Refinishing a toy chest

I have been dragging this toy chest around with me ever since I have moved out of my parents house. 

It was my siblings and my toy box from when we were little.  It was in rough shape and being the sentimental type I wanted to try and fix it rather than scrap it.  The base was falling off and the back wall was starting to separate, not to mention the layers and layers of paint applied to it over the years.

Basically, I had to take a 2 prong approach to save this piece; structure and finish.  To deal with the structure I called into service clamps, wood glue and brads.

And in dealing with the finish I stripped the years of paint with chemical stripper, which I talked about yesterday.

My plan was not to get every scrap of paint off.  I wanted to leave some to help give it character and show its age. It is a chest that has a past and you can't fake aging like this.

I had decided early to stain the top and bottom portions and paint the body cream.  I knew when staining some of the paint remnants would pop out.  I wasn't exactly sure how it would look, but that is half the fun.

 Once the staining was done, it was time to coat the base in a warm white.  I decided to use a satin finish this time instead of a high gloss.

For the interior I decided to paint it a soft gray.  I also decided to leave the top edge a bit raw, showing all the different layers of paint.  Again, I didn't want to disguise the age of the piece.  I wanted her to be able to share her secrets.

Another place you can see the age in on the feet.  I love the feet.

 In the end, I am so happy with how it turned out.  It may not be dramatically different, but I have successfully saved and revived our old toy chest and still preserved its age and history.

-Laurie