You've successfully subscribed to Lived-In Style Magazine : Vintage Inspiration from Ki Nassauer
Great! Next, complete checkout for full access to Lived-In Style Magazine : Vintage Inspiration from Ki Nassauer
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.
Success! Your account is fully activated, you now have access to all content.
Success! Your billing info is updated.
Billing info update failed.
Box It Up!

Box It Up!

Repurpose graphic wooden cigar boxes into fun and functional items.

Lived-In Style

Somewhere in your home—and most certainly in your memory—sits a colorful cigar box, perhaps filled with old photos or ephemera and possibly still faintly smelling of its original tobacco inhabitants. Fashioned from wood, paper or cardboard, their original existence served a practical purpose: Corral loose cigars (translation, in many cases: package them so they’d be suitable for easy importation…and taxation). But the packaging invited the decoration that we now appreciate—and many seem to resemble a well-travelled vintage suitcase that’s covered in the stickers of places it has been. Whether your uncle passed on some empties or you picked up a box or two at a flea market, these vibrant relics make quick decorating gold.

Vintage cigar boxes used to display children's items.

BOXED-IN BACKDROP. Show off kid stuff in display boxes. Remove lid from box (if desired) using a sharp utility knife. Cut decorative paper to fit inside the box; glue in place. Hang objects from cup hooks or attach with hook-and-loop tape.

Vintage cigar boxes used to wrap gifts.

IT’S A WRAP! Tie a ribbon around stacked cigar boxes for no-wrap gift-giving. The boxes are perfect for homemade cookies or other treats. (Contain items in food-safe bags.) For a tag, glue a cigar label to cardstock cut to size.

Vintage cigar box used as a drink tray.

TRAY CHIC. Serve up vintage style with the handy tray. Cut lid to fit inside bottom of box; glue in place. Spray with sealant. Drill holes and screw handles to box. Attach adhesive bumper pads to bottom corners. Clever! The eye-catching bottom in this tray was the cigar box's lid. The tray is also great as a catchall for mail and keys.

Vintage cigar box used as a container for a sewing kit.

ON THE MEND. We have a notion you'll love this cute sewing kit. Glue ribbon, centered, around box, creating a loop on lid. Use hook-and-loop tape to attach a ribbon for a scissors holder. Insert cardboard partitions as desired.


PHOTOS Edmund Barr


HOME PAGE