“You are and you will always be the most beautiful season of my life“

This cedar chest belonged to my Great Aunt Jessie and was handed down to me many years ago upon her passing.  It still has the key that fits in the lock and the original wooden wheels.  I decided a while back that I just didn’t have room for this cedar chest anymore and thought I would repaint it and sell it.  This is not her first make-over.  When I got her, the original finish was a dark mahogany stain that had aged and crackled to perfection!  Well, unfortunately, I had this furniture refinishing bug even back then and so I stripped it!  I know some of you just had a stroke but it’s the truth!  It looked awful after I stripped it so eventually, I painted it black.  And then, years later, I repainted it with a distressed antique white finish you see in the picture below.

Lately, I’ve been wanting to experiment with techniques that I haven’t tried or am not very skilled at.  The idea I had for this project included two of those techniques; paint blending and design transfers.  Paint blending looks easy enough if you watch the Youtube videos, but I’m here to tell you it’s not that easy!  I’ve also had bad luck in the past with design transfers but this one thankfully went on without any issues!

As I was working on this piece, I couldn’t help but wonder if Great Aunt Jessie would have approved of the new look?  She loved traveling and I don’t know if she ever made it to France or not but something tells me she would have at least liked the verbiage.  I do have some sentimental attachment to this chest so I’m still not sure if I can part with it or not but it definitely doesn’t fit in with my decor!  It might have to just sit around until I get sick of it being in the way!  I think it would look cute in a French-styled bedroom, sitting at the foot of the bed to hold extra blankets.

The inside is still in great condition.

The sides and back are blended paint just like the front and top.

Products used:

• Rustoleum Chalked Linen White
• Rustoleum Chalked Country Grey
• Prima Redesign Transfer “Beauty of Life”
• Minwax Polycrylic

I still need to hone my skills on the paint blending, I must have sanded and reblended the top five times!  It looks better in the photos than it does in person!  I keep trying and hopefully, I’ll get better at it with practice!  Does anybody else struggle with paint blending?  If you have any tips let me know!