• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Start Here
  • Shop Favorites
  • About
    • Welcome To My Repurposed Life Home of Repurposed Furniture
    • More About Gail
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Information
  • Gallery
    • Repurposed Furniture
  • Repurposed Items
    • Building Supplies
    • Miscellaneous Household Items
    • Picture Frame/Chalk Board
  • DIY
    • Home Reno
    • outdoor living
    • Painting
    • Shop Talk
    • Tips for Around the House
    • Build It
      • Furniture
      • Home Decor
      • Storage
    • Crafts
      • Dollar Store
      • Easy
      • Holidays Seasonal
  • Furniture
    • Chair
    • Desk
    • Dresser/Chest
    • Headboard | Bed Parts | Cribs
    • Kids Furniture
    • Table
    • Kids Furniture
My Repurposed Life® Rescue Re-imagine Repeat
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Project Index
  • Furniture
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Repurposed Furniture » Army Footlocker into Coffee Table with Storage

    Army Footlocker into Coffee Table with Storage

    Published by Gail | Published December 2, 2014 | Updated April 9, 2019
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Pin
    Share
    Tweet

    MyRepurposedLife-army-locker-coffee-table-trunk



     army foot lockerWould you believe I forgot to take a before picture? I got so busy tinkering and tweaking the army footlocker that I didn’t even think about it. I found a picture of one similar online. (above)

    sawz-allThis entire army footlocker was put together with rivets. The handles are long gone, but the cleats on the inside that held the handles on, and provided a resting place for the insert needed to come off. I used my cordless ryobi reciprocating saw to quickly and easily cut through the rivets.

    reciprocating-saw-cuts-rivetsI will reuse the cleats, so I set them aside for now, but remove all the unwanted rivets.

    free-findsRemember all of the free flooring I got in the Spring? I used a bunch of it on my Ikea Hack (hutch). I decided to use some more of those boards to update this army footlocker into a trunk.

    white-trunkThis trunk makeover from Better with Age was my inspiration. This trunk was a regular trunk that got a makeover with new paint. So, my goal was to make the old army footlocker “look” like a trunk.

      minwax-stain-clothsI cut my flooring boards to size, then sanded them and stained them with these Minwax Wood Finishing Cloths in Walnut. You can see the before and after in this photo.

    wipe-on-polyAfter staining, I used some wipe-on poly for protection.

      trunk-handleI bought this storage chest handle at Home Depot. After reinstalling the cleats on the inside with Gorilla Wood Glue and my nail gun, these screws had a nice piece of wood to be secured to. The footlocker is made from plywood, so the screws were too long to put in the bottom. I plan to buy some shorter screws for the bottom portion of the handle (eventually)

    diy-old-white-paint-2I wanted an off white, so I chose Behr Polished Pearl and mixed it up with some plaster of paris for my own version of DIY Chalk Paint.

    chalk-paint-footlockerI gave it all about 3 light coats of the chalk paint, including all the hardware and handles.

    wax-buffI applied some Country Chic wax with a foam applicator using my AutoRight buffer, then I buffed the wax using the blue bonnet on the buffer.

    add-wood-trimI used Gorilla wood glue, clamps and carpet tacks (for looks) to attach the flooring to the footlocker.

    army-footlocker-trunkIt’s beginning to look a little more like a trunk, don’t you think?

    legs-or-wheelsI rested the new trunk on some 4x4’s so I could test out some leg/wheel options. I tried some small tapered legs, and some legs I got the same day I picked up the free flooring. I then tested some wheels, but they were too large (top right). Now I have a story, and it’s not one you’re likely to believe, but I promise it happened just this way. I hoisted the trunk up onto a workbench to make a few adjustments to the wood trim. As I was doing that, a neighbor walked over carrying those four wheels you see in the bottom right corner. While I had been testing the legs and wheels I was in the back, out of sight, so I’m pretty sure he had no idea what I was working on. But nonetheless there he was standing there with four perfectly size locking wheels! Problem solved! He had bought them for a cabinet, but they were too large, and raised his cabinet too far off the floor.

    how-to-add-wheelsI had to add some 1x scraps in order to support the screws of the wheels. Drilling pilot holes is absolutely necessary during this step in order to keep the 1x scrap from splitting. I used glue and a screw to hold the scrap, then drilled the pilot holes through the bottom.

    trunk-on-wheelsThe bottom view to show the locking wheels.

