Lane Cedar Chest Glow Up!

When I received this cedar chest from my client, I could tell it was going to need a lot of TLC. The inside still had all the glory of a vintage Lane cedar chest but the outside was rough. The most challenging part of this furniture makeover was fixing the feet. The internal flakeboard, which was crumbling, was effecting the structure of the piece! I had a solution though!

Before Picture

The Solution

I mixed up some All Purpose Bondo and was able to fill in the damaged areas. Bondo cures to a very hard material that was able to make the bottom stable again and secured the damage. I also used Bondo to fill the old hardware holes because they needed an update too! Bondo works better than wood filler for this because it does not shrink as it dries.

Painting

I used shellac spray to seal in any bleed through and to avoid shadows of the old hardware holes instead of a white primer because this piece was going to get some light distressing. If you use a white primer and sand back your paint you can often see a white halo around where you sanded which can be distracting to the eye if that is not the desired effect. The color I used was Fawn by They Chippy Barn.

Finishing

My client wanted black hardware but left the rest up to my design. This piece immediately had me thinking of apothecary pulls because of the divided up faux drawer fronts. I found these larger ones on amazon and knew they were the perfect choice! Before drilling the new hardware holes I sealed the piece with furniture wax for durability! I also refreshed the inside with Dixie Belle's Big Mammas Butter. I love how this piece turned out!