Painted Cedar Chest Makeover

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This old painted cedar chest needed a lot of love! It was beat up but now it’s a stunner with new paint and pretty transfers!

Hello and happy Trash to Treasure Transformation Tuesday, friends! The last month of the year and we are so excited to share our brand new makeovers with you. I can not believe it’s almost 2024. That just sounds weird! Where are the flying cars, huh?? haha!

Okay, so today I’m sharing one I’ve had for quite some time. I did change gears on what I thought I’d do to it when I found it though. I considered sanding it down and trying to make it more of a natural-looking wood. But instead…well, read on! ;)

In case you are new around here, my friends and I get together every second Tuesday to share our latest “trash to treasure” makeovers with you. So be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see theirs.

Painted Cedar Chest Makeover

Here is how the little cedar chest looked ‘before’.

It was pretty beat up.

And it was missing one of the wooden wheels though. Luckily I had some old ones in my stash from other furniture.

I just popped this one out (the one on the left) and popped this other one in. (on the right)
And fixed!

The inside looked great!

 

CLEAN

I began by cleaning it up well with TSP Alternative Cleaner.

It had lots of scratches and marks but I didn’t bother with sanding it. I figured the transfers that I was planning to use would cover most.
Plus I decided to let that be “character”, which I do sometimes depending on the piece.

Here is what I decided to use.

I pulled two different transfers for this one. And this richly colored paint called Winchester. Not quite red and not quite purple…a beautiful, elegant burgundy. (you can find all the products linked above in the pink box)

PAINT

I gave it two coats of paint, drying well in between.

I love this brush! It’s my favorite to use for most things.

Two coats were perfect.

Just the paint hides the multitude of sins that were there. Scratches, gouges, etc. Amazing how paint can do that!

ADD TRANSFERS

I am using the gorgeous gold transfer here. Just the script part though.
You can use the wood stick to transfer or…

…you can use this tool.

Here is how it looks after the first piece is added.

And the second.

I am doing the floral portion on the left side. Sort of “flowy” as it will go flow over the side and front.

And once that part is done it looks like this.

Now to match up the bottom section.

Which can sometimes be tricky. You can see there on the left that the leaves didn’t quite line up. But I’ll fix that later.

Coming around a corner like so you will want to cut like this. Or even cut a section out and place it later.

Once that was all done. I used another part of the gold transfer below on the front.

Perfect!

Okay, so let’s fix the where it didn’t line up.

Probably not even a big deal but it bugs me! lol See how the leaves above it have white veining?
I decided to just make this look like a vein too…

Quick and easy!

ADD GOLD ACCENT

I decided to add a bit more gold to this cedar chest.

I used my finger to add a touch of gold on every edge. Sort of like distressing but using gold instead of sanding edges.

I love that added shimmer!

SEAL WITH WAX

I decided to use wax to seal this one.

I LOVE our Beeswax Finish. It is so lustrous and just a dream to work with. I don’t use wax often but some pieces just call for it.
And it’s perfect for this one!

I mean, just look at the difference the wax makes.

Love it.

And that’s it, done! So simple really.

But wow, what a brand-new look.

I love how the transfer flows onto the side and front.

And that section of the gold transfer was perfect for the front of the painted cedar chest.

See the hints of gold everywhere?

Just gives it a little extra something-something.

That luxurious wax finish, ahhh…

All the inside needed was to be wiped down. In perfect condition.

The back got painted too.

Gorgeous florals, rich color, and beautiful touches of gold!

It’s all ready for its new life and home.

PIN it to save it!

Don’t forget to hop over and visit my friends below!

1. Confessions of a Serial DIYer
2. Salvaged Inspirations
3. Prodigal Pieces
4. Girl in the Garage

Want to see more Trash To Treasure makeovers?? Click here to see!

See you back here on Thursday!

xoxo