A few months ago I found a cute little cedar chest on the side of the road left for the trash man. It just barely fit in the back of my Ford Edge (two kids in car seats have greatly taken up my available trunk space for junk findings). It was in decent condition but definitely needed some love. I brought it home where it sat in my garage until last week when I finally had some time to give it the attention it needed. Check out the before picture! It doesn’t even look like the same piece:

I decided to try Annie Sloan chalky finish paint for the first time. It’s a little pricey, a 4oz sample was $13.00, but it covered like a dream and was really easy to use. I used Old White for the body of the cedar chest. When finished, I still had about half of my sample size left! I used Annie Sloan’s dark wax on the top to enhance and darken the wood and clear wax over the white. I LOVE the dark wax! It looks like a wood stain I have used in the past but is so much easier to use and has no dry time. (Just arm muscles for buffing). Before painting I sanded down some of the rough areas and smoothed out a few scratches. I also applied a coat of clear Shellac to help avoid anything from the wood seeping through my pretty white paint.

It fits perfectly on the end of our bed and gives extra storage for winter blankets. (Hurray for more storage!!) I love how the dark top plays well with our roman shades and wicker baskets under the side tables.

Start to finish I was able to complete this project during two nap times! Now I just need to find my next curbside trash to turn into treasure….