For me, old suitcases have always had an instant feeling of nostalgia about them.  They also have great style – much more style than any suitcase of today.  Those suitcases all look the same.  Aside from being travel accessories, old suitcases make for great storage of scrapbooking materials, and when stacked, they create tables (hard, flat – non beveled suitcases are the ones you want).  If you’re in the market for an old suitcase, I suggest you start haunting your local Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul stores.  They crop up now and again, but sell quickly, so go often!  Good size ones range in price from $9.99 to $7.99.  Smaller suitcases and train cases usually cost $4.99.  I use one of my train cases as a jewelry box and let it sit open on my vanity.  If you are going to be using an old suitcase for actual travel (as I do) make sure you look inside.  I don’t suggest purchasing one with stains or an extremely bad smell.  However, if you merely want to use it to create an end table, condition inside is not of importance.

Once you’ve found your suitcase, it is for sure going to be dirty, there’s going to be about 40 plus years of dirt and grime on it!  So, how to get rid of that?  First of all, buy yourself a can of Tuff Stuff, available at most stores in the automotive aisle, since it’s marketed as a car upholstery cleaner, but works on just about everything and it’s UH-MAZING!  It’ll remove deep down dirt, as well as certain scuff marks.  Next, get yourself a small scrub brush or toothbrush and a roll of paper towels.  Take your suitcase outside and spray a section of it with the Tuff Stuff (it’ll foam up once on the surface), and then take your scrub brush to it, I find circular motions, followed by up and down motions work best.  Once scrubbed, wipe the area with a paper towel, and repeat the process on each side.  Don’t mind hardware, Tuff Stuff won’t do anything to it.  Once done, take a damp rag to the outside of the suitcase.  If you find there is still dirt lifting out, repeat the Tuff Stuff process.

Once cleaned on the outside, open your suitcase and gently spray Lysol inside – do not saturate the inside.  In most cases Lysol will not leave any stain or mark that it was there, and will lightly clean the inside and let your suitcase air out for awhile outside.  I have known people to purchase odor remover products for shoes and used them in order to rid the suitcase of that musty smell.  Using an old suitcase as your traveling suitcase is really helpful because your suitcase will stand out and be easier to find when you travel.  Now you’re set to either travel in style or to have an innovative end table!

In April, I celebrated my 21st birthday.  I have much admired the idealistic lounge image produced by the Rat Pack, and the pictures from Ultra-Lounge liner notes.  Having purchased a rather awesome ice bucket (pictures on my flickr!), I have since wanted to put a bar in my pad to show it off and have something to serve drinks from when I have parties, however, the apartment isn’t all that large, leaving little room to create such.  I spent a day running around to the various Goodwills, Saint Vincent de Pauls, and even TJ Maxx and Target.   When at Target, I came across a $49.99 kitchen cart, seen on the left.  While more than I wanted to spend, I felt it was perfect in size, and with a few customizations, it would be just what I wanted.

Knowing I wanted to cover up the unsightly black metal, I went to Jo Ann Fabrics and purchased a yard of black vinyl (vinyl is easy to clean in case of a party foul) and some Velcro (for easy removal) and got to work.  First, I measured how long the vinyl had to hang, marked it, then cut it – I used an X-acto knife and ruler, instead of scissors.  I hot glued the soft side of the Velcro to the edge of the wood block.  I then glued the opposite piece of Velcro to the cleaner cut edge of the vinyl.  This gave the bar a cleaner, more lounge-y look.  This kitchen cart came with metal grate shelves, which aren’t very nice when it comes to storing bar ware and the like.  Luckily enough, I had some panes of glass stored in the closet, and I had the Craft Center on my college campus cut them down to the sizes I needed to give me a smooth surface to store items.

I then sketched out a few designs for a name I wanted for the bar.  I eventually settled on “Atomic Lounge” with a boomerang image, martini and with the atom image as the olive in the martini, as well as the “o” in “Atomic”.  I settled on creating a computer image of my design in Photoshop, instead of hand painting it or something.  I’ll admit, I am not all that computer savvy, and I am extremely intimidated by Photoshop.  Thankfully, my boyfriend (who did this entire website) is a computer wizz, and being a photographer and graphic designer, he has a way with Photoshop.  Using his Wacom tablet, he whipped out my sketch in the computer, and printed it out on sturdy paper and then laminated it.  I then used the remaining piece of Velcro to attach the sign to the vinyl.  And TA-DA there you have it, your very own mini bar fit for any swanky affair you may have for you and your fellow lounge lizards and pretty pin-ups!  Plus, it easily tucks away for easy storage.

Materials List

If you wish to create what I did, here is a complete list of items you will need…

• Kitchen cart, Target, $49.99
• One yard of black vinyl, Jo Ann Fabrics, $12.99
• Two packs of black Velcro, Jo Ann Fabrics, $0.99 each
• Hot glue gun
• X-acto knife
• Ruler
• Marker

Enjoy, and please remember, drink responsibly!