Multitasking: A Trunk for Storage, Seating, And Design

In your housekeeping endeavors, do you ever find yourself running out of places to put things? It always seems like there’s more stuff than places to put it all. Between your work and that of your cleaning services, the house may look great—except for that one thing that never has a home. 

You aren’t alone, and this has led to a lot of creative storage ideas like this one from Apartment Therapy, which involves using a trunk for three purposes and is a great trick, especially for smaller spaces.

A trunk is incredibly useful for storage, that’s one of the reasons it’s managed to remain a classic for so long. All that open space helps hold items you might otherwise have a hard time finding enough room for. Thick comforters, winter sweaters, stuffed animals, larger craft items—these things can store well in a trunk.

When your linen closet is about to burst from the blankets and comforters crammed into it or your drawers are looking out of shape from the sweaters you need more space for, a trunk is the answer.

When a trunk is closed, it’s nothing more than a strong box with fixtures, and remarkably like a bench, and here’s the great part: it’s okay to use it for that purpose! Put your trunk under a window or next to a table to use as a bench (you can even attach removable cushions to it with Velcro). Use it as a coffee table in your living room, an extra seat in your bedroom, or an unexpected ottoman in your family room.

Trunks often look like a piece out of history, which already lends itself to a bunch of interior design types. If the rugged, dark trunk isn’t your thing, though; there are plenty of stylish modern versions. Either way, a trunk is a unique piece to use as furniture, and is, in its own way, both trendy and classic. It’s hard to beat that!