If I ever offer to “take something to Goodwill” for you, it just might end up in my home. Furthermore, if you’re thinking of taking something to Goodwill, you better call me first to see if I want it!

So when my brother’s girlfriend, Ashley, said she was getting rid of a trunk full of stuff in preparation for their move, I not only wanting to go through everything inside, I wanted the trunk itself.

storage trunk

 

Pretty sweet, right? I knew I wanted to use it as a side table in the living room, but it needed a little something to make it more furniture-y and less trunk-y.

Feet!

I’m no stranger to adding feet to furniture, but what surprised me was that the bun feet I had in mind for this project were CRAZY expensive. Like $9 each. That’s $36 for feet for my upcycled trunk, and that’s just unacceptable. So I went on the hunt for a cheaper alternative, starting with the craft stores around town. I found something that just might work in the wooden toy/craft section.

Adding feet to the trunk

They were wooden balls with a flat top, officially called “doll heads.” I didn’t really care that “bun foot” wasn’t on the label, that’s exactly what was about to happen. I glued them on with Strong Stick (my fav all-purpose permanent adhesive), yup that’s right…no drilling required. It’s not like this thing is that far off the ground or anything. I’m not worried about it 😉

glue wooded feet on trunk

I left the trunk like this for awhile so that the weight of the trunk would “clamp” the feet in place. After the glue fully cured, I took some Minwax Dark Walnut stain and rubbed it on with a rag. About 2 minutes later, we have achieved trunk side table perfection!

diy trunk side table

cheap diy bun feet

diy trunk side table 1

 

Plus, I have storage to boot! What do you think of the new look?

 

 

7 Responses

  1. Pam Zirbel

    Awesome steal!!!! Glad you stained the feet! Was thinking that you would paint the ‘alligator’ parts as well. Would like to see it darker, but you can always change it! I have started getting into altering furniture…I have my parents furniture [a whole house full! Ugh!] and am trying to get past the ‘feeling’ that they are watching me to NOT touch ‘their’ furniture!! I want to paint them. They are Cherry with a Champagne finish and well….OLD looking. Some is nice, but I have to get them out of my head [they are both gone now] and tackle altering it!! You have given me the guts to buy a cheap shaker style coffee table at a garage sale and paint it!!! Taadaa! Need to get it on my blog tho. I havent been there in forEVER!! Again, thanks for the inspiration and the ‘guts’ to change stuff!!!

    Reply
  5. Jennifer S

    I think your trunk turned out beautifully, and I’m SO grateful that you posted this! I am trying to redo a trunk that belonged to my grandfather and was looking to put some bun feet on it and was shocked by the price tag! I’ll have to look for “doll heads” at the craft store. Perfect! Thank you.

    Reply

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