Bathroom Kist Makeover

My mom has had this chest in the bathroom for ages. It is very handy for storing extra toilet rolls and other bathroom knickknacks in. Aside from its obvious uses, all of the grandchildren also used it as a handy stepladder to reach the basin as they grew. The result is that it has become quite worn and tatty. In a casual conversation, I told my mom that I wanted to do a blog on giving your furniture a makeover and she immediately suggested the kist. And so it came that I did a makeover on my mom's bathroom kist.

No makeover story is complete if it does not have a before shot. This is what the chest looked like before I started. I wiped it down to make sure it was clean of any debris. The intention is to use chalk paint in the makeover and this paint will show the tiniest bit of fluff that is caught under the paint.

My mom said she wanted nautical stripes and I suggested using VanDaniQue's Petit Fours and Island Aqua for these stripes.

I will be using both a sponge and a brush to paint the stripes. The sponge leaves more of the background visible, especially if I apply the lightest colour with it. I painted every alternate plank with the sponge brush in Petit Fours Chalk Paint.

Here you can see the difference the new colour has already made to the chest's appearance.

The dark colour, Island Aqua, is painted on with a flat art brush. The leftover planks are all painted in this colour.

It is time to step away from the project to allow it to dry before we continue. Although it is almost immediately dry to the touch, it is considered ideal to give the paint 24 hours to dry before applying the varnish. I did not. Instead, I had a cup of coffee and went back to work.

Before I do any decorative work, I prefer to apply a first layer of varnish. VanDaniQue supplies a brilliant water soluble varnish in their product range.

I use the same flat paint brush to apply the varnish. This time I take about an hour's break before returning to the project, giving the varnish time to dry sufficiently. Again, I have to caution that 24 hours is ideal.

After consulting with my mom, the client on this project, again, we settled on using this design of a fish to decorate the kist with. This design can be downloaded from APrettyTalent.com under the title Fishy Four under the tab Digital Downloads. Alternatively, you may also want to consider stenciling or decoupage, rather than freehand painting. Check out the brilliant book Paint Effects Masterclass for even more ideas regarding this.

I use a China Marker to draw the fish design onto the lid of the chest.

I then use VanDaniQues Chalk Paint in English Rose to paint the body of the fish. I use an angle brush to for painting the body and fins of the fish.

I use Moulin Rouge to paint the fins of the fish.

I then use a round brush to paint the eyes of the fish in White Wash, Tuscany and Dark Pewter. Time to step away from the project again. I gave the paint between 15-30 minutes to dry before I continued.

To put the finishing touches on the fish, I used a black Posca Marker with a chisel point to outline the detail of the fish.

Now was the right time to wait 24 hours before continuing to paint the second and last layer of varnish onto the chest. Test on a separate piece of wood to make sure that your varnish does not dissolve the ink from the pen/marker you use!

And finally the makeover was complete!

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
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