Home Decor

how to increase your home’s adventure quotient with trunk furniture

When you see a trunk, chances are that you think of the Golden Age of travel, when people on journeys packed their clothes and belongings in voluminous trunks so that they were prepared for anything. Before the time of air travel, many adventurers used trains or steam ships to reach their destinations, and trunks were their constant companions. Nowadays, most travelers choose compact and light-weight luggage for their take-along belongings, but trunks have found a permanent place in home decor as useful pieces of furniture.

When you first consider decorative trunk furniture, chances are good that you imagine a weathered but handsome trunk that serves as a table, perhaps in the place of a coffee table, end table, or nightstand. These are all excellent ways to utilize trunk pieces in home decor, especially if your decorating intent is to add an element of the exotic or a sense of international travel. With finely-crafted details such as hand-turned legs and substantial brass hardware, a trunk coffee table doesn’t just offer your guests a place on which to park their beverage; it transports the room to a faraway place where adventures and discoveries await.

Trunk furniture offers an additional benefit that many other types of furniture do not: a built in storage capacity. Since trunks are by nature designed for storage, you can stash just about anything out of sight, yet within easy reach. A trunk coffee table, for example, can hold books and magazines, coasters and glassware, or other serving items. A trunk used as a nightstand can hold an extra pillow or blanket. You get the picture!

But confining versatile trunks to pieces such as a trunk coffee table puts a limit on their true potential. Think outside of the box, and turn the trunk on its end. Now you have even more storage options with a smaller footprint, and this trunk furniture becomes a stunning centerpiece for a room’s decor. A trunk armoire can truly alter the look and feel of a room, bringing a dash of adventure and excitement along with beau coup storage options. Not only does a trunk armoire have multiple shelves, but many times it has a fold-out shelf that can function as a desk or a workspace. Imagine: in a bathroom or bedroom, the shelf can be used as a vanity for applying makeup or styling hair.

You can also use a trunk as a portable bar on wheels. This makes entertaining a snap in almost any room; just wheel in your trunk bar and cocktails are on hand at a moment’s notice. With bottle racks, shelves, and drawers, there’s plenty of space for everything needed for a complete bar setup.

Let trunk furniture take your home’s decor to faraway places with a combination of style and functionality.