Creative Ways to Redo a Wood Chest of Drawers

Vintage Decoupage

• Decoupage your chest by first removing the hardware on the chest and making any repairs necessary, such as filling in holes, tightening feet, screws, drawers or loose backs. Sand the chest to create a smooth surface. Look through magazines, books, old vintage cards, theatrical programs or any images you really like. Cut out the images and decoupage them to the chest. To decoupage, paint the decoupage paste onto the chest and then over the image. Cover all or part of the chest. Seal with several coats of sealer, and your chest will look like a vintage painting. Add cool glass knobs to finish the look.

Hollywood Glamour

• Make your chest fit for a movie star by covering your chest in mirrors. Have your glass company predrill your hardware holes when they cut your mirrors for you. The edges of the mirrors need to be smooth as well. Attach your mirrors to the chest with mirror adhesive. Tape the mirrors into place for two or three days to be sure the glue has hardened. Insert mirrored or clear knobs to complete the look.

Tropical

• To add a tropical flair to a tired old chest, all you need are some grass cloth or woven bamboo place mats, bamboo poles, a saw, scissors and hot glue. Use your larger pieces of bamboo to make patterns and borders on the chest. Use the place mats to cover the wood in between. Hot glue all the pieces directly on the wood. Change your handles and add a piece of glass to the top of the chest to make the transformation complete.

Quill

• Quilling is a craft that rolls paper strips so that they look like scrolls. This simple technique can transform a chest into a piece of art. Sand down and paint your chest a pastel color that you like. Cut strips of paper 1/8-inch thick and roll them to create scrolls. Glue the quills into the shapes you want and then roll glue across the back and attach the quills directly to the chest. This will create intricate filigree designs. You can use many colors of paper to enhance your design. If you cover the top of the chest, you can create a foil tray under the top edge and pour a resin coat over the chest top. Resin will drip into the tray until it sets up. This will embed the quill in the resin.