A Very Unique Lane Cedar Chest Bench

Furniture refinishing 81 comments

Ok… So we had to drive 50 miles to get this chest, but I would say it was worth it! Plus it was a nice, scenic drive up to Cumberland County (Virginia)… Here it is in all it’s BEFORE glory!! Looks cool huh??

Lane Cedar Chest Bench – Before

The chest is an authentic Lane cedar chest, made right here in Virginia, with original 1971 certificate and key! It has a gorgeous (uh..uh.., nope) black naugahyde covered cushion on top that had been chewed up a little on one corner, brass 70’s casters and the moldings were actually plastic?.. But it DID NOT smell like moth balls (which for some reason a lot of them do) and it was the perfect size to use at the foot of the bed.
I first removed the casters and installed some wooden bun feet. I removed the top cushion, to get to the staples that held the naugahyde in place, and removed the naugahyde. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the foam was in great shape.. score! I sprayed the chest with a primer and then a couple of coats of Rust-Oleum’s Heirloom White. The top cushion I covered in some French script fabric & coordinating custom piping… it’s not perfect but it’s pretty good. I love having this chest at the foot of the bed… I haven’t put anything in it yet, but it is perfect for putting the extra pillows from the bed on top of it… I always keep an eye out for these types of chests because I had so many people ask to buy this one before I moved it into the bedroom.. “so sorry” I would have to say.. “but this one is not for sale”… it was uniquely MINE!

Lane Cedar Chest – After
Lane Cedar Chest Close Up – After

What do you think? Does the fact that there is plastic molding on it turn you off? Would you have left it on or removed it or not even purchased this piece? Love to hear your thoughts ’cause I have another “keeper” piece that has a similar problem and I’m hmm’ing and haw’ing about it….

Linking Up To: Miss Mustard Seed
French Country Cottage
the Shabby Nest
Romantic Home

Mum Of All Trades
Funky Junk Interiors
Between Naps on the Porch
Five Days Five Ways
2805
Primitive and Proper
Savvy Southern Style

81 comments

  3. Oh my gosh, that is EXACTLY the same chest that I redid!!! I know what you mean about the plastic. Had a stomach clench moment when my MR. unloaded it from the truck. However, it looks great painted up. The foam on mine was in pristine condition too, and we also had the certificate and key. I left the casters on mine, and I want to tell you that it sold within the first couple of hours of our Market Sale. It looks fabulous! Nice finish and I love your fabric. Thanks for letting me know about you. I’ll be sure to follow along often on your journey! Deb

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  5. It looks good–who cares what it’s made of–the details are what make this piece–I would say don’t worry what anyone else thinks as long as you love it–I personally think it is a KNOCK_OUT!!! good job

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  11. You did a great job. Most people would have looked right past it and not have seen it’s potential. It looks beautiful with your bed. Nice job. ps. I have my grandmother’s which is really similar to that. hmmm……

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  15. When I saw the first picture, I thought to myself “there’s nothing she could do to that chest to make me like it.”…and then I scrolled down and was immediately proven wrong. Big time wrong. It’s gorgeous. Ah, the power of paint. Beautiful transformation! Thanks for stopping by my blog – I really appreciate it!

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  19. Absolutely love everything about this transformation!

    Looooove the all the details that pop with the white!

    I would absolutely love it if you would link this up at my FREE-FOR-ALL linky party going on right now!

    http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2012/01/feature-friday-free-for-all-3-50.html
    So looking forward to seeing you there!

    P.S. (: )) Every link counts as an entry into my Cutting Edge ($50) stencil giveaway!

    ~Abbie (www.fivedaysfiveways.com)

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  20. I absolutely would have snapped that up in a minute! Your transformation is amazing and beautiful! I love the color {I love Heirloom White} and the fabric you used for the top. I love the moldings on it; it makes for such a nice decoration.

    visiting from Met Monday : )

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  22. I THINK IT LOOKS AWESOME!!! WHO’S GONNA GET DOWN THERE AND CHECK AND SEE IF IT’S PLASTIC!! LOL!!! DEFINITELY A KEEPER!!!!

