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Christina Maria Blog

Peaceful purposeful home

Painted cedar chest

Give new life to an old chest with some paint and glaze – this painted cedar chest once was trash, but now is a valuable storage piece that looks beautiful as well!  This post contains affiliate links- full disclosure here.

painted cedar chest at the end of a sleigh bed in a farmhouse style bedroom

Updated to add: This makeover post is a few years old, but this piece of furniture has stood the test of time!  We have moved it multiple times and still use it in our bedroom today.  You can see more of it in our bedroom makeover here.

How to paint a cedar chest:

I have *drooled* over wooden chests for years, and have never found a nice, solid, chest that I could actually afford.  Everyone on Craigslist sells ugly beat-up chests for over $100!

A few months ago, one of the secretaries in the school I work at contacted me.  She let me know that she was getting rid of an old family chest because it was in really bad condition.  She said it had been sitting in her basement for years, but she just pulled it to the curb the night before so they could be picked up by the garbage. 

What?!  No!  I had to get over there right away!  

I was so excited for this chest…after all, I had been dreaming about a chest like this for so long!  So, I dreamed… for 8 months.  

Yes, 8 months.  I am ashamed.

I would like to think it’s because I really wanted it to turn out “perfectly”…and I didn’t have a clear vision for it yet.  


Well, I have finally finished this chest, and I am in love with it now!

painted cedar chest at the end of the bed 

So, you want to see where this chest started?  Here’s how it looked when I got it 8 months ago:

Lane cedar chest before paint

What you need to refinish a cedar chest:

 
It’s a solid Lane cedar chest, look at this inside:
 
Lane cedar chest
 
 
but it had badly chipping veneer on the outside…especially the legs.  The top was in pretty bad shape too:
 

Beginning steps of prepping the cedar chest for painting:

…sanded it down:
 
 
…patched holes & sanded again
 
And then I wasn’t sure what to do about the veneer.  I put my scraper under the badly damaged parts, and was surprised with how easily they just peeled off!  The legs were the pieces that the veneer was so badly damaged…so I peeled it off, and sanded the wood underneath.  Thank goodness the detailing on the front wasn’t damaged, because I don’t think I would have been able to take the veneer off of that!  
 
 
Once I sanded…
 

Painting and priming the chest:

I gave the rest of a piece a hand-sanding, and primed it:
 
This is my favorite primer
 
Looking better already!
 
Next, I used the same paint that I used for the bottom of my medallion table.  I used a paint roller for the top and the sides of the chest.  Then I used a regular brush for the front, and whatever wasn’t able to be reached by that brush, I used a small kids paintbrush to get in those little detailed parts of the front. 
 
I put 2 coats on, and was really liking how it looked at this point:
 
 
 
I bought a red mahogany stain to rub into the detailing, but then realized that when I lightly rubbed it into the white parts, it turned PINK!  A pink chest is NOT what I wanted!  I had a few moments of panic.  I then pulled out my old can of stain…dark walnut  (used for the medallion table)
 
Even after hand-sanding and putting the walnut stain on top of the mahogany, I couldn’t undo the damage.  I was starting to panic at this point.  I mean, I waited 8 months for this…and now I had messed it up!!  See the pink undertones on the section on the left:
 
So, I had to do something else.  I figured I may just re-paint it white, and then put the walnut stain in the detailing, but that meant I had to wait a few more days!  Ahhh I’m way too impatient for that!
 
I decided to try mixing my paint with clear glaze:
 
 
I loved it!!  Look at the difference between the piece with just the stain in the details, and the piece with the glaze on top:
 
 
I loved that it was not just pure white, and that the details still popped, but it was a creamier, less harsh finish.
 
 

A finished painted cedar chest:

I finished the rest of the chest with the glaze, and finally finished this painted cedar chest:  
 
I love it!!
 
This is a great solid piece of furniture, and I’m excited to keep it for years to come, now that it got it’s much-needed make-over!
 
 
Because I love before & afters:
 
 
I’m so happy to report that this chest has lasted our family for almost 8 years already!  It’s been through 4 moves and has been used every single day.  What a great trash to treasure project that we will continue to use for years to come!
 
Like this painted cedar chest project?  You’ll also like:
 
 
 
 
 
painted medallion table
 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Jessica @ O. Alouette says

    Oh I love this!! It came out so beautiful – I love the details on the chest. You did a great job.

    Reply

  15. Devonay says

    Amazing! You did a wonderful job! Thanks for including all of the pics… now I don't feel so intimidated to try this myself!

    Reply

  17. Jess@Balancing The Dream says

    AMAZING!!! I love the detail in the center of each panel! The color turned out perfect! i love that it looks aged!! great job!!

    Reply

  29. Vivienne @ the V Spot says

    This is beautiful! Good thing your mom could rush over in the SUV! Could you imagine this gorgeous piece in the trash!? Glad you saved it!
    Here from Serenity Now.

    Reply

  30. Sommer says

    Oh I love the detail on this! I just got a lane cedar chest from our neighbor across the street a couple weeks ago. The top was upholstered in some nasty torn leather so I've reupholstered that and I'm going to get some chalk pain this weekend to finish the rest! I can't wait! Mine doesn't have this much detail on it but like you I have been dreaming of having one for forever! I would love to have you share this at my VIP party today… http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/08/vip-party-24.html

    Reply

  31. Steph & Mom says

    What I want to know is what the original owner thought of your makeover?

    Just a FYI, there is a recall on Lane cedar chests concerning the locking mechanism. It seems that the older ones close and lock automatically causing a safety issue. You can email Lane for a replacement lock for free which includes a new key. I updated my 1974 cedar chest with the new lock–it's an easy fix.

    Reply

  33. Linda in AZ * says

    *** It's FABULOUS, my friend, and you managed to get it EXACTLY as you'd DREAMED, just cuz you "put on your thinkin' cap" (!), as my precious Grama would say!!!……..It was WORTH it all, wasn't it? I sure think so!!!

    Most sincere "congrats"! So glad you shared this, and I do enjoy/enjoyed your writing style!!!

    Best,
    Linda in AZ *
    [email protected]

    Reply

  35. Reannah @ {Shaped by Grace} says

    I just saw you on C.R.A.F.T. What an amazing makeover! Wonderful job!! The glaze was a great idea & makes such a difference! 🙂 xo, Reannah

    Reply

  36. KateB says

    coming over from C.R.A.F.T. too and wow! this is fantastic…amazing what treasures people have unused in their basement huh?

    Reply

  38. Amyshka says

    You did a really great job! Amazing what you can do to an old piece of furniture. Thanks for sharing!
    I'm following your blog now 🙂

    Reply

  39. Trica (Tree' - ka) says

    Wow!! I have an old cedar chest that needs to be refinished. Now I know what I want to do! Gorgeous!!

    Reply

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