The Vintage Trunk: The Piece Making a Comeback in Living Rooms and Bedrooms
An old trunk was once somebody's luggage — on a ship, a train, or a carriage. Today it's one of the few pieces that works as storage, a side table, and a conversation piece all at once, which is why it keeps returning in interiors built up over time rather than bought in a single weekend.
Where a trunk actually works
Next to a sofa, at seat height, it stands in for a classic coffee table and, unlike one, stores throws or magazines inside. At the foot of a bed, in a room with generous ceiling height, it becomes a low bench for clothes or luggage — its original purpose. In a wide hallway under a mirror, it replaces a console and adds hidden space for seasonal shoes.
Solid wood, leather, or brass fittings
Old travel trunks usually combine a solid wood frame — oak or fir, depending on the region — with an outer covering of leather, waxed canvas, or thin sheet metal, and brass or iron corners that protected the edges in transit. Genuinely old pieces have fittings that are unevenly worn, not uniformly shiny — a real sign of age, not a flaw.
Care: humidity, hinges, lid
The wood beneath the leather or metal reacts to humidity like any solid wood — keep it away from radiators or bathrooms. Old iron hinges benefit from a light coat of wax once a year, never oil, which would stain the surrounding leather. If the trunk doubles as a table, a thick glass top protects the wood from glasses and daily use without hiding the original piece.
Every trunk in the Martello collection is individually selected, with a checked mechanism and working hinges — a one-of-a-kind piece that, once sold, is never repeated.