Vintage Cedar Chest

Diane
by Diane
2 Materials
$40
1 Week
Medium
I was given this ugly duckling when my aunt and uncle were downsizing. It was built for them around 1950. I've never seen one like it, with the drawer on the bottom. After months of staring at it I decided to do something with it. It was taking up valuable space in my small studio. Not that's it's done, I'm not sure I can part with it. It is one of the prettiest pieces I have ever done. I hope you like it.
In all its ugly glory.  The side piece was broken and it had a terrible moth ball smell.  It had numerous coats of varnish which was difficult to remove.  I brought the chest outside and liberally applied paint stripper and then followed it up with the palm sander.  I wasn't able to remove all the varnish but enough of it that I was confident I could work with what was left over.
I did not take enough photos.  But this is what I did to achieve this result.  After sanding and cleaning it really well with soap and water, I applied 1 coat of Zinsser Bin (shellac base). I let that dry about a week.  Then I painted it with chalk paint and let that dry over the summer. I didn't have time to work on it.  When I came back to my project, I no longer liked the color of chalk I had used.  So I repainted it with Fusion Mineral paint.  I painted the top with 1 coat of Algonquin and the rest with 2 coats of Cashmere.  Then I added 2 coats of SFO stain in Cappuccino to the top. Finished it up with a gorgeous IOD transfer. The transfer was so easy to apply.  I went very slow and followed the instructions. 
Suggested materials:
  • Fusion Mineral Paint in Algonquin and Cashmere.   (Raggs to Riches, my local retailer)
  • IOD transfer   (Raggs to Riches)
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4 of 18 comments
  • Gruber Gruber on Oct 18, 2018

    Really nice

  • Itsmemic Itsmemic on Oct 24, 2018

    Gorgeous !! I have the same type cedar chest in my garage..I keep thinking I should just get rid of it cause it doesn't match anything...but now? I'm gonna paint that eyesore..and let's see what happens !! THANKS !!

    • Diane Diane on Oct 24, 2018

      Thank you. I felt the same way about this chest. Now I love it.

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