I must admit that the ENTIRE time I worked on this project, I was pretty sure it was going to fail. But I held onto hope that things just might go right, despite all the shortcuts I was taking. It was really a testament to my lazy mind… I didn’t even sand down the surface of this old trunk because I was tired of running to Lowe’s!
But it turned out pretty well! I’m lucky. Some history: I’ve had this little trunk for 5 or 6 years now–which I bought from a Goodwill. I love trunks because they’re SO spacious. For years all my photo albums were in it, and now I put all my seasonal stuff in it which is great because it wouldn’t otherwise fit anywhere. In my apartment now, I can’t just push it to the back of a closet, but this funky hand painted pink and yellow design with star stickers, lots of pen marks, and white streaks of paint, doesn’t exactly go with the decor.
I’ve also been searching high and low for furniture items I can DIY to make my house cozier and… well better looking. After having trouble at thrift shops I finally realized I already had something! So I took this outside and got to work. Here’s what I did…
(1) Tape up all the gold edges (2) Remove stickers or sand down {was not entirely possible} (3) Paint! Even though this took about 4 coats on each side, I only ended up using less than a tiny Valspar color sample! (5) Seal with spray (6) Touch up the gold with Rub ‘n Buff metallic finish (4) Fix any paint mistakes
In the end, this cost about $10, and I originally bought the trunk for about that.
Let me say: on the package of Rub ‘n Buff it says something crazy like “this tiny tube covers 20’x20′” or something. A little goes a long way!
Now I’m on a mission to restore this other end table I have, build a kitchen table, and pretty much DIY the whole place. Do you have any tips for redoing furniture?
What an amazing transformation, it looks so chic! If the previous owner sees how it looks, he or she will probably regret getting rid of it now 🙂
It looks great Angela! You are right, a little elbow grease and a little paint and transform just about anything! 🙂 Can’t wait to see you ‘build’ a kitchen table!!!!
Thanks! …as for the table, I’ll know it when I see it!
your little trunk looks awesome! i want one:) can’t wait to see what’s next!
this looks great!!
love it. i think the white really makes the trim stand out so much better and makes it look high end. well done!
Amazing transformation!
That white makes a big difference….gorgeous choice!