A Treasured Trunk

To begin, I tried really hard not to use any clichés like "junk in the trunk", for this post.

This project was my first trunk I've ever worked on and it was a pleasure to restore and rejuvenate.

A wonderful woman from work sold the trunk to me. She knows that I redo furniture and she had this beauty sitting in storage for quite a while. She had every intention of fixing it up, but time got away from her. She kindly thought of me and it took me all of two seconds to tell her, "Yes! I want it!"

The trunk needed a lot of cosmetic work. The structural bones of it weren't too bad. It had hinges on the back that were clearly not original and paper lining the inside.

It was missing handles and smelled like mothballs, but I could see the beautiful wood underneath all of the smelly paper and immediately sensed its potential.

It even had tiny original wheels recessed into the bottom. Most of them spun easily. One was a bit resistant, but it wasn't anything that a squirt of WD-40 couldn't fix!

Before I began working on this project, I did some online research to familiarize myself with old trunk restorations. I found a few videos on You Tube and some great websites. I learned a lot about how trunks are made and the different types there are. For example, I learned that my trunk has a barrel top as opposed to a flat top, and there are no screws to be found on original trunks. Trunk suppliers used nails that were hammered into the wood and bent at 90-degree angles to "lock". It was really fascinating research.

Once I was ready to begin, I removed the hinges from the lid and separated it from the bottom. After getting the lid off, I mixed up some fabric softener and water in a spray bottle. I had always seen this formula as a means for removing wallpaper, so I thought I would give it a try with the lining on this piece. Plus, I thought the fabric softener would help with the musty smell.

I sprayed my mixture on the paper and worked in sections, gently scraping it up from the wood. It was time-consuming but I put some TV shows on and let my mind wander in the process.

It took roughly 4 hours to scrape almost all of the paper off completely. I left a few stubborn areas to the orbital sander.

Once the inside was relatively paper-free, I used an orbital sander to finish off the stubborn spots and soften up the wood. This was definitely a necessary step because the wood was very rough inside and I didn't anyone's blankets or other treasured possessions to get caught or snagged. I started with 100 grit and worked my way up to 220 grit to leave a super smooth finish.

Now that the inside was finished, I turned my attention to the outside. The old stain on the original wasn't terrible but there were patches of oily spots and areas where the old polyurethane top coat was still hanging on for dear life. I decided to sand as much of the exterior wood as possible with the sander and finished up by hand. I honestly wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the exterior for a bit. I went back and forth with sanding versus not sanding, staining or painting, etc.

Ultimately, I decided to paint the wood with Miss Mustard Seed's "Curio" - a velvety chocolate brown that echoes your favorite Hershey bar. I mixed up a few batches and loved the look instantly.

After the paint went on, it was time to turn my attention to the metal around the sides and the end caps. I bought a small container of Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch Ultra Cover Ultra Cover Multi-Purpose Gloss Brush-On Paint. (Isn't that a mouth full?) I used a glossy black to carefully give the rusty metal a new look.

I went shopping online for some new handles and hinges and came across the House of Antique Hardware's website. I decided on these "H" style iron hinges and these iron handles. I thought they would round out the look and with some extra help, they were attached in no time.

To seal everything up, I used Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil. This product is fabulous for reviving old dry wood. From the moment I brushed it on, I could see the colors in the wood deepening. Much to my delight, there were red and orange tones popping through and the Curio lost its chalky appearance. This is always my favorite part of any furniture project. I LOVE seeing how Hemp Oil deepens and enriches surfaces. I let the trunk cure for about 2 weeks before I gave it to its new owners - a lovely couple from my church who are getting married soon.

And here it is!

I'm so happy with every little detail.

The new handles look like they were meant to be and it doesn't bother me one bit that you can see the old holes from previous handles. They add character.

Every little nick, dent, and bump just adds to its charm. Look at those decorative medallions!

My favorite part is how the wood pops now that the paper is gone.

Look at that color!

And those curved planks underneath the lid? That's craftsmanship right there.

It was pretty comical wrapping this up as a bridal shower gift. It looked like a beast among the rest of the presents. To help it look less intimidating, I put a pretty bow on top.

I checked with the groom ahead of time to make sure the trunk would match the decor in the couple's new home. He said it would go well with their country-rustic style and would probably go at the foot of their bed.

I feel that the caption of the photo above should be, "what in the world is this?" I told the bride I was making her a gift but that's about all I said.