The Playroom Makeover {Part 2-Refinishing the Cedar Chest}

The first project is completed!

Getting back to this makeover I wanted something relatively simple to get the ball rolling.  I decided to tackle repainting the cedar chest because the room didn't feel cohesive having different colors on all of the tables.  This yellow chest has been glaring at me for months!  With the major colors for the space being the greenish-gray, cream, navy blue, I wanted to use one of those for this piece.  This chest sits on top the the green/cream chevron rug and in front of the chocolate-gray sofa, so I wanted it to coordinate well with both pieces.

I settled on a cream color and planned to distress the edges to allow a bit of the wood to peek through.  The painted portion of this piece was the look I was going for.

Pottery Barn Distressed Josefa Trunk

I had a quart of cream oops paint in cream that I decided to use. The color is Valspar 7002-12 Quail Egg in a Satin Finish.  I wiped the chest down with damp cloth, gave it two coats of paint, then distressed the edges with sandpaper. At this point the cream color was looking a bit stark compared to the cream tones of the rug and wall.  So I dug into my paint stash and found some glaze I had left over from a previous project.  

The smoky brown color of this glaze toned the cream down perfectly!  It's the Ralph Lauren Aging Glaze in Smoke AG03.  I bought the glaze from the now discontinued Ralph Lauren paint line at Home Depot, but I believe there are some independent stores that still carry it.


I also know that the top of this chest will receive heavy use, so I sprayed it with 3 coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane in a satin finish.  I used it last year on an outdoor table I built, and it has held up well outside over the winter while being uncovered.   So I think it should do well on an indoor piece.

So here it is before:

And after:

And in the room after being refinished:

It feels more fresh and crisp having the color changed on the cedar chest.  I'm feeling motivated to finish up some other projects.  Up next is to get the chalkboard on the wall.  I will be back tomorrow to show a pretty easy way to hang it on the wall.