Makeover | Chalk-painted suitcase

Here’s a little train case I picked up at a thrift store …

train case makeover after
Except when I bought it, it looked like this …

suitcase makeover before
Cute little case, right? Except for the 1990s floral tapestry.

suitcase makeover before
I like to use old suitcases for storage (because a shelf full of vintage suitcases is much nicer to look at than a shelf full of Rubbermaid totes).

suitcase makeover before
Although this suitcase didn’t qualify as “vintage,” I liked it, and I thought I could neutralize the grandma-y flower print with …

chalk painted suitcase
… black chalk paint. In my opinion, a little black chalk paint makes everything better.

chalk paint
I spritzed some water onto the case first, so the paint would go on a little thinner and work itself into the weave of the fabric.

chalk-painted train case
Then I started painting.

chalk-painted train case
I didn’t worry about taping anything off. I just cut into the edges as carefully as I could. I got a little paint on the suede trim and the hardware here and there, but it wiped right off with a damp rag.

chalk-painted train case
Here’s what the case looked like after the first coat. It was a little splotchy and some of the flowers still showed through.

suitcase makeover
So I just kept spritzing and painting until all vestiges of the flowers were gone.

train case makeover
Eventually, the flowers disappeared. Honestly, it’s now impossible to tell that the case was ever painted.

train case makeover
It looks like it always looked this way.

Here’s the inside. The lining was already grey and in great condition, so I didn’t have to do anything to it …

suitcase makeover
… except fill it with stuff.

chalk-painted suitcase
So, one last time: Here’s the “before” …

painting a suitcase
… and the “after.”
chalk paint

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