This past Spring I bought an old humpback steamer trunk. It was in pieces—beyond being a trunk again. The lid of the trunk was still intact and had the trim attached. I had repurposed a trunk in a previous project—you can see it by clicking here.
I wanted to be able to hang it on the wall and make a coat rack out of it. I started by cleaning it. There were some crayon marks on it, but they came off with Krud Kutter and a brush. After it dried, I gave it a coat of Varathane Crystal Clear Polyurethane in the satin finish. I reinforced the back with a 2 x 4 board on the backside along the top and bottom. It also provided a surface to add D-hook hangers.
I purchased four hooks from Hobby Lobby and arranged them on the lid of the trunk. I marked the screw holes and pre-drilled each hole. I cut scrapbook paper to fit each of the slots.
This project took very little time and the coat rack turned out so well! The polyurethane added to the richness of the wood and the coat hooks matched the metal on the lid of the trunk.
It's ready for duty now! It would be great to display a vintage hat collection.
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