What you will need:
Suitcase
Short table or furniture legs
Screws, nails, glue, and or staples
Fabric
Foam
Are you tired of moving that old suitcase around, to get to what’s behind it, or because it’s always in the way? The suitcase might not be all that attractive, so you’ll never travel with it again, but that doesn’t mean its life is over. It will make the most adorable chair in a child’s room – perfect for a boy or a girl. A suitcase chair is short but comfortable. You can build it in little time and you have many options on how to do that.
A hard-side suitcase looks so cute as a chair. The suitcase can be most any size but shouldn’t be huge, or extremely deep. Decide on the method that you want to use for creating the chair. One of the easiest ways is to choose a small table, like an end table. If the table was made for a child it might already be short enough for the chair. If the table is a full-size design, it’s necessary to cut the legs down to a smaller size. Open the suitcase and set it on the table. Staple, glue, nail, or screw it to the table.
If you have no table that you can use to start the project you can always use furniture legs. Buy them from a home improvement store or take them from an old furniture piece, like a couch. You can also purchase a two-by-two, and have it cut to four equal lengths, for legs. Screw each leg by putting the screw through the inside bottom of the suitcase, and into the leg.
Cut a piece of rectangular or square foam to be an exact fit inside the suitcase. It should be just as wide, and just as long, as the inside of the case. You don’t have to do a fancy upholstery job on the cushion. Just wrap it in fabric, and wedge it tightly into the suitcase. Tape or glue the excess fabric to the bottom of the cushion before laying the cushion in the suitcase. Do the same to the lid but, for it, you’ll need to glue the cushion in place.
There’s nothing that you have to do to the outside of the suitcase chair as long as you set it in front of a wall. The wall will hold the back of the chair up. But if the chair isn’t going to be placed in front of a wall, it’s necessary to attach long boards, across the chair back, and down to the main case, along the backside. Yardsticks work great but you could also use one-by-twos.
Your child will love the suitcase chair, which is really comfy. You’ll be happy to have such a cute piece of furniture in the child’s room and you’ll be glad that the suitcase is no longer in your way.
