A Trunk Full of Inspiration

Flipping through a stack of magazine, the compulsion is addictive: ripping out little tear sheets of what you like; what you want to do to your apartment or what you will do; what you would do if you had more money, or time, or if your name was Jo Lo.

Maybe it's just about where to go, so let us help you.

Old-fashioned trunks as coffee tables, side tables, nightstands, decorative objects, etc. are the inspiration.



But it doesn't have to be Louis Vuitton to be chic.Target sells a set of wood trunks (below) for $99.

Or Z Gallerie boasts a expedition coffee table made of faux croc (below).

Pottery Barn offers the trunk-style side table (below) that has "timeworn appeal" with top-grain leather and topstitching.

Or forget the to-go cup, make your trunk into a bar (below). Click here to see the genius.Do-it-yourself one, two, threes are below.

1. Draw a line around the face of the trunk 2½ inches from each outside edge with a pencil. Cut this piece out with a jigsaw.

2. Drill holes for casters in the four corners of the trunk to serve as the bottom of your new bookcase. Attach casters.

3. Cut a -inch piece of birch plywood 1 inch wider and 1 inch longer than the opening you’ve cut into the face of the trunk.

4. Cut two pieces of ½-inch birch plywood the depth of the inside of the trunk and the length of your -inch birch panel, and two pieces the depth of the inside of the trunk and 1 inch shorter than the width of the birch panel. Assemble these pieces into a box with the -inch panel as the back, using the 1½-inch brad nails.

5. Drill -inch holes for shelf pins where you’d like shelves.

6. Remove any lining from the trunk. Glue the back of your newly assembled box to the inside back of the trunk so that when you close it, the edge of the box lines up under the opening you’ve cut.

7. Trim the edge of the opening with aluminum corner channel cut at 45-degree angles.

8. Insert the shelf pins.

9. Cut the ½-inch birch plywood into shelves the width and depth of the inside opening of your bookcase. Finish the edges with birch finish strips, cutting with the X-Acto knife.

10. Sand the wood using fine sandpaper, and wipe clean with a piece of cloth.

11. Finish all wood with polyurethane. In between coats, lightly sand the wood again and wipe down with the cloth before applying another coat of polyurethane. Insert the shelves into the trunk.