Waterfall Cedar Chest Makeover

If you’re looking for furniture makeover ideas for your cedar chest, get inspired by this waterfall cedar chest makeover! We’re excited to share how we transformed this piece from drab to fab, and you can easily do the same with your own!

Cedar chests are timeless pieces of furniture, but sometimes, they need a little update to fit in with your current decor. This is one of the ways you can do it, so let’s get started!

Welcome to Furniture Fixer Upper day, where we join 4 of our talented furniture friends and bring you brand new makeovers! I’ll link to my friend’s makeovers after our after photos at the bottom of this post! Don’t forget to check out their masterpieces!! Okay, back to our makeover!

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See more AFTER photos below these printable instructions!

Waterfall Cedar Chest Makeover

Check out this waterfall cedar chest makeover and learn how we transformed an old cedar chest and bring this old beauty back to life.

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Materials

• Stripwell QCS (Use code SUNLIGHT10 to get 10% off your order of Stripwell QCS!)
• Steel Wool
• Lint Free Rag
• 220 Grit Sandpaper
• 220 Grit Sanding Screens (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• Medium Foam Pad (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• Tack Cloth
• Behr Waterbased Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner
• Fusion Mineral Paint in Algonquin
• Behr Waterbased Stain
• Clear Shellac
• Dixie Belle's Mineral Chalk Paint in Sand Bar
• Minwax Pre Stain Conditioner
• Varathane Wood Stain in Sandstone
• Minwax Polycrylic Spray

Tools

• Electric Screwdriver
• Plastic Scraper
• SurfPrep Sander (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• Vacuum

Instructions

1. Remove any hardware on the cedar chest, including the lid latch, using an electric screwdriver to make the process quick and easy. This will also guarantee the safety of children who may be tempted to play with the latch.
2. Strip the original finish using Stripwell QCS. Spray the Stripwell on, let it sit for 15 minutes, then spray a second coat and wait another 15 minutes before scraping off both the Stripwell and the old finish. Use steel wool to scrub away more of the old finish and residue. Wipe down dry with paper towels after.
3. Tape off the gap between the lid and the top of the cedar chest to prevent any stripper from dripping inside, preserving the natural cedar scent and look.
4. For any uneven wood tones or stubborn stain spots, hand sand with 220 grit sandpaper and use a SurfPrep sander with 220 grit sanding screens for larger areas. Use a medium foam pad for curves and edges. After sanding, vacuum up the dust and wipe everything down with a tack cloth.
5. Wipe some Minwax pre-stain conditioner on the cedar chest, then brush on Varathane wood stain in Sandstone. For the whitewash look, wipe it off pretty quickly so the stain doesn't soak in too much.
6. Apply a topcoat of Minwax Polycrylic to protect the newly stained cedar chest. Spray 3 coats and lightly sand in between each coat for a smoother finish.
7. Stand back and admire your newly transformed waterfall cedar chest!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Fusion Mineral Paint in Algonquin
• 
  Dixie Belle Paint Chalk Paint in Sand Bar
• 
  Minwax Pre Stain Wood Conditioner

More Before and After Makeovers

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Click any of these “before” photos below to view the “after” of that makeover.

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First, let’s talk about how we got this cedar chest. We picked up this old cedar chest from a family friend who was clearing out their family member’s garage full of old furniture and everything else under the sun!

The best part is that they gave it to us for free! It was an old family heirloom and even had the name of their great-grandma written inside of the cedar chest. They insisted we take it for free because they didn’t have room for it, so we did our best to bring this old beauty back to life!

So, that’s how this waterfall cedar chest makeover came to be. We’ll walk you through the steps we took to transform this piece – whether you have an old family heirloom or found a similar cedar chest at a thrift store, you can easily give it new life with our tips and tricks.

Supplies Used for Waterfall Cedar Chest Makeover

• Electric Screwdriver
• Stripwell QCS (Use code SUNLIGHT10 to get 10% off your order of Stripwell QCS!)
• Steel Wool
• Plastic Scraper
• Lint Free Rag
• 220 Grit Sandpaper
• SurfPrep Sander (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• 220 Grit Sanding Screens (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• Medium Foam Pad (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• Vacuum
• Tack Cloth
• Behr Waterbased Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner
• Fusion Mineral Paint in Algonquin
• Behr Waterbased Stain
• Clear Shellac
• Dixie Belle’s Mineral Chalk Paint in Sand Bar
• Minwax Pre-Stain Conditioner
• Varathane Wood Stain in Sandstone
• Minwax Polycrylic Spray

Removing the Latch on a Cedar Chest Lid

Before diving into the waterfall cedar chest makeover, we had to make sure the lock on it wouldn’t work by removing the lid’s latch with our trusty electric screwdriver. These old locks have a history of being a safety issue with kids climbing inside and getting locked in, so we wanted to avoid that from happening.

Stripping Finish on a Cedar Chest

We planned to give this a whitewash finish, so we started by removing the original finish with Stripwell QCS. We sprayed the Stripwell on, let it sit for 15 minutes, then sprayed a second coat and waited another 15 minutes before scraping off both the Stripwell and the old finish. Here’s our Stripwell QCS review for more details and personal experience using this stripper.

We also used steel wool to scrub away more of the old finish and residue. After stripping it, we wiped it down dry with paper towels.

