Distressed Wicker Side Chest

By: Crissie Wiyninger for FaveCrafts

Learn how to distress paint furniture and save yourself time, money and trips to the store. This Distressed Wicker Side Chest is perfect for beginners but looks super sophisticated. Use paint and sandpaper to create a unique look. In just two or three hours, you can start and complete this DIY painted furniture project. People will want to know where you found such a cool and unique piece of furniture. Don't tell them you worked on this project at home - see if they can figure it out for themselves. No matter what, everyone will be impressed by the cool colors and unexpected design. A friend of mine was selling this little wicker chest for $7. Two of the handles were broken, and she just needed to get rid of it. I loved the shape of it, and so I brought her home hoping to do my first furniture refinishing project. It took me a long time to decide upon the colors, but I love the results! I had a very difficult time finding new drawer pulls, so I turned to Ebay. I loved the coral/ivory color with the gold distressing, so I just sealed them with the clear gloss. I had considered refinishing it and selling it, but I love it so much that I think I will remodel my guest room to match it!

Primary TechniquePainting

Easy

Materials:

Krylon ColorMaster Ivory Satin
Krylon ColorMaster Sea Glass Satin
Krylon ColorMaster Non-Yellowing Clear Gloss
Sheet of fine sandpaper
Set of three drawer pulls/handles
Drill and drill bit
Screwdriver
Newspaper

Instructions:

Cover entire work surface with newspaper before beginning project. Using screwdriver, carefully remove handles. Separate drawers from main body. Using warm soapy water, clean entire surface of chest and drawers. Allow surface to dry.
Using Krylon ColorMaster Ivory Satin spray paint, spray entire body of chest using even coats to cover. Set aside to dry.
Using Krylon ColorMaster Sea Green spray paint, spray front and sides of each drawer in even coats. Set aside to dry.
Once completely dry, use sandpaper to "distress" the body and drawer fronts by gently rubbing the surface focusing on corners, edges, and areas wherein natural distressing would occur. Use Krylon ColorMaster Non-yellowing Clear Gloss to seal the entire body and drawer fronts.
Prepare handles (paint or seal, if desired). I used Krylon ColorMaster Non-yellowing Clear Gloss to seal the paint already on the handles. Using drill and drill bit, carefully drill holes for handles. (If original handles are used, this may be unnecessary) Replace pulls/handles.