Ideas for Decorating with Vintage Toolboxes
Vintage toolboxes are readily available and very useful for home decor. Today I’m sharing ideas for decorating with vintage toolboxes along with my Lifestyle of Love blogging friends.
Lifestyle of Love is a group of blogging friends who share a love of vintage and antiques. Every other month we share ideas for decorating with vintage with a theme. Cindy of County Road 407 is the organizer of this fun bimonthly collaboration.
These are the other ideas for decorating with vintage items that I’ve shared in this series:
Today’s we share sharing ideas for decorating with vintage toolboxes.
After you enjoy the ideas that I share, be sure to enjoy more decorating with vintage toolboxes ideas that my friends are sharing. The links to all of the ideas shared today are at the end of this post.
If you arrived from Common Ground, welcome! Debra and I have been blogging friends for a long while and I always enjoy seeing her decor.
Ideas for Decorating with Vintage Toolboxes
We’ll start with how I decorated my vintage toolbox for winter and then move on to see how Beth and Stacey decorated theirs. Beth and Stacey have both helped me out with Lifestyle of Love posts in the past.
Beth teamed up with me for our last Lifestyle of Love post when we shared ideas for decorating with antique frames and she’s back today to share how she decorated an antique toolbox that she found in the basement of her 1857 farmhouse.
Stacey also helps me with Lifestyle of Love posts. Stacey shared ideas for decorating with vintage jars and bottles and decorating with vintage baskets and crates.
A Toolbox That My Dad Made
Right after we adopted Sherman, Mama and I were rooting around in one of her barns and I found a toolbox that my dad made.
He used it for fencing supplies and when I spotted it, I knew it would be the perfect size to keep on our porch to hold supplies for Sherman. Mr. SP uses it for leashes, flashlights, collars, lights that clip onto Sherman’s collar, and poop bags.
When Cindy announced that the theme for this month’s Lifestyle of Love was toolboxes, I immediately thought of this toolbox to use.
After I found the toolbox in the barn, I cleaned it and painted it white. Over the eight years that we’ve had Sherman the paint has chipped off, giving the box a worn look that I like.
Decorating the Toolbox
Decorating the toolbox was a bit of a challenge because the handle is very low. My first idea was to use candles but with the low handle, they wouldn’t fit.
Since it is winter, I then thought of using pinecones that I decorate with seasonally from year to year.
I love the look of snow-kissed pinecones and to get the look, I simply sprayed the pinecones with snow spray.
I almost had enough snow-kissed cones from past years to fill the toolbox but had to make a few new ones to have enough.
In past winters, I’ve glittered pinecones and Sweet Gum balls to use in my winter decor. I added some glittered cones in with the snow-covered ones.
After the toolbox was filled with pinecones, it needed something more so I added a bow.
I’m sure when my dad made this toolbox long ago that he never pictured it being used on his daughter’s coffee table for a decoration.
I say my coffee table but the coffee table actually was handed down to me from my parents. I also have the matching end tables in my family room along with the lamps that they bought in 1968 for their first apartment.
When this toolbox was being used on our porch for Sherman’s supplies, it also had a connection to my dad as it sat on a shelf that my dad made for my first apartment.
Beth’s Vintage Toolbox
Beth and her husband Matt live in an 1857 farmhouse on a working farm that has been in the family since 1896. You can see the farmhouse in this post.
Beth found a toolbox in the basement of the farmhouse and decorated it to use for winter decor.
Beth thinks that the toolbox was made with scrap wood because it is not quite even and the divider in the toolbox has two holes in it.
Beth believes that the most recent use of the toolbox was as a tool caddy for gardening tools.
To decorate the toolbox, Beth used pinecones and Eucalyptus.
Beth loves farmhouse style which makes sense since she lives in an authentic farmhouse. Many of the things that she’s used to decorate her home are things she’s found in the attic and basement of the farmhouse or in one of the barns.
Here is her toolbox in her farmhouse kitchen.
Just for fun, here is a picture of the kitchen in 1969. The men in the middle are my dad and granddad.
My grandfather was one of ten children. This picture was taken in 1969 at “Aunt Tizzy’s” funeral. Tizzy was my great-grandmother’s sister.
Sitting to the left of my dad is Martha, the oldest of the ten children. To the right of my grandfather is Marge and granddaddy’s brother Louis.
Seated at the other side of the table are Chris (son of Bruce), grandaddy’s brother Bruce, Bruce’s wife Catherine (who lived to be 100), Regina (still living!) and granddaddy’s brother Maurice.
At the head of the table is the youngest sibling, Richard, and behind him Mary.
Beth also took a picture of her toolbox on the porch of her home.
I love teaming up with Beth and you are sure to see more from her 1857 farmhouse in the future.
Stacey’s Vintage Toolbox
Stacey decorated her vintage toolbox for winter with wine bottles filled with fairy lights and pinecones.
Stacey’s home is filled with antiques and vintage that she either inherited or has collected over the years. You are sure to see more of her home in future Lifestyle of Love collaborations.
Another Vintage Toolbox
Besides the toolbox that my dad made, I also have a toolbox that my mom’s friend gave me that I often use on our fireplace hearth.
This is how I used the toolbox for my spring mantel in 2019.
The baskets used on the hearth have a connection to Beth’s farmhouse.
