Curbside Rescue Blanket Chest DIY
- By Joan
- April 20, 2022
- 2 Comments
Curbside Rescue Blanket Chest DIY
Don’t you just love a curbside rescue? A piece that has been sent to the curb just waiting for the trash man or a wayward scavenger, whichever comes first.
This time I was victorious!
This little guy is not in the best of shape. He’s obviously missing a couple drawers but he is made of solid oak, he’s sturdy and he was calling my name. Save me! Save me!
No, this was not a super short dresser for the vertically challenged but a 2 drawer blanket chest. At one time it probably looked somewhat like the blanket chest above. This one happens to sell for $1431. I got a bargain.
I don’t know what happened to my drawers but I can work with what I have (or don’t have).
Besides having no drawers, the top was also missing a large chunk of wood in the back corner and there was absolutely no varnish in sight.
I believe this piece had also been out in the weather at some point, the grain was raised and all of the oak was a little fuzzy.
An electric sander with fine sandpaper is a beautiful thing. It made quick work on the fuzzy wood.
A piece of old oak hardwood flooring cut to size fills in the hole at the back of the piece.
I sanded the oak flooring glued and clamped into place and let dry overnight.
Look how beautiful the grain is revived with just a little bit of dark walnut stain.
The missing drawers were replaced with the same scavenged oak hardwood flooring that I used for the top. No room to screw or nail so I used builders adhesive to attach the flooring to the sides.
Because the sides of the blanket chest were fuzzy like the top ,I did sand the sides but finished those off with dark gray chalk paint (right) and when dry, finished with an antique wax (left).
Final step was to hide the transition from the hardwood shelves to the blanket chest with 2 pieces of quarter round stained the same color as the flooring.
Even without the drawers, the blanket chest can still hold blankets at the base of a bed.
The blanket chest joins some other past projects in my bedroom, including a pallet wood and bedsprings light, vintage door headboard, pair of nightstands and the DIY window cornices.
The top of this mudroom bench and storage is from House by Hoff. I stuck it on top of my blanket chest (with the help of photo editing) to give you another use for a short little dresser. Just add baskets and you have a great addition to a mudroom!!
Don’t be so quick to pass us that curbside rescue. Until next time, stay inspired.
Copyright © 2024
Such a lovely and useful transformation! You saw the potential in something most of us would have passed by!
Love it!