    MyRepurposedLife-footlocker-white-trunkThe new trunk coffee table hung out with us over the Thanksgiving weekend so Jamie and Andy would have a place to put their drinks etc. My-Repurposed-Life-coffee-table-army-footlocker

    army-foot-locker-coffee-tableIt’s a very handy piece with lots of storage area to hold throws, pillows, remotes, magazines and more!

     

    vintage ammo box coffee tableI’ve done this before using a repurposed Ammo Box,  by adding a lower shelf. I wish I had another box to transform!

     

    gail

    sharing here:

    Elizabeth and Co.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email
    Pin
    Share
    Tweet

    Related Content:

    • repurposed table ideas | dining tables | coffee tables
      repurposed table ideas | dining tables | coffee tables
    • Storage Bench Made From A Dresser
      Storage Bench Made From A Dresser
    • Children's Bench With Storage
      Children's Bench With Storage
    • Queen Anne Tables Cut in Half
      Queen Anne Tables Cut in Half
    • Octagon Tray Navy Blue with Copper Accents
      Octagon Tray Navy Blue with Copper Accents
    • Pallet Board Table - Sofa Table - Coffee Bar - Outdoor Serving Bar
      Pallet Board Table - Sofa Table - Coffee Bar - Outdoor…

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      See comments Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co.

      December 13, 2014 at 8:50 pm

      Oh cool, I love unique coffee tables!

      Reply
    2. Holly

      December 08, 2014 at 8:30 pm

      I love how this turned out. Such a cool way to update a plywood trunk.

      Reply
    3. Bliss

      December 03, 2014 at 8:21 pm

      The trunk looks great of course, but I'd never heard of wipe on stain cloths. Hmmmm.

      Reply
    4. Ravon

      December 03, 2014 at 9:23 am

      I've got three of these that belonged to my grand father from WWII. I always wanted to use them, but never could quite figure out what to do with them. This is a great idea, I'll have to try.

      Reply
    5. cassie

      December 02, 2014 at 5:25 pm

      love the mix of white and wood! it's fabulous!

      Reply
    6. Mindi

      December 02, 2014 at 5:02 pm

      Love it, especially how you added the wood and carpet tacks! That is amazing that your neighbor just walked up and handed you those wheels which is just what you needed! I wish that would happen to me!!

      Reply
    7. girlfromwva

      December 02, 2014 at 1:21 pm

      love it! and what a great storage idea!

      Reply
    8. Patricia

      December 02, 2014 at 12:34 pm

      I like the way this turned out! I have a trunk with a rolled top so coffee table is outfir me. But if I came a ross a foot locker on the cheap this would make a fun project or gift! My grandsons would love something line this for their HERO COSTUMES - they have a ton!
      Patricia

      Reply
    9. Tuula @ Thrifty Rebel

      December 02, 2014 at 11:45 am

      What a great makeover. Love all that extra storage!

      Reply
    10. Stephanie@cre8tive

      December 02, 2014 at 10:05 am

      I love the mix of white and natural wood. Can't believe your neighbor came to your rescue with wheels at that exact moment! Stalker maybe? Just kidding.

      Reply
    11. Korrie

      December 02, 2014 at 9:42 am

      Such a great idea! I love the new look.

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

    More about me →

    Join Our Mailing List

    ​

      Click the topics you're interested in below:

      Subscribing above means you agree to our Privacy Policy​

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      SEEN ON

      Might I Suggest

      • Start Here
      • Furniture Makeovers

      Newsletter

      • Sign Up! for emails and updates

      About

      • Gail's Favorites on Amazon
      • About

      As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

      Copyright © 2023 My Repurposed Life · Privacy Policy · Disclosure