Vintage Red Cedar Chest

A couple of weeks ago I found a gorgeous cedar chest for sale on craigslist in a neighboring town. I was kind of freaked out to go and get it because the messages back and forth to the seller were extremely brief and they never provided a name, so I had no clue if I was even meeting a man or a woman.  Of course, I also happened to have no other adult available to go with me, so I brought my boys. (And then I emailed my husband the address so he would know where to tell the police I went should I never return because I'm totally a big chicken and sometimes assume the worst.)

 

 

My nine year old was totally oblivious the entire trip; having brought a stack of books to keep him occupied.  My eleven year old sensed my worry and asked what I was upset about.  When I told him my concern over meeting this person and getting the furniture he totally told me not to worry.  He is a blue stripe belt in Kung Fu you know! He even had his uniform on because he had a class later that night.

 

 

 

Anyway, I obviously completely overreacted because the transaction was totally fine, I got my furniture and made it home safely.  Here's a before:

 

 

 

That's Antonio sanding; he takes his job very seriously and makes a percentage of my profit when I sell a piece of furniture he helps on.

  

 

 

I painted the cedar chest Martha Stewart's Sealing Wax.  Two coats covered it beautifully, although my Mom kept telling me that is was a very pink red. Sigh. Obviously not the look I was going for. When the paint had dried, I sanded just slightly to distress and then decided to stain the piece with Minwax Dark Walnut to deepen the color and give it an aged appearance.  I was completely happy with the results of layering both the paint and stain!

 

I love how it looks against our black and white rug and think it makes a perfect coffee table with loads of storage.
 

 

This piece is also for sale at Village Primitives on Main Street in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linking to: 

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2013/02/nifty-thrifty-tuesday-no151.htmlhttp://www.cozylittlehouse.com/ http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/   http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

 

http://emilyaclark.blogspot.com/