...antique gentleman's chest.

We have a small booth where we sell Plaster Paint as well as consign our signs/furniture at a charming local vintage shop.  The owner is precious and finds the most amazing deals you can imagine.

One day she gave us this gentleman's chest that was literally falling apart.  I'm not kidding.  We loaded it in pieces.  I did not have a vision for this piece, but Eddie did.

The mirror was gone, and the frame was barely holding itself together.  When we picked it up to load it, the bottom completely fell out. The drawers were beyond repair so Eddie built new sturdy shelves and we added the wicker baskets.  We also added beadboard to the interior cupboard with nice sturdy shelves for added storage.  This project was definitely labor intensive, we had our jig smoking and gorilla glue flowing!

The knob isn't original, but it matches wonderfully.  I always like to use the original hardware when we can but it was long gone when we got this piece.

The paint we used is Plaster Paint in the color, Paris.  After just one coat, we distressed all the edges and gave it a medium bourbon color glaze.  We have tried all kinds of glaze but found that the ones we like the best are ones we mix ourselves.  And finally we sealed it with a crystal clear sealer that won't yellow over time.

Plenty of storage space.  The top piece that covers the cupboard was also "gone", so Eddie cut/routered another one out of pine.

A close-up of  the interior of the cupboard.

We added beadboard to the sides/back and created sturdy shelves out of pine then finally adding molding to finish off the shelves.  It's all in the details!

To give this chest even more functionality we added a chalkboard to the door so that the new owner could jot down important things you don't want to forget.

**Tip:  Don't forget to "season" chalkboards before the first use.
    Here's How:

• Laying chalk on its side and coloring in all the chalkboard surface.
• First vertically, then horizontally.  Making sure the entire surface is covered.
• Finally wiping it clean with a dry cloth. 

 If you don't season a chalkboard then once you write on it you will never be able to fully erase those first words, there will always be a faint reminder it. It's called ghosting or shadowing - No bueno!

We have already seasoned this one, so its ready for a new home.

This piece is for sale, please contact us for a price/shipping quote.  Thanks for stopping by and checking out our latest DIY.