Out With the Old, In With the New!

I've been wanting to refinish this hope chest that I got when I was in high school - I wasn't loving the color of the wood anymore.  I wanted to put it at the foot of our bed so I decided to do it in a red color to match the bedroom.  With the help of Google and e-mails back and forth with fellow blogger Kelsey at "Tattered and Inked", my DH and I tackled this project together.  I'm really excited with how it turned out PLUS I can check it off my 30 Before 30 List :)

This is what the chest looked like before.

 

First, David removed the panels and took off the hardware.  Then he sanded it down to remove the

 old finish.

The next part helped relieve some stress!  We took a crowbar and needle-nose pliers and distressed it.  We made small holes, scratches, and other distressed marks.  These "flaws" ended up holding a lot of glaze...I'm glad we decided to do this.

To do this one, we just took the end of the crow bar and gently tapped to make the lines close together.  These are probably my favorite marks.

These are the only products I used.  I believe we went through 3 bottles of the red paint - but I had already thrown 2 of them away when I remembered to take pic :)

The hardware was originally gold so we sprayed it glossy black.  *LOVE*

Next, we painted the entire chest red.  This red is AMAZING!  I e-mailed Kelsey at Tattered and Inked to see what red she used ... LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!  It's the perfect bright red.  

Then, I took the glaze and brushed it all over and David wiped it off with a damp cloth.  We worked in sections so the glaze wouldn't dry.  The bottle says you have 15 minute work time....the bottle lied!  

 

Here's how it looked after it dried and we put the hardware back on!  For our first time refinishing furniture, I was pretty impressed with how it turned out. 

See all the holes and scratches?!?!  

 

 I was *very* impatient while waiting for it to dry completely before we brought it in the house.  In fact, it probably wasn't completely dry when we brought it in :-/  So I sit it on an old sheet just in case! 

 

I was at Hobby Lobby today and bought some crosses to hang on the bedroom walls.  I had them out on the floor when David came in and said "Hey, maybe you should put the small cross on the side."  Ummmm.....YES WE SHOULD!!!  So, he attached it and I absolutely LOVE it.  Good idea, Hubby!  Now, I just have to go get another cross to put on the other side and find another one to hang on the wall.  Back to Hobby Lobby??  Oh, I guess.