Suitcase furniture

Over many years of acquiring old suitcases they have served as  - well, suitcases to transport things;  as tables,  usually on end but at times stacked; as storage for fabric, fibre, tools, tapes, books, boots and shoes….etc.

This is the least effective arrangement at the moment and likely the reason I am thinking on innovative improvements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This works well.  Each case is easily pulled from the shelf and set onto a nearby table to access the contents which are listed (of necessity! of necessity!) on old luggage labels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similar idea here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is like the first photo: needs tweaking.

I like the look and the composition, but, except for the two on edge horizontally and the gladstone  and cosmetic  cases on top, they have to be shifted to be used. 

An obvious solution is more shelving units, maybe something more industrial this time as way of contrast,  something like the stainless steel racks seen in bakeries.  My 'antenna are out' at the weekly round of thrift stores and garage sales and church shops.

On the weekend I considered an old stereo unit, I guess it was,  but it would only have accomodated three suitcases conveniently and taken up quite a lot of space.

It would be fun to design a shelving unit with different heights and widths of shelves using the suitcases dimensions; using vertical and horizontal edges,  horizontal flats,  cantilevering from a solid, yet erratic base.  Wrought iron and stainless steel would be interesting.  

The intent is to retain the integrity of the age and beauty and function of the suitcase while keeping the use simple.