big friends…
      Love that old suitcase, and it looks wonderful as a side table, really cool!!
      Thanks for sharing with us at Sweet Inspiration party!! I hope you have a wonderful week!!

      Hugs,

      Pili

      Reply

    13. Claire this is wonderful.
      And thank you for providing such a step by step tutorial.
      Plus the labels? Amazing!

      I hope you will share this at Thoughts of Home on Thursday this week.
      We would love to have you.

      Just stop by my blog at http://www.whitespraypaintblog.com on Thursday to join in.

      Enjoyed visiting,
      Laura
      White Spray Paint

      Reply

    15. OMG I love this upcycle! I am already a huge fan of vintage suitcases and labels, and Bergen is on my list of places to visit. So inspired right now. Thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Reply

    16. Wow you did a great job on refurbishing that vintage suitcase and thanks for the instructions! The denim quilt on the bed is perfect too! Thanks for linking up with Funtastic Friday!

      Reply

    17. wow, great project and it looks fabulous with the jean quilt! And those vintage luggage labels, fabulous. I would love to visit Norway and hope to someday, but sooner than later! thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling sunday!

      Reply

    21. Claire, love this suitcase table!! The labels look so awesome on it!! I have to ask about the wall with what looks like wallpaper, did you have a tutorial on how you painted or covered the wall, it’s really cool!! I would like to invite you to link up to our party, Sweet Inspiration Link Party that starts on Friday and runs until Tuesday. Hope to see you there!!

      Reply

    22. This is such a wonderful project…I love your old suitcase and how you used it! Thanks SO much for sharing the Bergen labels! My husband’s family hails from this area, and we try to make art with meaning to us…he will love these! Hopped over from Vintage Charm party…

      Reply

    23. This is so awesome, gorgeous and chic! So nice of you to make those beautiful labels available! What a cool project, I am excited to try it with one of my vintage suitcases. You rock, Claire!

      Reply

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