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Nautical Trunk Makeover

By Wendi Wachtel

Nautical-vintage-trunk-makeover-with-chalk-paint-and-stenciling-transformed-an-ugly-old-trunk-H2OBungalow

Do you know what today is? It’s themed furniture day! The theme for this month is inspired. Inspired came at such a good time! Now that the remodel is done and the dust has settled, I’m looking at everything around the house with a whole new fresh eye. Truth be told, some items just don’t cut the mustard in our small house.

It’s easy to hide ugly in a big house with lots of space that no one visits:)

Not so much in a small house.

My shipwrecked nautical trunk makeover saved a special piece of family history from the trash can or a lifetime of being stuffed in the garage. Let’s back up in time…several years ago, PB…pre-blog, I pulled my husbands college trunk out of the trash. I couldn’t let him throw away such an important piece of his history. Right?

I’d consider my first nautical trunk makeover a craft fail. My sweet DH (Dear Husband) is not only extremely sweet but also sentimental. Even though my first makeover was less than gorgeous, he loved it. Which meant I was stuck with it.

That all changed last week.

I remembered a great trunk makeover from Artsy Chicks Rule from a few months ago. I loved her project and her trunk was the same style as mine.

And my dilemma was over {BIG Cheesy Grin}

Nautical-inspired-trunk-with anchor-hand-painted-graphic-H2OBungalow

Lucky for me the paper came off easily. I loved seeing the original writing on the trunk from when DH (Dear Husband’s) packed up and went off to college.
Sea-chest-makeover-H2OBunglow

It was so easy. I layered three coats of different colored chalk paint onto the trunk. Heavily distressed all over to expose the layers and give it some character.

Sea-chest-makeover-with-chalk-paint-H2OBunglow

I found a great free graphic here and resized it with posters.com to fit the top. A little clear wax and some antiquing wax was the perfect final touch.

Nautical-inspired-trunk-with anchor-graphic-H2OBungalowMy vintage nautical trunk makeover made such a huge difference. It looks so much better than before!

Nautical-trunk-with anchor-hand-painted-graphic-H2OBungalowIn a small house it’s hard to hide ugly.

Nautical-inspired-trunk-with-painted-vintage-anchor-graphic-H2OBungalow

Now I don’t have to!

Some of my favorite furniture makeovers are my Faux Painted Cargo Furniture , Mid Century Coffee Table Makeover, and my Grain Sack Graphic Painted Table.

 Ready for more fabulous furniture inspiration? Be sure to see all the fantastic projects from our inspired theme below.

Themed Furn Group Pic


 

 

signature with starfish

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. isha says

    Hi Wendy, I love love love the transformation and would like to do the same with a trunk my dad left me. It has so much sentimental value for me I would never get rid of it. Unfortunately I too have a small house. What colors did you use?

    • Wendi says

      Thanks so much Isha! I have the same challenge a small house, so if something will take up space it better be pretty and be useful! I was low on paint when I did this project and mixed several colors for the base coat. Most are American Paint Company. The base color is a light taupe brown and I don’t remember what colors I used to get that, the next is Home Plate (American Paint) and the top is Robin’s Egg Blue (Maison Blanche). I used clear wax first and then a little dark wax which changed the light blue to the pretty soft green. I hope you try the project, it’s a wonderful way to pretty up an old trunk:)

    • Wendi says

      Thanks Kathy! I just put it back in it’s place by our shelves last night and it looks sooo much better than it used to look:)

  3. Melody @ My Passion For Decor says

    I love a great trunk makeover and this is one of my favorites! Such a wonderful transformation!

    • Wendi says

      Thanks so much Melody. It’s always nice when a makeover turns out well, especially on a piece that has special meaning like my husbands college trunk:)

  4. Jeanette says

    I have a trunk my parents bought for me when I was a teenager. I painting it long before paint developed into the quality it is today. That means the paint is scratched {not in a good distressed way.} It’s hidden in a closet upstairs. You’ve inspired me to paint it and find a place to showcase it and use it. Great job. Jeanette

    • Wendi says

      Jeanette, You would do awesome things with a project like this! I had to do something or I would have been stuck with lots of ugly in plain sight! Pull that trunk out and redo it!

  5. Karin Chudy (ART IS BEAUTY) says

    I LOVE this!! The Layers, the graphics..EVERYTHING! I am now on the lookout for a trunk to do this too! I love it that much!
    Great Job!
    Hugs,
    Karin

    • Wendi says

      Thanks, Wow! That is such a compliment:) Thank goodness for painting skills, otherwise I’d have been stuck with the ugly look. You’ll rock a trunk like this!!

    • Wendi says

      Thanks Paula:) No kidding, I won’t pass one of these up either. Before, I wouldn’t have given the poor old ugly trunk a second glance!

    • Wendi says

      I know Larissa! I’d paint another one in a heartbeat, but this is the only one I saved. I have no doubt your trunk is amazing looking!

    • Wendi says

      Thanks Debbie! I love how the trunk turned out. I love these lights! My inlaws brought this one back from Hong Kong almost 40 years ago!

    • Wendi says

      Thank you so much Christy! You always have the nicest things to say! I had a lot of fun with the layers and mixing the paint colors for them:) I even have some leftover paint and am now looking for the next “layered” item to paint!

    • Wendi says

      Thanks Shanna! It I agree it looks much better . I love the graphic too. We come from nautical families so it’s very fitting for us. 🙂

  14. Marie@The Interior Frugalista says

    I have one exactly like yours collecting dust in the basement storage room. It was my “Hope Chest” (remember those – I’m dating myself) that I got for my 16th birthday a long long long time ago. LOL What a difference you made to yours – I love it! Pinning this for inspiration should I decide to dust mine off one day.

    • Wendi says

      Marie… I have no doubt you’d knock it out of the ballpark with ANY makeover you did on your chest! Yes, girlfriend, I remember hope chests!

  15. Angie @ Postcards from the Ridge says

    Wow, Wendy! That looks fabulous! I’ve got an old trunk this size and would love for it to look this nice. Can I just ship it over to you and let you work your magic on it? LOL. Thanks for the inspiration. I think I just added another project to my list!

    • Wendi says

      Sure … just ship your trunk this way! LOL Thank you Angie! Isn’t it amazing what a littlle bit of paint can do? Total transformation. Everytime I walk by I smile:)

    • Wendi says

      Thank you Nancy! In more than one way:) Choosing a graphic is challenging, but you already know that since your makeovers always rock:) I loved your trunk makeover and the moment I saw it, I realized I could do something with my old ugly one! Thanks for the inspiration!

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