My Grandmother's hope chest

All my life my Mom has had her Mother's hope chest in their bedroom.  It was a piece that I had always admired, and I was lucky enough to inherit it 15 years ago when we I moved to Washington.

When I got the piece the top veneer was cracking and peeling, and in my haste, I tore up the veneer.  But, I was not able to get it all off.  And what I was left with was...

Basically, a big ugly mess.  And I lived with this for 15 years.  I would usually but a blanket on top, but it never really worked out.  It always looked to me like I was hiding something. And I was.

I am not really sure what prompted me to finally get around to getting the broken veneer off, I mean I have been wanting to for 15 years, but one night I decided, tonight is the night.

I got out the iron and got to work.

I used some fabric to protect the wood, and set my iron to steam.  The heat allowed the glue to release and I was able to pry up the offending veneer.

Ah much better.  Now I have a clean slate. 

I now had 2 options.  One being to paint the chest, and believe me this would be a great piece to paint, but I am going to proceed with option 2, which is to just darken the top and leave the rest alone.

I felt it was important to leave it alone.  I am happy that the stain is uneven, it makes it look a bit more natural and aged.  And here it is being temporarily used as my nightstand.

I can't believe it took me 15 years to make this simple change.

-Laurie