Garage Sale Treasure Chest

I had the greatest Saturday morning "free-style picking". Yes, I am a fan of American Pickers, can you tell? I would LOVE driving around the country (I'd settle for just CA even) looking for treasures to refinish and give new life to! I picked up this sorry looking cedar chest for a whopping $15, at a local garage sale! I was a little hesitant at first, but saw the great potential in it and if nobody else wanted it, I'd happily find a place for it in my home.

Cedar Chest in need of some TLC.

Top of the lid.

In refinishing this chest, I used the following items:

1. Glidden Satin Interior Paint (I used "Onyx Black")
2. Quality Poly Brush
3. 60 & 80 Grit sandpaper
4. Non-toxic Citrus Stripper Paste
5. 2" chip brush
6. Scraper (I used a 1" metal putty knife)
7. Latex Gloves
8. Minwax "Clear Satin" Wipe on sealer
9. Charms on a clip
10. plywood the size of the lid (I bought it at Lowe's & had them cut it to size there.)
11. Fabric slightly larger than the lid, add 4" to each side. 
12. About 3 yards of batting, folded to lid size
13. thumb tacks

It appeared as though someone had "tried" to strip this piece sometime in the past, but never finished it. So, I began where they left off. First, I removed the top and all the hardware. I noticed the lock and latch were present, but no key. After doing some research online, I was able to locate a replacement key (YAY!) for $8.00. A bit pricey, yes, but I felt it very important to have the option to lock the chest. Once the hardware was off, I painted on the stripper with a cheap chip brush. Time to wait for about 2 hours for the "magic" to begin...

I tested a small area and noticed it was coming off pretty easily, so the scraping began. Once the paint was gone, I allowed the excess to dry for sanding. Using my 60 grit sandpaper, I sanded it all down!

all stripped and sanded. 

As with all of my projects, I began painting, using long horizontal strokes. This paint went on super smooth! Overall, I used 2 coats, allowing some of the wood grain to still show through (I really like that look!)

I specifically left some of the original paint in spots, so when I lightly sand (distress) some antique white paint will peek through. Once I was done distressing, a little bit of white paint and raw wood appeared (again, another look that I enjoy!).

I painted the lid in the same fashion. Let's let it dry overnight... Now, onto the cushion...

plywood just under the size of the lid.

3 yds of batting & 1 yd of damask fabric.

layer the fabric, then batting, then wood. Pull the fabric & tack down

top side finished

underside all tacked down

Back to the chest... I used a soft rag and wiped on the poly sealer, using only one coat (don't want it too shiny). I allowed it to dry about an hour. Be careful when using the sealant that you don't allow bubbles or drips to dry! Once the chest was dry, I reinstalled the lock. I decided to "cutify" the lock and added some of my vintage jewelry charms to the key. Nice touch, I think...

lock with replacement key all charmed up

with finished sealant

finished top before adding cushion

The chest is now ready for the cushion. To attach the cushion, I laid the top side of the lid on top of the plywood side of the cushion. Pre-drilled a hole on each end and two in the middle. Using 1 1/4" long wood screws, and pushing down on the cushion (a helper would be great for this!), I screwed in the screws. I reattached the hinges and lid to the bottom of the chest. It's now ready to use! All finished!

Total investment: $38
Time investment: weekend

Vintage Secretary Bookshelf

My dear friends were cleaning out their apartment, getting ready to relocate to Australia. They asked me to sell this great mid-century piece for them... so I bought it. I thought this was an interesting piece and once refinished, had great potential. So began another project... (from Jan 2015)

I was so excited to begin this project, that I had forgotten to take a "before" picture, in its original condition. Oh well. You can get the idea of what it looked like. This piece was heavy and solid whitewashed oak. The pull-down door had a mortised lock, with the key, but no knob or handle. I was going to fix that. As you can see, I removed the doors and the hardware and as with most projects, began sanding each piece down to the bare wood. Once sanded, I painted a couple coats of white primer to help seal in any stains or other markings.

with primer.

ready for paint.

Next, came the inside shelf piece. It had been badly painted and had dried drippings and was peeling paint. So, this too had to be sanded and primed.

I applied about 3 coats of semi gloss antique white paint to all the pieces. To change things up a bit, I added a small back panel of grayish blue paint, to give some dimension to the inside. The shelf unit was placed back into its spot and screwed down.

 Once all the paint was dry, I reattached the hardware...

...and added my own special touch, this antique brass pull (just LOVE it). It matched the lock and hinges perfectly. (Special ordered from Amazon.com)

I then used 80 grit sandpaper and lightly sanded the edges, allowing for only a small amount of distressing. I actually left the distressed edges raw, I think it looked fresh and clean that way.

I cleaned the glass sliding doors and placed all the panels back in their tracks. The desk was now complete.

Total investment: $45
Time investment: weekend

Shabby Chic Foot Stool

Living in California, yard sales are prevalent. This weekend offered many sales and some great items! Here's one of the items I picked up:

Vintage Sleigh Foot Stool

I looked it over well and couldn't find any markings or branding, but guess it is mid 1900's or slightly earlier. I saw this poor little guy sitting on the ground and had to have it! The cost: a whole $3.00! I brought it home and began working on it immediately.

