I love the look of distressed and chippy furniture.  I found this little chest in the alley and I was beyond excited.  I have been wanting to find a wood chest to use as an end table, and the best thing about this one was that it was free!

As you can see the top had seen better days and had black grease stains on the top.  Maybe it had been living in someones garage?  Nothing that a bit of sanding and paint can’t fix.  I love the shape of this little wooden chest, and that the lid is hinged.

Next I needed to address the awful rope handles.  I didn’t want to spend any money on new hardware, I felt like that would defeat the  fact that this project was free.  After a quick look through some of my furniture stash that is waiting to be painted, I spotted this little end table.  I often find furniture in the alley and pick it up to refinish.  I’m not sure why I grabbed this piece since it was really water damaged and made of fake wood, but I’m glad that I did.  The handles were EXACTLY the right fit for my wood chest, and once I gave them a quick coat of rubbed oiled bronze spray paint they were perfect.

I love how the paint finish on the box turned out.  I also love that this project did not cost me anything.  The box was someones trash, the handles were stolen from another piece of furniture and the paint was left over from other projects.  Plus as an added bonus now we have hidden blanket storage in our living room.  Love it!

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Tammy