Hi everyone! Hope you’re having a great weekend. Yesterday my sweet husband and I scoured Salvation Army and Goodwill, in search of treasure. You’ll have to wait until later in the week to learn the answer the age-old question: did she or did she not score some awesome finds? Today, however, I have a quickie for you. A little makeover of a small spice chest I picked up at different Goodwill a few weeks ago–proving once again how much difference a coat or two of paint can make. To tone down the brightness of the paint color, I topped it off with some homemade dark wax.
The chest could be used to hold actual spices, or how about using it as a jewelry box or paper clip and rubber band caddy on a desk or in a craft room?
Here it is in all of its orange glory, dating to about the 1990’s when roosters were all the rage.
I gave it two coats of homemade chalk paint in antique white and then painted the drawers this lovely turquoise.
Did you know you only need two ingredients to make your own dark wax? Wax and stain. I mixed four rounded teaspoons of wax to one teaspoon of dark stain, then applied the mixture evenly to the chest with some cheesecloth.
Here’s what it looked like before removing the excess wax and then buffing it.
Here’s a comparison of a waxed versus an unwaxed surface.
When removing any excess, you want to make sure some wax bits stick into corners and grooves, since that’s where a genuinely aged piece would be darker due to a little bit of grime (lovely thought, I know). Buffing results in a nicely smooth, satin surface that within a few days dries to a nice hard, protective coating. Chalk paint needs a protective coat to prevent it from splotching when wet or rubbing off (like chalk) when dry. You can use acrylic polyurethane instead, but I prefer the look of wax for many projects.
I gave it two coats of wax because just one didn’t seem to darken it to the point I wanted, and now it’s just right. I’ll be bringing it with me to the annual Shaker craft fair in November; it seems a long way off, but I’ve got to stay busy all year in order to have enough merchandise!
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Always adding new merchandise!
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It’s adorable and of course I love the turquoise surprise on the drawers!
Surprising how covering the fussy paint and pictures brings out the pretty detail of the chest. Nice!
What a transformation, Diana…it’s a beauty now!
So sweet…..I know for sure I would have overlooked that little chest. You did another great job bringing that little cutie to life! Have a wonderful Sunday!
How cute is this wee chest. I love how the carved design is the focus now and not the roosters.
Love! I would have to keep it! ☺
Such a cute little cabinet. The notched detailing is just perfect and I love that you gave a little pop with turquoise. Nice job!
Such an improvement, Diana! Although, I don’t know, maybe you should have left just ONE rooster, maybe on the middle drawer. What do you think? Just kidding! But those certainly were fine, feathered friends, weren’t they?
I have a little child’s play cupboard about that size that I need to make over. Maybe I’ll try something similar on it. I really like the turquoise drawer insides. Gives the piece juat that little extra interest it needs.
Thanks for sharing this little make-over. I’m inspired to get at my little cupboard now.
I have to laugh with your great concoction. When we were first married we had a three story Victorian monstrosity, in need of every kind or repair, and we were fresh out of college with no extra money. The oak floors were scraped and bare and stained. Hubby created a concoction exactly like this with canned floor wax and a can of stain–a shade darker than the original floor color. We merrily applied the wax and ground it in with the brushes of our floor scrubber, then applied again. After buffing the floors were gorgeous, not perfect but far better than the complete stripping they had needed before. I still used that method for touching up beat-up furniture, old wooden shelving, etc. GREAT TIP for lots of things. Sandi
Lovely redo on this little cabinet. I especially like that you painted the drawers the pretty aqua color. Thank you for sharing at the Snickerdoodle Create~Bake~Make link party!
I love the new look you gave the spice chest, Diana! Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle. I’ll be featuring this at today’s party.