DRAB to FAB - Hope Chest

I'd been on the lookout for a cedar hope chest to redo for my girlies for months now.  But as in all things, my thrifty sense left me passing up many that were more than I wanted to spend.  I knew the right beauty would come along... and she did.   This one only cost me a barter of 2 dozen eggs.  Once you see the pics below you'll see why.  Sheesh!  It's a good thing I have eyes to see a diamond in the rough - because she was rough!

I knew that strange woven fabric something-or-other needed to come off.  {that was a no-brainer}  But it took some time mulling over the possiblities to know how to remake it so it was fab.

See what I mean??  Eek!

I decided some oak beadboard would be just the thing to make this chest into the shabby chic beauty she deserved to be.  We purchased some unfinished panels for $10.99 each at our local home improvement store.  We also picked up an oak board that my husband cut into pieces to act as trim work to hide the joints.  That was around $8.

I started by pulling off all the old fabric, and giving it a good sanding.  We then attached the beadboard to all 4 sides and the oak trim to finish it off.  My carpenter husband helped with that part!  I gave the whole thing a few coats of white paint and then a couple coats of poly.

We had these pull handles in our stash and they matched perfectly! 

 My daughter picked out the zebra fabric on clearance for less than $10.  Not my first choice, but hey, it can be changed out easily enough, so why not.  I used just a thin piece of foam to give it some padding underneath the seat and voila! 

She no longer resides in my garage, but up in my girlie's room for all their dress up clothes.

 

 

Now.  If only they'll help them stay more organized....  A mom can dream, right?