Ideas for Painting a Doll Steamer Trunk

Antique

• Most antique steamer trunks have wood panels and exteriors. If this trunk is to act as an accessory to a doll dressed in clothes from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, you might want to paint the exterior of the trunk to resemble wood. To do this, you could nail on very thin sheets of actual wood to the exterior of the trunk and then stain those sheets using a glossy wood stain. Alternatively, you could paint the exterior of the trunk the shade of wood that you'd like it to be and then stain it with grain paper to resemble wood.

Artsy

• You could make your doll's steamer trunk into a distinctive and artsy accessory by painting it a solid color and then stenciling on figures or letters with spray paint. For example, you could spray paint the names of companies that were around in the late 19th century and early 20th century, using fonts distinctive of this period. For example, you could spray on the trunk with the words "Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus" or "F.W. Woolworth." Alternatively you could just spray paint a pretty floral border around the edges of the trunk.

Faux Wallpaper

• Unfortunately, wallpapering the exterior of the trunk is simply not a practical idea as the paper will be more inclined to peel off or tear. Doll collectors and enthusiasts generally reserve wallpaper for the inside of the trunk as a form of lining. However, you can paint the exterior of the trunk to match the wallpaper. For example, if your trunk has very dated or vintage striped or floral wallpaper you could paint stripes or flowers on the outside of the trunk that match this interior exactly. You could even add an extra touch to the exterior of the trunk by giving it a top coat with a slight iridescent quality to it, to give the trunk a slight shimmery glow.