It’s August!  So, I’ll be chatting up homeschooling this month.  But first, a peek into a home project.

I’ve always wanted to live in an older home.  You know, in good working order, but with lots of history, character and just old in certain ways.

The home improvement skills needed to tackle such a dream were not in our favor however…so, we’ve happily settled into newer construction.  Instead, I’m bringing in the old via some decor!

After noticing this picture on Pinterest, I very quickly decided to copy the stacked suitcase look somehow in our home.  But, where oh where?

The author behind the photo and post mentioned purchasing her suitcases on Etsy.  My initial search there led to cases priced around $75 each, not to mention shipping costs.

Nope, not happening.

I settled on having to peruse thrift and antique stores for a great find.  But really, I was looking for three semi-matching vintage suitcases, all the right size and shape for stacking.  Plus, it all needed to flow with our family room.

How long would this take? 

Turns out, it only took a day.  Actually, only one hour of my time.

On a day when I should have been packing for vacation, washing clothes or tidying up the house, I slipped out instead to hunt for those suitcases.  Not really expecting to find much, my expectations were in the ‘just looking’ category.

The top two cases were quickly found.  I took them up to the counter, and probably scared the cashier with my desperate request to please, please hold these for me!

Pretty please with sugar on top.

So imagine:  three huge floors full of old doors, shutters, furniture, trunks, trinkets galore, clothing, and all manners of vintage paraphernalia  — and ME.

Hunting earnestly for the one lone, large brown-ish suitcase to complete a great end table for our family room.

I found it (her? :)), quickly ran home to measure space for everything, and returned happy to purchase.  At only $11 – $16 per case, the thrill of shopping success was in the air!

Scratching my head, trying to figure out how to stack (and coming up with all kinds of interesting solutions!), my husband simply suggested I flip the middle one to stabilize everything.

He’s so smart like that.

And so, with a bit of non-slip shelf liner at the bottom and in between the cases, we have ourselves a vintage family room end table!

Now, wait until I show you what I’m doing with a wobbly old window pane I just found…. 🙂