Old Tool Chest Gets A Fresh but OLD Look!

My client, Margaret, purchased this old tool chest 

for storage for her daughter

who is heading off to college……

 but it's a tad too rustic for them the way it is. 

Here's the inside.

She asked if I could paint it...

She didn't have a real sense of direction,

 just told me to use my own discretion.

I love when a client does that!!!!!

It makes me feel like my work 

is truly unique and an art form,

not just a paint job!

First thing I did was give it a good cleaning and sanding.

This piece has lovely wood grain, 

so I would like to do a treatment to keep that.

 I painted the inside in Maison Blanche chalk paint

in Peacock.

Delicious…

I left the inside top natural.

 

Now when she opens this,

it will be like opening a jewel box!!!!

Outside, I decided to do a navy treatment with the stained wood.

But after doing the top, I felt it was too dark, 

so I started layering paints over the navy, and the wood.

And I continued, by adding peacock and duck egg…

and a little navy to the sides….

still letting the grain peep through in places.

And then I distressed the edges, 

and stained everything with Jacobean stain.

I brushed on and wiped off the excess with a rag.

Then I added some lime wax as well…

to give it even more dimension.

Here you can see how the lovely wood grain 

still shows through the finish.

I also painted the hardware.

I added a little gold gilding wax to the handles,

and nail heads……they look old, crusty

and beautiful!

And inside, I stained as well.

It gives the piece incredible depth.

The last thing I wanted to do with this beautiful

antique was to just paint it!!!!!

This treatment maintains the integrity of the piece,

and is oh so much more interesting than paint.

Don't you agree?

Thank you, Margaret!

I think this is going to be an awesome addition

to a dorm room!!!!!!