Design ideas/tips – Page 28 – Apartment Apothecary

I love a bit of make-do. It’s not possible to run out and buy every beautiful piece of furniture you see and it’s important not to dispose of things “just because”. My mum went to boarding school and therefore had a school trunk, which I used to see in my grandparents’ garden shed as a child. More recently, when I saw the trunk I knew I could make it into a fully functional piece of furniture that would last forever. I decided to turn it into a coffee table that would double as storage. However, I wanted to make it as versatile as possible so I added castors that would allow me to move it around my sitting room as and when needed. The castors also add some height to it, which make it table-like.

You will need:

1. Vintage trunk or steamer chest

2. x4 castors (choose the size according to the size of your trunk)

3. x4 pieces of mdf (about twice the size of the base of the castor)

4. x16 screws (long enough to drill into the pieces of mdf but not too long that they go through the base of the trunk)

5. Wood glue

6. Screw driver or drill

You will need: Old school trunk

You will need: Choose castors like these that are lined with rubber so they won’t ruin your floor covering.
Click on the picture to buy these online for £3.30 each.

TUTORIAL:

1. Using the wood glue stick the four pieces of mdf on the base of the trunk. Position them where you will want the castors. You need these pieces of wood because generally the skin of a trunk is very thin so if you tried to drill the castors straight into the trunk the castors would not be very stable and liable to tear the skin of the trunk. Make sure you leave the glue to dry for a couple of hours.

2. Drill the castors into each piece of wood.

Vintage trunk upcycled into coffee table

All finished. How easy was that?

The trunk is now not only a coffee table but it provides a lot of storage. You can fill it with heavy objects and it will still be easy to move as and when needed because of the castors.

I love the vintage feel the trunk brings to my sitting room.

The fact that the trunk still has my mum’s name stuck inside makes me love this piece of furniture even more.

BUY YOUR OWN HERE:

If you, too, would like to buy an old trunk then there are some options from online shops but these do tend to be quite pricey. By far the cheapest way to buy an old trunk is to use eBay: I bought one recently for less than £30.

Vintage metal trunks from Scaramanga £100

Vintage 1920s trunk with original railway labels from Lassco £135

INPSPIRATION FOR UPCYCLING A TRUNK:

Vintage and shabby chic trunk used as a coffee table.

Trunk used as a coffee table in front of the fire.

Vintage luggage used as storage in bedroom.

Stack trunks to be used as a lamp table.

At Foster House, a photography and film location they have used a trunk as a coffee table in this vintage-inspired sitting room.

Victorian pine toy-chest.

Shabby chic vintage trunk for storage of blankets and quilts.

Store blankets and quilts in an old trunk.

Vintage luggage and trunks used as a bedside table.

Stacked to make a bedside table.

Vintage suitcase upcycled into a bathroom cabinet.

An old suitcase made into a unique bathroom cabinet. Click on the image to find out how to make this.

Vintage suitcase with legs added to change its use.

Storage is always a huge problem that sometimes drives me a bit mad because I feel every storage solution deprives me of precious space. In our guest room/home office space is a big issue and we can not afford to lose the space a wardrobe uses. Therefore, when we do have guests they have nowhere to put their clothes. I have found the solution to this is very simply to use hooks instead of a wardrobe. They take up no floor space and hooks can look very nice if you invest in good ones (going cheap does not always pay off). When we don’t have guests they can also be used for our wardrobe overspill or laundry.

Even though there is space at the bottom of the bed to put a wardrobe it would make this room feel very small and awkward.

These hooks have been custom made to reach across the whole wall of this guest room so that lots of potential clutter can be hung up.

If a wardrobe had been placed where these hooks are the whole room would have lost its light, bright appeal.

Painting the hooks the same colour as the walls can make them merge into the background if you do not want to draw attention to them.

This white, light guest room is not crowded out with a wardrobe.

Having a shelf above the hooks adds lots of extra storage, especially helpful in small nurseries, where wardrobes are an impossibility.

A wardrobe would not have fitted in to this small space.

Having extra floor space can make a guest room feel a lot more comfortable.

Hooks hanging in bedroom at Foster House.

Use hooks to display your prettiest clothes.

These hooks show well how they can be used practically and to display treasured possessions.

Get bags, coats, scarves off the floor.

BUY YOUR OWN HERE:

These are some of my favourite hooks if you want to give it a go.

Rustic hooks with shelf and could be painted to match your wall colour if needed. Click to buy them online from Not On The High Street for £47.

Love these especially because they have been reduced from £115 to £34 in the Heals sale. Click on the picture to buy them online from Heals.

I like these simple ceramic hooks from Anthropologie. Click on the picture to buy them here for £10.

VITRA HANG IT ALL MULTI COAT RACK BY CHARLE & RAY EAMES

Add a modern, retro feel to your room with these Eames hooks. Click on the picture to buy them online from Heals for £198.

These are very similar to the hooks that I bought for my guest room. CLick on the picture to buy them online from Scaramanga for £40.

A good cheap option from Graham and Greene. Click on the picture to buy them online for £6.

A design statement with this “luggage rack”. Click on the picture to buy them online from Graham and Greene for £138.

These atomic metal hooks would create a retro feel. Buy similar ones on eBay.

Collections of personal photographs are not only a much cheaper option to buying art but they also make a house or apartment feel homely. When I see certain photos in my home they make me smile every time I pass them. They also engage visitors and start funny conversations or encourage reminiscing.

TIPS for hanging pictures:

1. Always make paper cut-outs of the photographs you want to hang (I always use newspaper). Stick these on the wall temporarily (with blu-tack or non-tacky tape) to help you map out the shape you want to create.

2. Always use two hooks when hanging large photographs as otherwise you will end up constantly straightening a wonky picture.

3. When hanging a group of framed photographs using an odd number will look best.

4. Usually you should follow the rule that photographs should be hung at eye level. Always consider whether the viewer will be sitting or standing.

5. Consider the proportions of your room when deciding what size photographs to hang and which frames to use. If it is a large room with large pieces of furniture you will want to upscale the size of the frames.

Use newspaper templates to help you plan your collection of photographs without leaving lots of unwanted holes in your wall.

INSPIRATION:

Look at these pictures of different collections of photographs to inspire your own collection.

Old black and white family photographs combined with more recent images add interest.

Add a mirror to your collection for variety.

Larger photographs can be framed to make an impact.

Patricia Herrara's home for Vogue, a collection of framed photographs.

If you use the same frame for each photograph the overall effect is much more cohesive.

Really cheap Ikea frames arranged freely with a clock added for variety.

Collection of black and white photographs

Displaying only black and white photos of the same size and using the same frames creates a much more uniform and sophisticated look.

Old family and school photos instantly attract attention and generate discussion.

Even if collections of photographs are not hung properly they still add charm to a room.

A very large collection of framed photographs that cover a whole wall.

A very large collection of photographs can completely cover a wall.

This look can be achieved by sticking a piece of masking tape in a straight line horizontally. You then need to hang the pictures either above or below the line.

A collection of framed photographs in the hallway is always a good way to make an otherwise a potentially boring space a point of interest.

Get framing and hanging.