Trunks – stay or go?

Almost a decade ago I went into an Antique shop in Seattle that was about to close. Everything was 50% off, so of course I couldn’t leave empty handed ;)). I walked out with 2 old steamer trunks that I thought looked cool and I was sure they would come to use one day. When we sold our summer house in Sweden last December, I found them in our garage (where they have been sitting for the last 8 years). I remember my husband saying, “can we finally get rid of those old smelly trunks”?

For some reason I kept them, thinking they might, just might come to life in this new house we are building. As I am going through how to decorate the coming summer house I found a few inspiring pictures over at Pinterest that got me all thinking. Take a look.

Decorating with trunks is tricky in my mind. There is a fine line in getting it just right. As always I think it works best when you mix it with light and modern pieces. I would want to avoid having the trunks together with very heavy or dark furniture but thats me. I think they have done a great job in the space above where everything else is light, modern and feels fresh.

Back in the day steamer trunks were used as luggage on voyages. Today you see them in homes as coffee tables & decor. Big brands such as Louis Vuitton and Restoration Hardware even have them in their product lines now.

Both my trunks are brown/black, same style but in different sizes. I have never done anything to them nor really taken care of them so they need love and caring to bring them back looking good again (… and less smellie). There are plenty of good sites that describe how to restore old trunks.

I like how they turned the trunk into a small bar table/butler tray and mixing it with P. Starck plastic chairs makes it look modern.

Sadly, I could not find any good photos of mine and since everything is in storage right now – this is the best I could do. I spotted them in the background of a photo so here is a bad cut out/zoomed image. As you can see they look very sad, but with some fancy products & care ….maybe ??

I have to admit I am a little inspired after going through the images and I am thinking they might help our new summer house feel and look more “aged”. They would certainly ad character.  However, I think its gonna be difficult getting them passed my husband and in to this new house. I am pretty sure he thinks I threw them out in December. Maybe if he reads my blog, he will be open to reconsider… ;))?

If it were a nice old Louis Vuitton trunk like below, well then that would have been a different story (…and price as well ;)). A keeper for sure.

I wanted to show you this space, where that fine line comes in. I think its too much with the old paintings and frames. I would prefer modern motif or at least white frames to make it feel more playful, light & fresh. Also, I would switch out the lamp – but thats just me.

Here is another type of trunk (same idea tho) that I bought on an auction site. I use it to store my youngest daughters toys in it but of course it can also be used as a coffee table…

What do you think, keep them or finally say bye bye to the old smelly trunks?

Now I have to go get ready for my daughters “pineapple theme party”. She turns 10! Got to go.

Have a great weekend!
Hugs P

All images found on Pinterest under trunks