The Stencil Experiment

I decided my next project
would be a stenciled piece
of furniture. I've NEVER
been a "stencil" kind of gal
per se but recently I've seen
a few pieces on Pinterest
that I actually really liked.
Go figure! I guess there really
is a time and place for
everything;)







I chose to sacrifice this old painted chest of drawers for my stencil experiment. I bought it from my cousin many years ago and although I've always liked it's tall, slender, filing cabinet shape...it hasn't had a place in our house for years.

As far as I can tell it was built with a hammer and nails...no dovetailing. Though far from quality construction...the chest was made of wood and it was sturdy. The perfect sacrifice!

(Who knows? Maybe it was someone's high school "shop" project? At some point in time a previous owner tried to McGuiver one of the drawers. I kept finding a white dust on my work table and finally realized it was coming from one of the drawer bottoms. Instead of replacing the drawer bottom with something like plywood or masonite they used a piece of ...................wait for it ................. drywall. I know right! I've had that thing for years and never noticed it until now. Funny!)


First, I stripped all of the
black paint off and then I
sanded it down the best I could.
It had lots of glue and oil spots.
Next, I restained the chest with a
combination of Special Walnut
and Dark Walnut MinWax Stain.
I bought some inexpensive stencils
from Walmart and numbered the
drawers 1 - 4 using Old White ASCP.
Then I applied a coat of clear wax
followed by a second coat
of dark wax to tone down the
white paint.

Finally I added some Threshold pulls
in a soft iron finish from Target.
More often than not
the hardware you choose
can make or break the piece. I
bought these pulls long before
I came up with the stencil idea.
They have that Restoration
Hardware appeal for half the price.Ya gotta love Target!



I'm really happy with the new look. The chest has an old industrial feel that will surely make it a conversation piece. I think it will look great at our cabin. 

 ~Wendy