Cedar chest transformation

One of my favorite recent projects is the resurrection of this Lane Cedar Chest from the 1940s. The chest was found in grandma's house when she moved out after grandpa died. It had been living in an upstairs closet for who knows how long. There were glue spots on the veneer, the polyurethane was wrinkled and spotted like an alligator... it was gross. I had it hiding at my house for months, and one day I decided to just dig in and fix it!
Dirty, lumpy, cedar chest.

I bought a sander finally after hand sanding for hours to the demise of my fingerprints, and sanded the whole thing down. I was so lucky that the veneer was thick enough that I only sanded through in a few parts. Man I was lucky!! Lesson learned, don't sand veneer with power tools!!

finished!

Looking back I probably should have stripped it first to see where that got me. Then I stained it with natural stain from Minwax, then used polyurethane over the top, several coats. I wasn't sure if that was the thing to use... antique restoration websites say don't use poly on antiques. BUT... my chest is technically not an antique, since it's only from the 1940s and not over 100 years old. So I went with it and am glad I did!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New name?

I realized that I have had a Bloggy Renaissance lately, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I miss writing. Maybe I have stuff to write about these days with this house, rather than just bitching about the daily grind. I like to have a place to put all my pictures and stories too, like a proud mama. Maybe it's because the "transition" is finally coming to a close, and I have a real life back after traveling, living in four different states, school, marriage, house, career, etc. This morning before it warmed up enough to paint, I spent a couple hours going back to 2006 and reading my bloggy. Woah. This blog was very different then, and I kind of liked it. In '06, I was struggling, and searching for something. Mostly money. I did a lot of philosophizing, and ranting. Man, those next couple years were stressful. It's funny though... all the things I wished for have come true, and I have emerged a different person. My blog has changed too. I think is has become kind o
Read more

Sad little wall.

Image
I thought I was done with interior design for a while. I like how everything looks and feels in the house. Eclectic, collected, sentimental, and MINE. But, recently two people poo-pooed my lion wall. This makes me think they don't know a thing. Or, is my lion wall not as great as I think? The wall in question. This wall is in the living room; a tiny, open, 15x20 room squished next to the kitchen that functions as family room, den, living room, and office. The left (in photo) side is flanked by the bar, with two stools. It has the world's frumpiest couch (but very, very comfy), and two chairs. On the right is a picture window. The couch faces the TV. I have struggled with this wall several times. Should it be an accent wall? House a large piece of art? If so, what? I've tried to make several montages of family photos, found things, and it always comes out mish-mashed. Until I found the lion. She came from an antique store in Reno, and was living on the tallest part of
Read more

Nursing School

Image
So, screw Portland. I got accepted into a nursing program in Kentucky last week. It's a 12-month Bachelor's program. No muss, no fuss. Just come in May 2008, and start. A year later, I'll have a bachelor's degree in nursing, and be ready to take the test to get my Registered nursing license. What a relief! Kentucky is far away, yes. And I don't know anything about it. And my boyfriend doesn't like the idea of Kentucky either. But, after seeing what goes on with the 800 people who apply to nursing schools here, I am more than happy to move myself for 12 short months. Everyone else can stay here and try for 3 years in a row to get into school. They can have their nerve-wracking admission interviews, they can be placed on extensive alternate lists-- just in case someone drops out-- and live their lives with their fingers crossed that they just might be the lucky #24 out of 800. Then they can have their 2 year programs, and their 4 year programs and their dumb old g
Read more