Sunday 7 October 2012

Cedar Chest Makeover

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I'm not sure what this is, maybe a hope chest, it is a piece that I have owned for many years.  The lid was split in two and the trim was off, but still there.  It was lined with cedar.



It had a top with a hinge, but I wanted it to open in the front so I had to knock it apart even more.  Eventually I had taken apart almost the whole box.




So besides the repairs that originally had to be done, I had to repair what I knocked apart myself :)


I knew that I wanted to add some sort of legs to this piece, but nothing was working for me.  I just couldn't find what I wanted.  I built a piece out of reclaimed wood but it just didn't go with the chest.  I looked through my "junk" pile, and through my son's "junk" pile, finally I found these balusters in my brother's "junk" pile.  I cut them down to size, cut holes in the bottom of the chest and attached them to the chest.  FINALLY!!! Something that worked.



I cut the front to size and attached it with a piano hinge.  I wanted a little more decoration on the front so I attached some wooden appliques that I had.


I cut a piece of laminated pine for a lower shelf, then painted the whole thing in Smoked Turquoise, and antiqued it with ebony stain.











I'm sharing at ...

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31 comments:

  1. Beautiful Faye! Love the colour too! ~Cathy

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  2. So elegant. I love the colour - Sarah

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  3. I made my hubs come in to look at this one!
    Absolutely amazing - what vision you have :)
    And congratulations on your feature from BETTER AFTER!
    Hugs,
    Suzan

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    1. Wow, that's a great compliment Suzan, thanks so much!

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  4. Love, love, love it!
    One question, what mechanism did you use to keep the front closed.
    I tried to eagle eye this from the pics, but can't tell.
    Again, it is lovely!

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    1. Thanks for your comments Mercedes, I actually haven't put anything there yet, I plan to put a magnet latch, but so far it really hasn't needed it. When I do I will add it to the post. I realized after I posted that I didn't put a glass knob on it yet either, oops.

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  5. that is genius! i love the reinvention and love how it opens now!

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment, I'm very happy with this one, it was trying, but worth it in the end.

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  6. That is beautiful! I will now have to hunt for a treasure like yours.

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  7. BEAUTIFUL JOB ON THIS PIECE, I LOVE THE COLOR YOU CHOSE!

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    1. Thanks Lauren, I headed over to your blog and really enjoyed it. If you see anything on my blog you want to feature, I would be thrilled.

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  8. Replies
    1. Thanks Danielle, took a look at your blog and LOVE it!

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    1. Thanks so much Reenie, I appreciate the feedback!

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  10. I saw this on Better/After and I had to come and tell you what an amazing job you did! WOW! It is beautiful, and looks like so much time and effort went into it! I think I would have given up just looking at it. Great job!
    Kirsten@madeforaking

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    1. Thanks so much Kirsten, I visited your blog and love what you do. Being featured on Better/After has been great and it is putting me in touch with a lot of bloggers who share my passion for furniture makeovers!

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  11. Great job! Love the color.

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    1. Thanks for looking Sylvia, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I thrive on the positive comments!

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  12. Hi,

    I, too, saw this on Better/After...what a fabulous transformation, congratulations !! I'm in love with the color and would love to know the brand of paint you used if you don't mind saying..

    I look forward to checking out more of your treasures..you are so talented!!

    Best wishes, Jeanine

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  13. Hi Jeanine, thanks so much for your comments. The colour is Smoked Turquoise by Glidden, but I actually had the store make it with Dutch Boy paint. I've never used Glidden paint before and I'm sure it's a great paint, but I know that I love Dutch Boy, so I stuck with that. It is a cabinet and trim paint because I have painted upper kitchen cabinets with it in the past and it was leftover. It's great when you find a colour you love! I antiqued it with ebony stain, so it does make it a deeper, richer, colour.

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  14. Just found this GREAT idea! Now I know what I'm going to do with my cedar chest, especially since I want a "table" under the bedroom window. Question: How did you attach the shelf?
    ~ Carol Ann

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    1. Thanks Carol Ann, I drilled holes into the legs and hung the shelf on shelf hangers.

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  15. This is absolutely beautiful! I have one but the lid is not in as good condition as yours. Did you sand the chest before painting?

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    1. Hi Kelly, yes I did sand before painting, just lightly is good enough unless it's flaking off, then you need to get rid of anything loose. Thanks for looking!

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  16. I have a cedar chest in storage!! Now I know what to do with it! Do you have ant suggestions yo make it strong enough to hole a 55" TV? Maybe thicker legs? The TV is really light but I would still want to be sure it would support it. Beautiful job!

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  17. Hi there,
    Can you tell me where you bought the wood appliques?
    Thanks!

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