Antique French Hat Boxes - Thrifty Style Team

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Antique French hat boxes are highly coveted and come with a big price tag. This is an easy cheat to achieve the look for a whole lot less!

Welcome to our May installment from our Thrifty Style Team! This is the place where we get together with our talented and creative blogger friends the second Friday of every month. We each display, makeover, repurpose or transform something from our homes or thrift stores. A giant thank you to our friend Julie of Redhead Can Decorate for coordinating this wonderful group! Here’s how I easily created antique French hat boxes – Thrifty Style Team.

Is it too boastful to say that I’m pretty proud of this project? LOL I never would have dreamt that spotting this crazy box would have reignited my creativity.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

The other day, I had just a couple of spare minutes to run into a thrift store. After a quick sweep through the aisles, I was getting ready to leave the store emptied-handed. On my second pass, these tacky holiday boxes made their way in my basket. An idea was sparked, and I knew that I could give them a new look.

Spoiler alert! There was a smaller crazy box nestled inside the larger one. The set of boxes were marked $1.99. After a 50% markdown they were just $1.00. A very small price to pay if my idea didn’t come to fruition.

Supplies needed for DIY antique French hat boxes

Decorative box with lid
Chalk type paint. I used Dixie Belle Drop Cloth
Paint brush
Labels – *SEE my printout below*
Specialty paper for printing *optional*
Mod Podge
Scissors
Sandpaper or block (optional)

How to create an antique French hat box the thrifty way!

French Cottage Decor

I got a little creative with the paper that I used for the printed labels. In my stash, I keep pieces of scrapbook paper. This piece of handmade paper from Hobby Lobby was perfect. I printed on the backside of the scripted paper, that I cut down to size. It is a soft, pliable paper that makes it perfect for the labels.

I’ve done the work for you! The images were obtained from Graphics Fairy, and I altered them with sepia toned colors. Click HERE or on the photo to download the sheet of labels. Print them out on 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

I loved how well the antique French hat boxes turned out. Another hunt from a different thrift store, I found a larger box for .50 cents. I’m kicking myself, because I forgot to take a “before” photo of the floral box. Here is a shot of the interior lid – the outside was the same pink florals, but very faded.

Prepare for Photo Overload

Can you believe that these are the same crazy boxes? The power of paint is a beautiful thing!

I hope that you have been inspired in some small way today. If you have any questions regarding these DIY antique French hat boxes, I’d love to help you!