Whenever my grandfather had time off, their vacation was a trip to the family farm where he joined in the farm work. He did the same thing when he visited us, he would arrive and immediately change clothes and get to work helping on our small farm.
My grandmother bought the baskets in Middletown, MD on one of their trips to visit the farm. I wrote about the basket history in this post.
Here the same toolbox was decorated for summer with a coastal theme.
If you are hopping in order, next on the tour is Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse.
More Ideas for Decorating with Vintage Toolboxes
Click on the links below to see the ideas that my friends are sharing.
Paula,
It looks like we both have a love for tool boxes. I love all your creative ideas. So fun doing this with you.
Rachel
Thank you, Rachel! I always love visiting your blog to see your beautiful home decor. You shared great toolbox ideas today!
Paula, I always love the heartfelt element that appears in your posts. What a treasure your dad’s toolbox is! I also enjoyed seeing what a coffee table looked like the year I was born. Cheers to Stacy and Beth for fabulous ideas!
Thank you, Laura! I had fun using my dad’s toolbox to make my coffee table centerpiece. The 1968 coffee table and matching end tables sofa, recliner, and side chair are all still in use by me and my mom. They don’t make stuff like they used to!
Love the tool boxes! I showed the picture of the family to Mark. On the left is Aunt Martha Coblentz Martha was the oldest of the 10 Ahalt siblings. At the other end is Uncle Louis and his wife Aunt Marge. He thinks the picture was taken after the funeral of Uncle Bruce, one of the 10 siblings. 💗
Thank you, Marcia! I had a feeling that Aunt Martha was to the left of daddy. Louis and granddaddy looked a lot alike. I did some Internet digging and found that Uncle Bruce died in 1975. The picture is from Granny’s slides and was in a group marked 1969. Mama and I think it may have been Easter. Easter Sunday in 1969 was April 6 and there are daphodils on the table. I need to look at more of Granny’s slides to find neat pictures like this!
Love all your ideas, Thank You!
Thank you, Carmen! This was a fun post to write.
Such fabulous ways to decorate with vintage toolboxes, Paula! I love the ones from your family. Especially the one your Dad made. It’s so pretty the way you layered all the snowy pinecones. Hugs, CoCo
Thank you, CoCo! I love how the toolbox looks on my coffee table. Winter decorating is always challenging for me for some reason.
I have done this in the past and am now racking my brain to find the sweet little toolbox I had at one point…..it has to be here somewhere!!! Lovely idea for outside because they are so sturdy.
Paula I luv that your dad made the toolbox. How special❣️❣️
Thank you! I’m glad that I found it in Mama’s barn and brought it home. Really glad because shortly after that someone got into her barn and stole a bunch of things.
Love your vintage toolbox, it looks so pretty with the pinecones in it! I have one that I use in my craft studio to hold supplies but I may have to find something else to hold those now!!
Tania
Paula, I love that all your posts have such amazing family connections! Your dad’s toolbox painted white is perfect for displaying those adorable snow kissed pinecones. I need to try that idea next Christmas. Pinned.!! Oh and that blue wooden box. wow, so amazing!
Thank you, Debra! I loved your post today so much! I shared it on FB this afternoon and I know that my readers there will love seeing how you decorated your toolbox.
I love your posts, Paula! As another commentator remarked, your posts are heartfelt and filled with true, family connections. These endear you to all who read your blog. I share a lot of your tastes in clothing, decorating, and sightseeing. Thank you for taking the time to bless the lives of others.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Suzanne
Your comment made my day! Thank you so much!!
Does Sherman realize how awesome it is to use a caddy for his goodies?! Love the pinecone winter look Paula. And I remember that blue tool chest from another post that was fun! Thank you for joining us in the blog hop. You always have the greatest of collections!
Only the best for Sherman!! I so much enjoyed reading all of the posts shared today and seeing everyone’s ideas. Thank you for organizing!!
I love that old photograph. How fun to see how the kitchen has changed. They were dressed up for that dinner weren’t they. I love how you styled your tool box. I adore the story behind it.
Beautiful ideas, Paula! I love the way the pine cones stand out against the white tool box. The bow was the only decoration you needed to make it a perfect winter accessory! Love it!
Shelley
Your old white toolbox looks perfect with the winterized pine cones. You’ll be able to use it in a lot of different ways. And Beth and Stacy’s toolboxes look so pretty too. Love seeing the old farmhouse.
Loved seeing all these different toolboxes all decorated up and in different homes. I love that greenish one you have sat on your mantel. You inspired me and I actually just put my vintage green coolers on my hearth for my winter mantel scene:) You’ll see it next friday! These hops are definitely my favorites!
Oh my goodness, I love this so much. The reusing of old things, the lovely stories to go with the beautiful pictures and even an old family photo thrown in! Perfect!
I love all of these ideas. I have a couple of tool boxes my boys made in scouts and am thinking they could use some paint or stain and a collection of things, too! Thanks for the inspiration!
Paula, I love that you used your dad’s toolbox! It looks so stylish with the snow-kissed pinecones. It’s makes the most lovely winter coffee table decor!
I really enjoy how you share the history behind the items you use. That history is what gives them worth in my opinion. I love your little tool box, and although it was likely really nice for puppy supplies, it looks wonderful as decor. Great simple touch.
I love your sweet vintage toolbox Paula, and the history behind it. You’ve styled it perfectly for winter.