Lane Cedar Chest...

I know many of you are wondering why someone would paint a cedar chest (my 18 year old son, the wood worker, is one of them).  This was actually a job I did for a client (that's not to say, if it were mine I wouldn't paint it....).  She had previously bought a drop down desk and upholstered chair from me that I had listed on Craigslist and called me a few months later to see what I could do with this.

She was in the process of downsizing to a smaller home and wanted to use the chest in the spare room for her granddaughter when she visited.  It had some pretty deep gouges on the top, and she wanted an updated, fresher look for the new room.

She chose Duck Egg Blue (one of my favorites!) and wanted it very lightly distressed.  She left the finish up to me. This is after 2 coats of paint (and no, I did NOT paint the actual cedar interior- it was in mint condition).

I got all of the gouges smoothed out and distressed around the edge of the routed lip to make what was there less noticeable. (not sure what is up with the pinkish hue to this pic???)

I mixed my own "white wax" using ASCP in Old White and clear wax (about a 60-40 ratio) and layered that on top of a thin coat of plain clear wax.  She had intended to replace the hardware, but hadn't found anything she liked yet.  I went ahead and painted the existing hardware, and waxed with the white wax mix ...and she ended up leaving them in place.

It's hard to tell in the other pictures, but I lightly distressed the edges and around the feet.

I had some fabric in my stash that tied in with the paint, so I lined the inside drawer for her as a surprise when she opened it (underneath is the original baize green... like pool table felt).

She was so pleased when she saw it, she hired me to paint a dresser & night stand to go in the same room (I'll have to see if I can find the pictures of that).

I love the way it turned out and will definitely use the "white wax" again!