How to Make a Suitcase Table

I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect little table to snuggle under a mirror from my Nana’s house that is currently hanging in my bedroom. The mirror looks pretty and is functional – but it has been hanging by itself, silently screaming for some company to help tie it in to the rest of the room.

Another Philly-area blogger, Colleen from Fresh Vintage, has opened a shop a stone’s throw away from our house. Loving all things vintage and quirky, I decided to stop by to see what she had in stock. My husband eyed a wooden ammo case, while I attached myself to this plaid beauty.

Ok, it wasn’t the most beautiful thing…but it was priced right, had these gorgeous green-blue ribbons inside, and had plenty of potential.

{Colleen, we have yet to meet, but please do not hate me for what happens to your suitcase in the photos below.}

1. First I found an old side table in my basement that I had thrifted from the side of the road on trash day. After removing its top, I marked on the bottom side of the suitcase where I wanted the legs to hit.

2. I drilled holes into the suitcase where I had marked the legs. Then, hubs flipped open the suitcase and attached the bottom of the suitcase to the legs using long screws and washers (he doesn’t let me use the drill to screw in my projects, as I think he is a little afraid I might impale myself.) The bottom of this suitcase was very strong, so we did not use a piece of plywood on the bottom for this project – however, if your suitcase is on the flimsy side, cut a piece of plywood that fits the bottom before you attach the legs with screws.

3. This is where I am afraid Colleen might hate me. I covered the hardware with painters’ tape, primed it, and then sprayed the whole table black. And now, it looks perfect under my lonely (noticeably crooked) mirror, don’t you think?

4. I also added a scrap of this funky chartreuse Owl fabric from Joann Fabric to the bottom of the suitcase. I didn’t want to cover the very functional inner pockets or the adorable green-blue ribbons -but the bottom panel had some water damage I needed to fix. I pulled out the old bottom and gorilla glued this quirky print in its place. It greets me like a surprise each time I open the suitcase to stash my odds and ends.

Thirty bucks and less than 2 hours – start to finish – for a new table, not bad!