Second life of old things: suitcase, door, painting

Recommendation points

• Armchair from an old suitcase
• Old door table
• Making a tray from an old picture frame

Very often, the dacha turns from a resting place into another storage room for old things. All friends and relatives consider it their duty to shove old trash from their apartment to your dacha. And gradually your paradise becomes a graveyard for unnecessary things. Let’s look at these things from the other side.

Armchair from an old suitcase

It would seem that here is an old suitcase, who needs it? It is old and unfashionable, but sturdy enough, and with a little effort, you can get an original vintage chair..

To work you will need:

1. Suitcase.
2. Wooden legs (4 pcs.).
3. Corner bases for fixing legs (4 pcs.) And screws for them.
4. Plywood sheet (to strengthen the bottom).
5. Filler for pillows (sintepon, foam rubber).
6. Strong threads and long needle.
7. Spray paint.
8. Fabric for cushion cover.

Let’s get to work. First you need to tidy up your suitcase. Wash it well and dry it.

While the suitcase is drying, work on the legs. Polish them with sandpaper and paint with spray paint.

Measure the bottom of the suitcase and cut a rectangle from the plywood sheet exactly to size. Put it on the bottom of the suitcase and screw it on with self-tapping screws.

Attach the leg mounts from the outside to the bottom of the suitcase and screw them to the plywood inside the suitcase with self-tapping screws.

Now let’s get down to the pillows. The bottom of the suitcase is usually too deep, which is not very convenient, so we will raise it a little with the help of pieces of foam rubber. You can take a whole piece, or you can also cut off, just make sure that they are on the same level. And it’s better to stick them with glue to avoid slipping.

We sew pillows. It is better to take a fabric that is dense enough and dirt-repellent. If not, then ordinary upholstery fabric will do. We sew a “bag” according to the size of the bottom of the suitcase and fill it with the chosen filler, in our case it is a synthetic winterizer. You need to stuff tightly, but do not overdo it, the pillow should still be flat.

Sew up the pillow and stitch it with a long needle in a checkerboard pattern. Then, to secure the threads, drop glue on the knots on the underside of the pillow and glue it to the bottom..

The pillow is sewn on the back of the chair in the same way..

And finally the final – turn the suitcase over and screw the legs. And now it is no longer just old junk, but a completely exclusive and vintage suitcase.

But in order to create your own style, armchairs alone are not enough, they need the same unique table. What to make it out of? Yes, from anything, even from the old doors. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the absence of serious defects.

Old door table

For work we need:

1. Actually, the doors themselves.
2. Old Paint Removal Tools.
3. Paint or varnish.
4. Table legs and attachments to them.

For a coffee table, it is better to take low and strong legs, since the wooden door leaf is quite heavy.

Unscrew all hinges, handles and all metal elements from the door.

Treat with paint stripper and start cleaning doors.

Curly elements can be a bit of a hassle, but it’s worth it. Seal holes from screws, nails and small chips with a special putty for wood.

If there are few defects and the texture of the wood is quite interesting, then you can not paint the future countertop, but open it with a stain, and then varnish. We attach the legs to the table in the same way as to the suitcase chair.

And now you already have a whole set of unique things. But to completely surprise your guests, serve them tea on the same unique tray made from a picture frame. Just try to match the style of the tray with the upholstery of the chairs..

Making a tray from an old picture frame

If you have found an old picture frame of the right size, then you can get to work.

It needs to be thoroughly processed with sandpaper so that there are no burrs, and then painted. After the paint is dry, you need to think about tray handles. Look around, maybe there is a kicky chest of drawers with matching handles somewhere nearby? You can safely “expropriate” them.

Measure the inside dimensions of the frame and cut the bottom of the tray out of a piece of plywood. Find a piece of beautiful colored wallpaper or fabric, wrap it in plywood, insert into the frame and secure with small screws.

Turn the tray over and insert the glass. It is better to plant glass on glue, extra carnations can ruin everything.

Well, that’s all, the tray is ready, and the most interesting thing is that you yourself can change the “background” of the tray by simply pulling out the back wall and putting another fabric.

Take a look around, for sure there are a lot of things near you that are just waiting for you to give them a second life.