While we let the top dry from all the stripper that was soaking on the surface, we flipped the cedar chest onto its back and found tons of spider webs (Natalie’s favorite) and dust. So, Taylor vacuumed it all up and made it nice and clean.

We taped off the gap between the lid and the top of the cedar chest to stop any stripper from dripping inside since we wanted to keep that nice, fresh cedar smell and look intact. With the cedar chest lying on its back, we sprayed Stripwell on the front so it could soak into the flat surface, and we also gave the sides a spray. We did a couple of coats, waiting a few minutes between each one.

We scraped off the extra stripper with a little plastic scraper, and the old finish came off with it, just like we wanted! We wiped away any leftover residue with a lint free rag, but then noticed the wood color on the cedar chest varied a lot. The base was a lot lighter in color, while the top had a much deeper reddish hue.

Here’s our list of the best tools for removing paint from wood if you have a piece that is painted instead of stained that you want to strip. While we were figuring out what to do, we wiped down the inside of the cedar chest with a damp rag. It’s a great way to bring out that natural cedar smell and freshen it up!

Sanding Cedar Chest

Next, it was time to figure out what to do with those uneven wood tones and some stubborn stain spots that didn’t come off with the stripper. We did some hand sanding with 220 grit sandpaper in a few spots, but we really got into it with our SurfPrep sander and 220 grit sanding screens. To tackle some curves and edges, we used a medium foam pad. Once we were done with sanding, we vacuumed up the dust and wiped everything down with a tack cloth.

Whitewashing a Waterfall Cedar Chest

It was now time to try our first (of what ended up being several) attempts to whitewash our freshly stripped surface. We brushed on some Behr water-based pre-stain wood conditioner to help prepare the surface of the wood for the whitewash application.

First Whitewash Attempt

To make the whitewash, we mixed some Fusion Mineral Paint in the color Algonquin with about 50% water. This made it really watery so it would go on super thin. We brushed it onto the same side of the cedar chest where we used the pre-stain conditioner and then wiped it off.

It’s a good thing we tested this on one side first because we ended up not liking the Algonquin wash at all. It dried weirdly and looked splotchy – not great. So, we sanded the whitewash off using 220 grit sandpaper.

There was also still some paint left in the wood grain, so we repeated the process with Stripwell QCS to remove the paint residue from the side of the cedar chest.

Electric Screwdriver

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Tack Cloth

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Pre Taped Plastic

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Second Whitewash Attempt

We got the cedar chest ready for our next go at whitewashing by brushing on a thin coat of the Behr water based pre-stain wood conditioner. We let it soak into the wood, then wiped off any excess with a rag.

We then used Behr water based stain to brush some color onto the bottom of the cedar chest. The wood there was way lighter than the rest, and applying the stain really helped it match the rest of the piece better.

Next, we sprayed the cedar chest with clear shellac. This is our very favorite primer and we hoped that it would help with whitewash go on more evenly on our next attempt.

When the shellac was dry, we mixed up a new whitewash color and a different brand of paint. This time, we mixed a 50/50 mixture of water and Dixie Belle’s Mineral Chalk Paint in the color Sand Bar.

Just like the first time we whitewashed, we tested it on the side of the cedar chest first. It looked much better this time, so we went ahead and whitewashed the whole piece. BUT the next morning, when we checked it out after it dried, it looked awful! We just weren’t happy with how it was turning out and struggling to get the look we wanted.

If you need a more detailed guide on whitewashing, here’s how to whitewash furniture.

Removing Whitewash by Sanding

So, you guessed it! We removed the whitewash look again by sanding it all down with 220 grit sandpaper. We also used the SurfPrep sander and medium grit foam pads to remove most of the paint.

After that, we went over everything with a wet rag to get the residue stuck inside the wood grain. We vacuumed up the dust and wiped it down with a tack cloth, too.

Whitewashing a Cedar Chest With Stain

For our third and final whitewash, we decided to use a stain to get our desired look. First, we wiped some Minwax pre-stain conditioner on the cedar chest, then we brushed on this Varathane wood stain in Sandstone.

We wiped it off pretty quickly since we only wanted a light stain and didn’t want it soaking in too much. When we stepped back to see the result, this time, we were finally happy with it! Here’s our list of the best wood stains and how to stain wood furniture for more tips and guides about staining.

Topcoating Stained Waterfall Cedar Chest

We wiped everything down with a tack cloth and sprayed on 2 coats of Minwax Polycrylic as a topcoat. The top felt a bit rough after those, so we gave it a light sanding with a fine grit pad, wiped it again with a tack cloth, and then sprayed on a 3rd and final coat of polycrylic.

Check out this honest review about Minwax Polycrylic spray to learn more about the pros and cons and benefits of using this topcoat.

In the end, this old cedar chest makeover ended up being a lot of work to get the result we were going for. But the coolest part was that the family who gave it to us wanted it back once they saw it refreshed! We’re thrilled we could save it for them and give them a reason to keep this precious family heirloom.

Don’t forget to check out these other awesome before and after furniture makeovers from my Furniture friends!! (Click the links below the photos!)

• Cedar Chest Makeover from Salvaged Inspirations
• Antique China Cabinet Makeover from Confessions of a Serial DIYer
• MCM Step End Table Makeover from My Repurposed Life
• Mini Sideboard Makeover from Petticoat Junktion

More painted Furniture Makeovers

• Vintage Buffet Makeover
• Painting A Bedroom Set
• Flatware Chest Makeover
• Painting A Nightstand

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