In refinishing this cutie, I used the following:

1. 60 grit sandpaper
2. quality 1" and 2" brushes
3. 1" sponge brush
4. Quality semi gloss paint (I used Concepts in "Ladybug Red")
5. Minwax stain (I used "American Walnut")
6. Fabric piece
7. 3/4 yard of 1" quilt batting
8. 20 thumb tacks

In starting, I decided to complete the foot rest first. I laid the middle board on top of the batting and cut it about 1" over the board side, all around. I cut 5 pieces, with the last 4 pieces being the same size as the board itself. I notched out the sides in the batting.

 Next, comes the fabric. I found the desired look of the pattern and laid the fabric over the pile. I want a complete, finished look on the underside, so I will be leaving the length sizes a bit longer, than what I really need. Once cut, I ironed the fabric, to get the creases out. I also pressed a half inch seam on each end, to close in the unfinished edges. Starting with the length sides, I pressed down on the pieces (a helper might make this easier) and began carefully pulling the fabric towards the center of the wood piece. Once I had it tight enough, I tacked it down, then I turned to the ends. I carefully did some tucking and began tacking it down.

underside is completely covered and pinned in place

finished cushion

Next, comes the foot rest, itself. Using my 60 grit sandpaper, I sanded down the whole thing. I used some wood glue to help seal some loose handles and let it dry overnight.

Once the sanding and repairs were complete, I began painting. I used 2 coats with polyester brush, allowing the brush strokes and the dark wood to show through the paint. Once the paint was dry, I lightly sanded the areas that I wanted to be distressed (mainly the handles and sides... places that would get a high usage). I then took a sponge brush and applied the stain to the unfinished areas, immediately wiping the excess off, sometimes rubbing it into the piece itself.

After a couple of hours, the base was dry and ready for the cushion. All I had to do was carefully tuck it into the slots and press it down. It popped right into place!

Complete!

Total investment: $9
Time investment: 4 hours

Fashion Flow Highboy Beauty

 I LOVE Art Deco design and this piece definitely had some character to it! I picked up this beauty from a local seller on a Facebook Buy/Sell group page. The hardware caught my eye and I HAD to have it!

The inside drawer had a label stating "Fashion Flow Furniture". In doing some research, I found that most of the furniture ads were from the 1930's and further research showed that not too many pieces remain out there (or maybe the labels went missing). The back of the dresser was marked with a few numbers, but whether or not those have anything to do with how many were manufactured, is a mystery.

In refinishing this beauty, I used the following items:

1. 60 & 80 grit sandpaper
2. Citrus based non-toxic stripper paste (for hardware)
3. Paint-able Dap wood filler
4. Quality paint brushes 2" and 1"
5. 2" Sponge brush
6. Quality Antique White Semi Gloss Interior Paint (I used Dunne Edwards "Chantilly Lace")
7. Quality Satin Interior Paint for Accents (I used Benjamin Moore "Raindance")
8. Minwax "Ebony" stain (apply to distressed edges with Q-tips)
9. Minwax Clear Satin Sealer 
10. 2 satin Nickel knobs

First, I removed the hardware and applied the citrus stripper to each piece. I applied a thin coat and waited about 2-3 hours. I carefully cut one side of the bottom panel of the dresser to release the matching metal kick plate. Once it was freed, I applied the stripper to this, as well. About 2-3 hours later, I was able to carefully scrape the stain/paint off, revealing a beautiful light metal. I lightly sanded the hardware to reveal a crisp new metal, giving it a brushed look as well.

Metal panel covered in primer and stain.

From right to left: Original condition; Stain removed;
(bottom) Primer removed & sanded to give a brushed look. 

Once the hardware was cleaned, I reinserted the kick plate and toe-nailed a screw in the underside, putting it back together. I used the wood filler to fill in the small saw line and then proceeded to fill in any other imperfections on the piece. Due to the fact that one of the drawer pulls was missing, I had to purchase (2) new knobs for the top smaller drawers. So, I filled in the existing hardware holes with the filler and drilled a new hole directly in the center, for the new knob.

Once the filler was dried, it was time to sand all the pieces down. I used a 60 grit, to get as far down to the the wood as possible. I used my power sander on the top and sides and did the rest by hand. 

Once the wood was free of stain, I wiped it down and began to paint, masking off the kick plate to preserve the nickel look. I used Chantilly Lace paint on the top and edges and Raindance paint on the sides and drawers. Applying the paint in long horizontal strokes looks clean and allows some of the wood grain to pop through the paint (I just love that look!). I applied about 3 coats of each. 

Allowing the paint to dry a couple of hours, I returned with the 80 grit sandpaper and began sanding the edges, giving it the distressed look. To add the darkened edges, I used a Q-tip soaked in Ebony stain and carefully went over each raw edge, immediately wiping the excess into the wood. This allows the dark color to blend into the paint better. 

The painting is complete... now onto the finishing details... I installed the hardware and then sealed the entire piece with a clear satin sealer, applied with a sponge brush. Viola!  Done! 

Total investment: $50
Time investment: 10 hours