A crafty woman has amazed the internet by showing how she upcycled a 60-year-old cabinet to give it a completely fresh look, and now it can fit in with any modern décor.
Lilly Skjoldahl from Wichita Falls, Texas, has flipped a huge array of furniture so far, including a nightstand, a vanity table, and a huge desk. While each piece provides its own challenges, few have tested her in the same way as a recent cedar chest made back in 1961, which she bought from her local thrift store.
After buying the chest for $80, Skjoldahl spent around five hours sprucing the piece up and giving it a new lease of life. She told Newsweek: "I needed to remove the lock, refinish the top by sanding it, making veneer repairs with epoxy putty and by sealing it with polyurethane."
Chests made by the companies Lane and Virginia Maid, which no longer exist, were previously recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) back in July 2018.
In a press release at the time, the CPSC urged people to remove the locks and eliminate any potential hazard, as it was discovered that the lid automatically locks when it's closed. This is thought to have caused 14 deaths as children suffocated inside the chest between 1977 and 2015.
Skjoldahl ensured that the first thing she did was to remove the potentially dangerous lock on her new chest, and then she continued to give it a total makeover.
She sanded the top of the chest, cleared up some of the chips on the woodwork, camouflaged its blemishes with some paint, and gave it a shinier look with an oil-based polyurethane.
"Everything went as planned and I was very happy with the finished result," she continued.
Once it was complete, she shared the amazing transformation on her TikTok account (@thefurnituredoctor) and it's already been viewed more than 610,500 times and gained over 46,100 likes. Since the video went viral in recent days, she's been delighted by the positive response and hopes it will encourage people not to give up on old furniture.
"People love it and are made aware of the dangers with these chests and that the lock should be removed to prevent any further fatal suffocation accidents," she said.
The finished look has a much more sleek and modern aesthetic, but Skjoldahl was sure to keep the same traditional style. As she explained in her viral clip, she wanted "to honor the original piece and fix it up so it can be loved for another 60 plus years."
Now that it's safe to own and has been tidied up, Skjoldahl will work on finding a new home for the chest. And with more than 200 comments on her post so far, there's already been plenty of praise for her great work.
One comment reads: "Thank you! This is proof that there are ways to repair damaged wood without painting over everything!"
Another TikTok user wrote: "It looks stunning! Great job with this restoration."
"I don't mind furniture flips sometimes but it's also really refreshing just seeing it brought back to life," another person responded.
Do you have any amazing transformation videos or pictures you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alyce Collins is a Newsweek Life and Trends reporter based in Birmingham, U.K. with a focus on trending topics that ... Read more
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