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  25. I just picked up a small cedar chest at thrift store today for 15 bucks (score!) & was thinking of painting it a soft white & putting it at the foot of our bed. LOVE to see that yours looks so great & have high hopes for mine as well.

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  26. Hi! I really think you did a great job with this chest! I am actually redoing a cedar chest I just bought and I want to add a cushion to it. I was wondering, how did you attach the cushion (if you even did)? Thanks!

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  27. Love the new look of the cedar chest. My question is can you paint the back of the chest. I didn’t see that addressed in your info. Thanks

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  28. Two days ago my neighbor set outside of her apartment a Lane chest just like this one. She put a “free” note on it. I snagged it at the protest of my husband. Same era I just found out according to internet research of 1972. Just sanded it a tad this morning to receive the paint and filled in one small corner with wood filler that had a nick in the veneer. Also ordered the free lock replacement for safety reasons from Lane online. The feet were yucky due to neighbor setting it outside on her back porch so will replace with those little bun feet. Logged on today to find inspiration for a redo. I select yours!! Heirloom white she shall become! I have some script fabric I purchased “for a rainy day” but I’ll need some foam. I’ll post when complete. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INSPIRATION!!!

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    1. Wow Lana, what a score! This piece is the perfect foot of the bed size I have just loved mine! I hope you end up loving yours as well! I think you should show your neighbor a picture of it after it’s done 🙂 thanks for stopping by and I can’t wait to checkout your redo!

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  29. I have this exact chest and was going to put it in my garage sale – it is in mint condition even the blak naugahyde on the top but I don’t have a key – any idea what it is worth?

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  30. Wow! Beautiful! I just refinished the same chest and almost used the script for did a different fabric. Here is mine and it’s for sale. I’m in Goodlettsville Tn.

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  31. I have the same ceder and the inside smells like ceder but missing the key. If your interested in another one please let me know.

    Thanks
    Mike

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  33. I have this exact same cedar chest!! I literally was just googling cedar chest redo’s and came across your picture. I pried off the little decorative pieces on the front, but that turned out to be a bad idea because they were glued on and took some of the wood with them. Now I have to add a little wood filler before painting. Thanks for the inspiration. Very cute.

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  34. Hello I just bought a cedar chest just like this yesterday. I got a good deal on it. I only paid $45 bucks for it. I did a little research on how people where redoing these things. I’m gonna use a little chalk paint (annie sloan) and see how it turns out. You did an amazing job!

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  35. I just got this exact Lane chest only I have 2 that are half the length of this one…I’m getting ready to start on them this weekend but my fiancé is insisting that I strip the finish off them first (insert whiny “I HATE stripping furniture” voice here)…I was thinking I can just prime them with spray primer and spray paint them, mine will be painted all black, and the condition of them is actually pretty good minus a few scuffs on the edges and bottom which I think can be sanded out. So my question is, would you suggest stripping them or just giving them a good sanding? Thank you so much and yours turned out beautiful!!

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    1. Ugh, don’t strip if you’re going to paint! I usually just give them a quick light sand to scuff them up if they’re very shiny and them clean it with Formula 409. That should be all you need to do. And yes spray prime and spray finish should be fine although sometimes with flat surfaces off the shelf spray cans can look a little blotchy but if yours is just like mine with all of the onlay it will look fine. Have fun!

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      1. Thank you so much, I’m so glad I don’t need to use stripper it is SUCH a pain! Mine has the exact same designs as yours do only each one only has 2 squares instead of 4. I’m excited to get started 🙂 thank you again!

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  36. OMG I got this exact Cedar Chest as part of my Graduation gift, as was so common back in the days (1972). The style was very in at the time and even though the bedroom set it matched has move out and on, I still have the cedar chest. I been wanting to revamp it and have debated about taking the plastic pieces off the front, and so I signed into pinterest to get some Idea and by some luck happened onto your site. Thank goodness. I love the remake and the feet is a great addition, I know now I am keeping the moldings on. I was thinking of a light green, but I think I will steal your white look and run with it.

