The Vintage Item You Can Thrift That Makes The Perfect Retro Storage Solution

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The "Everything old is new again" sentiment has taken modern home design and decorating back in time, with recent retro love bringing back decor elements from the 1950s through the 1990s. As such, people are scouring second-hand stores and estate sales for vintage items that fit their retro decorating styles while at the same time, offering them great storage solutions. One such piece that epitomizes these retro styles is the three-tier vintage cantilever sewing caddy. 

This vintage home decor storage solution consists of a long bottom tier that runs the length and width of the box. On top of this rest four evenly-sized cantilever compartments that open up out past the edge of the box, thanks to the hinged arms that are attached. This feature allows you to peep inside at the box's contents. In between those four compartments is a handle. This divides the two sides and allows you to carry the box. Finally, it sits on four legs and measures just over a foot tall. 

Turns out that those little compartments that once held pin cushions, spools of wool thread, sewing needles, and paper patterns also hold — very nicely, no less — other items of import. For example, for the artist who works primarily with drawing media, the various compartments are perfect for items like rulers, pencil sets, oil pastel sticks, paint and watercolor markers, and small sketchbooks. And for the bead crafter, the two top tiers, with their slotted compartments, are ideal for keeping different beads separated from one another. Stylistically, they're similar to the compartments in your silverware caddy and work exactly the same way.

The compartmentalized sewing basket in some form has been popular since at least the 1800s. Its separate compartments and fold-open design allowed seamstresses and other craftspeople to keep all of their tools handy in one spot. Many iterations of this storage box have come out since. Some versions don't have legs. Others have more storage compartments. Others aren't made of wood, but rather, metal. However, despite a couple hundred years passing between the box's invention and now, it hasn't lost its usefulness. It could even be argued that this vintage storage solution has even more uses now.

For example, given that it's void of practically any decorative embellishments and sits low to the ground, 21st-century versions of the box, like the Hobby Gift Cantilever Crafting Storage Box, would be right at home in an abode that embraces the mid-century modern style. More specifically, if you have a low couch or chair – 17 inch high or less – this piece makes a perfect end table.

Compartments inside the retro-style sewing box keep your small items organized without hogging space. For instance, you can store coasters for your drinks, yarn for your latest knitting project, card decks, your favorite magazines, your electronics cords, and even all kinds of tablet inside the neo-retro sewing box. The top of the caddy becomes the tabletop for the end table once you close the box back up. And because the top flips open easily, it takes little effort to open up the caddy, pull out a coaster, and place it under your drink on the caddy-turned-table's surface.