Waterfall cedar chest

This cedar chest is my FAVORITE project so far!!!! I bought this chest at the same auction as the waterfall bed and it has been sitting in our storage shed waiting to be painted. Truthfully, I was having a hard time convincing myself that it was OK to paint over the pretty diamond detail on the front. I finally asked Troy to help me pull it out of the shed and decided that since I wasn't going to keep the table or bed for myself I should at least paint it my favorite color. So, for the third week in a row I present to you a Tiffany Blue remodel!!!!

This chest wasn't in bad shape at all and could have been sanded down and restained, but it just wasn't my style. I wanted the carved details on the lid and around the base to be the focal point.

I started this remodel by lightly sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I filled a few gouges with wood putty and then gave everything another light sanding. After I removed all dust I used Klean-Strip liquid deglosser just as an extra precaution. Painters tape was placed on the inside lip of the chest to ensure no overspray made it's way between the thin gaps.

I will admit that I have been skipping the separate primer step lately. Instead, I've been paying a little more attention to my sanding preparation and using Olympic's One paint + primer. I have used it on several pieces and have been very pleased with the durability. I'm normally a Valspar girl, but it's so much easier to do a little extra sanding rather than cleaning my sprayer out an extra time! Lazy.......YES!! :) Once the paint was dry I lightly sanded everything super smooth and distressed the details. When I was happy with the results I gave the entire chest two coats of Minwax paste finishing wax for protection and shine.

I have this in my dining room and plan on making a few pillows so it can be used as a bench if ever needed.

Look at all of the beautiful cedar!!! Troy told me I could bring home as many cedar chests as I want, he would find a place for them :)



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