Patience - The French Chest Makeover

I've had this small chest of drawers for years, I've kept a load of household tools in it and basically left it in a dark corner of the garage.  BUT NOW (drum-roll...) she's been turned into a lovely French Chest of Drawers.

I like to start with the reveal - here's how this chest looked to start with...

Made of solid wood - no veneer here dear! And I think this must have been someone's pet project at some point because it's been made up from reclaimed wood.  I wondered if it was part of a desk originally.  The sides and back are very basic bits of wood - but it's part of the charm. You'll see.

So I've used for tools storage - it was never created to be loved and admired... until NOW that is.

I started out with a couple of coats of Old White chalk paint.  Did a bit of fixing and sanding the drawers and then added Paris Grey on the front panels.  I used masking tape to create the grey borders around the top and sides.

The old handles are nice, solid brass.  They are lovely as they are with the patina built up over years, but once I looked at them on the grey and white I realised they needed a coat of Old White too.

I didn't do lots of sanding work to the wood - I wanted to leave it as natural and bashed as possible - naturally shabby this one.  I visited the Graphics Fairy and found the French graphics I wanted to use.
Patience!  for the top.

Grain sack for the sides.

So this is how the drawers look BEFORE I added clear wax. The clear wax seals and protects the chest.  It also brings out more of the character.  The next three pics are after waxing....

The white and grey are take on a more vintage hue.

This is her behind - you never know where she'll end up.  Keep it pretty.

These are the handles after a treatment with the wax too.  Another peacock tail design (like the bentwood chair I did earlier which is here).

I blinged up the inside of the drawers.  They were all given coats of Paris Grey and gold added around the inside of the drawers. (I just can't keep away from that antique gold, sigh...)

What do you think? I love to do French refurb!!