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  37. I just want to say, I am sooooo happy I found this! I have the SAME exact chest and was looking for tutorials or ways of redoing mine to pretty much this exact same thing! White with different cushion. I love what you did with it and can only home mine turns out the same. Ours will be in our entry way though! How cool!! THANKS!!

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  39. I’m thrilled to have found your blog!! I JUST picked up a chest identical to this last night and am desperate for tips as I’m not crafty at all. Mine too, has casters at the bottom and I had already planned to replace them with feet. One, I don’t want it rolling around on our wood floors and two, it’s only 16″H so I want it a smidge taller next to our bed.
    For those in a similar predicament, I went online and searched for furniture feet and found some I loved but at about $26 per ‘foot’. On a whim, I logged onto Lowe’s website and was thrilled to find some under $10!! Yay!

    The person I purchased mine from had already chalk painted it a custom white color (bummer because now I have to match the paint to match the feet after I install them.) then she ‘antiqued’ the medallion squares with what looks like a black or charcoal grey. I like it but I think she was a bit heavy handed on it…debating if I am going to bother with repainting it and then lightly antiquing it…

    What I REALLY could use some help with is the cushion on top. The lid folds up with both the cushion top AND about 1″ of wood frame on the lid…so HOW were you able to reupholster the cushion and work with that 1″ wood lip on the lid??? I too, want a fabric cushion vs the pleather that’s on there…can you tell me if you think I should remove that black ‘pleather’ and cover just the cushion OR just cover it over the pleather? What if I want to make it more cushiony? Should I add a cushion on TOP of this one or just replace the one that’s there??

    Thank you so much!!

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    1. Hey Christina!
      My pleather top was removed easily with screws that were under the wood top. I removed the pleather and then wrapped the fabric over the foam. You can easily add additional loft with batting but unless you’re going to be sitting there a lot I don’t think it’s necessary. Hope this helps but if you have more questions just ask and have a happy Christmas!

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  40. I bought one of these new. Spanish style was very in at the time. Still have it, now full of afghans and 40 year old baby clothes. If I could figure out how to get the plastc moldong off the front without tearing it up, I’d turn it into a mission style chest.

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  42. I have the exact same chest and plan to “stain” the plastic parts and chalk paint the rest with a new cushion. Where did you get the bun feet?

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  46. I just bought this exact Lane chest (1969) from Goodwill for less than $15.00, with key, certificate and attached brochure. It also has the wheels, which I will be replacing with the feet from Lowe’s OR four feet I bought from Goodwill for $2.00. The black vinyl is torn however I was going to replace it anyways. The chest itself is in excellent condition. I will be reselling it for $200.00, after the “redo”. I bought a MCM Lane chest (1950’s) for my daughter at a thrift shop for $60. Original finish was in excellent condition, with tray and key. She is happy with it “as is”. I bought an oak Lane chest (1987) at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago for $25.00. It looked new, with original certificate, attached brochure, and key in envelope. I put some sliders on the bottom for easier moving and sold it for $200. The elderly couple that bought it came back the following week insisting that $200.00 wasn’t enough because Lane chests are no longer being made, therefore they wanted to give me more money!! I insisted that they paid a reasonable price and they should enjoy the chest. Don’t you just love people sometimes!! I won’t buy a Lane chest without the key because of child safety issues.

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  48. Wished I would’ve found this chest long before you did. You see back in the day a very special boyfriend bought the exact same chest for me. Through the years and marriages it disappeared. Have been trying to locate one just like it for years. Of course I wouldn’t have changed a thing . But it does look pretty

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  49. So happy to find this post. I have bought 2 of these chests and refinished them. I had intentions of reselling it but loved it and had to keep it. My son saw it and fell in love with it and wanted it. I found another one, so I refinished it and gave it to him. It’s my favorite cedar chest by Lane. I had an offer for $250.00 but just couldn’t sell it, I loved it too much.

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  50. Love what you did with the ’71 Lane cedar chest. I have one to sell almost identical (no pad on top, oh, and unsure about the key).
    Yours looks so good, I am rethinking selling and paint it instead. Thanks for sharing.

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