Painted Lane Cedar Chest
Ta da! My first painted piece of the new year! My painted Lane cedar chest.
Believe it or not, I bought this cedar chest almost 15 years ago. Most of you know, in a former life, I was a decorative- or as we used to say – Faux finish painter. My BFF and then business partner Rox and I stopped at an estate sale on a whim and found this Lane cedar chest.
It brought back wonderful memories of my Granny’s cedar chest. It was always locked and if you were lucky and got a peek inside you would see wondrous treasures. A coin collection, letters, photos and a dress with a white hooped skirt! I loved that chest. So you know that I had to take this chest home.
Funny thing was, it didn’t make it to my home until a couple of months ago. It went into storage, then we loaned it out to a couple of friends before I got it back and began it’s restoration.
I had just gotten it home when I saw an article about the Lane cedar chest’s locking system. Basically – if you had a small child crawl inside, they couldn’t open it from the inside with the original locks. They would be totally trapped inside of an air tight chest. Which totally freaked me out! However, if you wrote Lane and gave them the serial number on the chest they would send you a replacement for free.
As you can see whoever the original owner was, they never removed the original ads or keys! It was in really awesome condition. Finding the serial number is super easy, it’s always on the back or on the bottom of your chest. I wrote to Lane and a few weeks later received a brand new lock and key. Woo Hoo!
I have never liked a blonde wood finish. Since this was going in my bedroom I decided to paint it gray with a few white accents. A tiny bit of antiquing followed by a wax finish and my cedar chest was done! Woo Hoo!
Here is my finished piece. It is so pretty , I love it! Not too bad for an afternoon’s work.
It is the perfect color for my room. Now I just need to find the perfect rug for the room!
I am toying with the idea of painting more of the furniture in the bedroom – so far I have chickened out. It just feels so dark compared to the rest of the room. I go back and forth on whether to paint or not to paint.
Until I can make a definite decision without freaking out, I’m going to let it stay as it is!
Until next time…
Tammy
Hey you! Don’t forget to Pin it!
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WOW! I love how it looks in your space! It’s perfect! Well done for and afternoon project! I hope you have a great weekend!
Smiles!
Terry
Thanks Terry! I just hopped over to your site and I have to say that I am so excited that you found me so that I found you! lol! Can’t wait to visit more often.
I love how it turned out and I’ve got to say – You’ve got great taste! I just had my Lane cedar chest refinished in similar colors! 😉
Check it out here: https://dustbunniesanddogtoys.com/2016/01/08/a-family-heirloom-revamped/
Jenna I just checked out your Lane cedar chest and I LOVE it! The beautiful detail and lines are perfect – and of course I love the finish! 🙂 Thanks for sharing it with me!!
So pretty. You did a great job transforming that piece!
Thank you so much Cynthia! It took me long enough to get to it, but so glad I waited to get it right.
So happy to see you at Making Broken Beautiful sharing this gorgeous chest! …… Go For it … paint it all the same as the chest! You will be so happy you did! Your furniture would be stunning in this color! 😉 But that’s just my opinion! Happy weekend!
Smiles!
Terry
I have a chest just like this that I bought. What you did is exactly what I want to do with it it for my new bedroom. Can you please what kind and color of paint you used? Please be specific as I have absolutely NO luck in matching paint colors. It is gorgeous!! Thanks so much.
Robin,
I used Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Pure white and Paris Gray. If you haven’t used her paint there are a ton of tutorials on Youtube, but it is super easy to use. I cleaned my chest really well and then painted. No sanding etc. One of the reasons I love chalk paint. I used AS wax to finish the piece. A coat of clear followed by a tiny bit of the brown. HOWEVER, I will say that I wished that I had just used a poly to seal it. The wax just isn’t that durable. If we lay anything on it with a zipper or metal it scratches the wax. Hope that is helpful, if not I’m happy to answer any other questions! Good luck and I’d love to see a picture when you are done!