How to Make a Vintage Trunk Laundry Hamper

I love old vintage trunks. You find so many of them all the either at the flea market and they are just crying out to be made into something new. I find that I am always buying some of the same things over and over, so I end up having to repurpose them. This is a great project for repurposing your old vintage leather trunk!

A vintage trunk is a great way to create a good looking laundry hamper. If you live in a small space like me, then you are always looking for good ways to create beautiful storage. The great thing about this vintage trunk laundry hamper is that if you have a spouse with smelly dirty cloth, then you won’t have to be bothered by them until laundry day!

To make a vintage tank into a laundry hamper you will need:

1 vintage trunk
Plywood or MDF
Screws
Power drill
Drill bit
Tape Measure

Ok, so the first thing your need to do is measure your vintage trunk. By the way you can use either leather trunk or a wood trunk for this project, it does not matter.

Now, measure how deep, wide and long the vintage trunk is on the inside.

Cut one piece of plywood or MDF to be the exact size of the bottom of the trunk.
Now, cut two pieces to the same size at the left and right side of the trunk.

Now, cut out a front and back pieces. You will find that these will be a little bit shorter than the length of your trunk. Probably two inches. That is because you lost an inch or two from the side pieces.

Use all of these pieces to build a box that fits inside of the trunk.

Simply predrill holes and attach screws to hold all the pieces of the box together. You could also use L bracket on the inside corners of the box. I recommend getting a friend or spouse to help you hold the pieces.

Now, you need to make some dividers for the inside of the trunk. I like to make it into three laundry bins. All you need to do is cut out 2 more pieces the same width as the end pieces. Install them evenly inside of the plywood box.

Now, set the entire laundry box inside of the vintage trunk.

Now, to take this simple laundry project one step further you can install some canvas laundry bags to fit inside each bin. This way when it is time to do laundry all you have to do is pull the bags out and carry your laundry to the machine.

You could also set some plastic laundry backsets down in the bins you made. If you can not find bins that fit the space, then the canvas laundry bags are the way to go.

You can sew your own bags simply by measuring the inside of each laundry cubby hole.

Cut out a piece of fabric to fit each side. Make each piece about two inches larger; sew the straight lines with your sewing machine.

You can fold the top left and right side over about an inch and sew a long loop. Insert a dowel in there to create a good opening. You can install some curtain rod brackets or plumbing brackets that allow you to simply slip the dowels in and hold the laundry canvas basket open, up, and in place. To save money your could also use your drill bit to make a hole in the box frame you build so the dowels can slip into place on them.

If you are luck enough to find a large vintage trunk that fits plastic laundry baskets you could simply insert them in place into the vintage trunk and skip building the inside cubby holes. If not though, these small laundry cubbies will keep your whites, colors, and delicate organized and save you a huge amount of time on laundry day!