I love a piece of furniture with a good history to it.

This storage chest was actually pulled from the trash on trash day.  The top was scratched up a bit but it was perfectly fine in other aspects–the lock worked, the handles were on securely and the legs were sturdy.

It would have been a shame to let the trash men cart it off to the dump.

Side View of Storage Chest

Farmhouse Magic Blog just couldn’t let that happen, so with a little help, I pulled it from the trash and pushed it into my car.  It took a bit of wiggle this way and wiggle that way to get it in.

I decided to refinish the piece.  I mainly hand sanded the top to get rid of the scratches.  At first I thought I was going to paint the chest lid a color lighter but big mistake.  It looked horrible, so I removed all the paint.

 

What worked out best was to paint the chest lid the same color as before.  I matched it up as best I could and that did the trick.

Since the paint smell was so strong, I ended up painting the chest outside the house.

The refinished chest turned out perfectly and has been in use in my house for years now.  I store my blankets and pillows in it.

It goes to show you what a little sweat, imagination and farmhouse magic can do.

Rustic Lock on Chest Refinished Storage Chest

The Trash Chest is now my Treasure Chest.