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Colonial Blue Cedar Chest Chalk Paint Makeover

A thrifted cedar chest gets a makeover using DecoArt Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Colonial and Annie Sloan Dark Wax.

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The Rules:

  • Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
  • There’s no monthly theme.
  • There’s no budget to stick to.

Meet the Hosts

Angela | Simply Beautiful By Angela – Deborah | Salvage Sister & Mister Angie | Flippin Fanchers Denise | My Thrifty House
Jenny | Cookies Coffee and Crafts – Lynne | My Family Thyme
Meredith | Southbound Blog – Marie | The Inspiration Vault – Gail | Purple Hues and Me – Molly | Just a Little Creativity
Pili | My Sweet ThingsAmanda | Domestically Creative – Ali | Home Crafts By Ali – Carmen | Living Letter Home –
Emy | 
Semigloss Design – Jeanie | Create and Babble – Marie | DIY AdulationHeather | Glitter On A Dime

Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!

One of my goals when we recently updated our basement was to create a mudroom area, coming in from our garage.  My plan was to refinish and use this chest. In addition to the chest, I added a simple DIY Wireless Wall Sconce.  This amazing lighting hack requires no wiring and was installed in just a few minutes.  I also used my DIY Farmhouse pillow cover and Threshold brand wall hooks from Target.

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My husband, Andy, and I bought this beautiful Lane cedar chest at an auction shortly after we were married for just $50.  This chest spent the first seven years in our bedroom at our old house and has been here in the basement for the past fifteen years.  I have always intended on refinishing this little beauty, but never have.  Now is the perfect time to give it a makeover!

(Please excuse the photographs.  There is no natural light, so it is very difficult to photograph!)

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Supplies:

I started by giving the entire chest a good cleaning with Guardsman Deep Clean – Purifying Wood Cleaner.  The top was in pretty good shape so it just needed to be cleaned and polished.

On the body of the chest, I brushed on two coats of DecoArt Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint in Colonial. This beautiful, rich color goes on so easily. I love using chalk paint because no priming or prep is needed and its dries so quickly.

I allowed the paint to dry between each coat before I lightly distressed it, using a fine grit sanding block. Gingerly sand the edges where the chest would naturally wear and then wipe any dust away with a clean cloth. I like to use a Swifter dry cloth.

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To give this chest an antique look, I used my wax brush to brush my Annie Sloan Dark Wax onto the painted surface.  I worked in small areas to apply the wax.  The brush helps get into all of the grooves and details of the piece. Then, using a lint-free cloth, buff the wax away. The surface should feel smooth, not tacky.

Lastly, I spray painted the hardware, using Rustoleum’s Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint.

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What a beauty she is!  I should have done this years ago!

This space is coming together nicely.  I can’t wait to share more with you!

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And now for more thrifty goodness!

Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!

To save this post for later, pin it here!

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10 Comments

  1. The space looks beautiful. That blue color is so pretty and I like how you painted just the bottom and left the top wood. Beautiful!

  2. One of my favorite colors! You did a great job on this chest. So pretty

  3. What an awesome makeover and I am loving your little mudroom. Everything looks perfect.

  4. I’ve been dying to buy one of these chests to redo! Love how yours turned out!

  5. It turned out beautiful! I love the color and I think your pictures are great!

  6. The colour you chose is perfect, what a pretty blue. I really love how you did the finish on the front of your bench with the wax. I find that very hard to achieve, and yours is a perfect example of how it should look. It’s a great makeover.

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