I feel utterly honored to have been given the opportunity to work on this cedar chest. Built in 1928, this heirloom had been through some times. Each scratch, nick, dent, and broken piece of hardware was part of Willie’s story and, on a somewhat romantic level, I felt a little sad erasing it. But I was excited by the magic of letting it’s original beauty once again beam. I used Minwax Antique Furniture Refinisher to gently remove the old finish while preserving and conditioning the wood below. It was incredible to see the original wood revealing itself as I slowly but surely moved across the piece. Once with wood was cleaned, I applied two coats of Danish Oil and OH HOW IT GLOWED. Like bathing it in honey. It’s no secret that I love Danish Oil. Unlike a stain that sits on the surface of the wood, Danish Oil penetrates, conditions, and hardens the wood, working from the inside out to protect it.

I also needed to make some small repairs to the inside of the chest. A piece of the cedar and the hardware to open and close the top was missing on one side and needed repairs on the other. They don’t make hardware like this anymore (you might be shocked to learn that after 90 years, things have changed) so I couldn’t find an exact match to replace the missing piece. But what I lacked in availability I made up for in creativity. I purchased a close match and used a metal drill bit to remove the part of the hinge I needed. With a new machine screw and bolt, I was able to repair the existing hinge without having to replace it completely. The piece of wood that was missing also had to be replaced, so naturally I selected cedar since I wanted to maintain the authenticity of the chest. Though it was shades lighter than the chest’s existing cedar, I chose not to stain it.

The bottom also needed to be reglued, as many of the pieces of wood were pulling away from the surface. While the piece was on it’s side, I also refinished the feet, carefully removing their beat up finish, sanding, and restoring them with Danish Oil.

Before I go, I want to tell the story behind Willie’s name. This FANTASTIC family welcomed me into their home, trusted me with their most valuable possessions, and left me with a ghost. Willie is a ghost that lives in their home and was given a name after a series of how-else-would-you-explain-that-if-not-for-a-ghost things started to happen. Willie apparently came with the cedar chest which means he’s likely been hanging out in MY home for the past few weeks. As a totally unrelated aside, the light in my workspace has been flickering since I took on this chest. I changed the lightbulb (which did nothing) and checked the switch and there is no good reason for the flickering. I am excited for Willie to go back home.