Toy Chest Quick Revamp

So, I've had this toy chest from when I was little in Baby A.'s room since I put it together. When my parents moved out of my childhood home, it was about the only thing I wanted to keep. I am usually only sentimental about objects if they hold great import, and while this toy chest was probably not an expensive or even well-made piece of furniture, it was the only thing I thought I could use later.

Until we were expecting Baby A., I had the chest sitting in our guest bedroom holding extra blankets and pillows. It made a nice place for folks to sit their luggage, and it had a broken lid hinge. I decided it would be perfect for the baby's room if we could fix the hinge and paint it white. Turns out, we ended up also needing to fix the bottom of it, since the cork piece that sat in it earlier was falling to pieces. I also broke the plywood lid at some point standing on it while one million pounds pregnant, so hubs cut a new piece of actual wood to replace that, too. Unfortunately, he could not fix me crying my heart out at the shame of the moment. 


So, up until today, it was just sitting there with a shoddy spray paint job and the rough and sharp edges of the lid started to make me nervous when Baby A. became more upwardly mobile. 

During an especially trying day of Baby A. making scary head bopping movements toward that sharp edge, I was texting a dear friend who is very crafty and asked her what the heck I should do with that lid! She said obviously, it would be a cinch to just put a seat pad on it, a quick little upholstery job. At first, I was so overwhelmed, but she advised that I didn't have to sew anything, just find some fabric and padding and staple it down. Easy peasy. It only took me months to get to it. Luckily, I'd re-done some chair seats from when we found some wooden chairs for our dining room table that we made out of a door!

Today, I went to the thrift shop on Fort Belvoir, and scored some awesome fabric (and a lot more than I needed, so I have extra), plus some batting, all for $9. Of course, I managed to find something in Navy Blue and Gold, but the stars give me all the Army feels, while still being a fun pattern. Even though Baby A.'s room theme has been muted greys and a sedate feeling, I feel comfortable moving into some more exciting, boyish looks as he grows into toddler-dom, like maybe an Army-Navy theme to reflect our joint family and living situations. Annnnnnd as we move, I get another chance at putting a new room together, HA!

To get started, I took the lid off the chest, leaving the new hinges attached to the lid so I could work around them. My screwdriver has interchangeable heads, and they are stored on the bottom in a twist-off hollow handle, so I kept the tiny screws in there until I needed them again. 

Then, I laid out the batting under the lid so I could cut it to the right size. I folded the amount I needed over again so I could make it a little bit thicker, since I bought quilt batting. I also cut the piece I needed longer on all the sides except the back so it would fold over and create a bit of padding over the edges, where I worry about Baby A. getting hurt. I staple gunned it down on the ends, not very neatly because it won't get seen and I'm lazy. Please excuse Miss Tallulah Bear in the photos. She was too exhausted from fetching her toy to move.

After the batting was secured, I cut some fabric to size with some overlap on all the sides except the back where the hinges were, so I didn't have to figure out how to fold over too much fabric back there. I was able to cut two slits on either side of the hinges, fold that little flap it made under, and stapled right next to the hinges to hold down the fabric on the back edge.

Finally, I tucked the other sides of the fabric over the batting, and I tried to neatly staple this time since it will be seen when the lid is lifted. You can tell I literally did this in the most professional setting, given the throw blanket peeking out and the ottoman underneath. 

When Baby A. woke up from a nap (how did he sleep through that staple gun sound?) I was able to screw the lid back in place. 

Now, all it needs is a better paint job and for the base to be more flush with the top of the scallop detail at the bottom, instead of leaving two little peekaboo holes there. So, there shall be a part three of this project!! Hopefully, it won't take years to get to it, and it can become a toy chest that Baby A. wants to take with him to his own house one day. 

Have you tried to revamp any cool or special furniture lately? I love small projects like this and I'd love to hear about yours! Let me know!

Til then, 


Big A.