Truth be told, I get way to much of a thrill off of a great Craigslist find!  Finding the perfect piece, making sure it’s still available and then bargaining is a total adrenaline rush!

This old trunk is one of my FAVORITE finds!

She used to look like this…

And she lived right here in my living room.  Her purpose:  A coffee table that my husband and boys did not appreciate.  They are men and they want function…  I am a woman and I want style!  Long story short – she lasted almost 2 years and the men now have their way:) 

Two cans of Rust-Oleum Summer Squash (ahhhh my favorite yellow)….

and a good distressing with my 3M sanding block was all it took to prepare her for her new home!

Tenley’s Nursery:)

I think this will make the perfect toy box and I love how it fits in with the nursery theme!  I also love what I replaced her with in the living room but that’s another post:)

Do you have your projects ready?  We can’t wait to see what you girls have been working on without your hubby’s this month!  Link up on Thursday, April 7th!

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59 Comments

  1. Oh, I love the color on your trunk! I have a trunk just like yours that I’ve had for almost 40 years! It’s still trunk colored! 🙂
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia 😉

  2. Love the yellow. These unexpected colors are such a fun update to old pieces. It shows you are willing to take a chance and be a bit edgy and it makes these vintage pieces look fun and modern. Love it.
    Pam

  3. Love this! I have a trunk just like this and a husband who doesn’t appreciate the sheer beauty of the piece. Silly men and their silly ideas.
    I’m pulling this baby out this week and painting away! This is my favorite color of yellow as well. Gotta a love a can of happiness! Thanks so much for the inspiration!! have a wonderful weekend!!

    1. Thank you Nicole! Summer squash is my favorite yellow right now and it’s perfect for spring:))) Thanks for stopping by!

  4. I never considered painting a truck like this before! Great idea! May I suggest piano hinges for toy box use? They will keep it open well. And wow, P.S. Christy is a jerk.

  5. I have several trunks and I love them and use them as coffee tables and to hold blankets. The only reason to ever hesitate to paint a trunk is for resale value. It is always worth more in it’s original form, and the humped ones are worth the most. But, unless you are an antique dealer, or plan to sell it, I think we all have to please our inner soul. And Christy, I consider my trunks extremely “nice”. I have a beautiful painted pink one and 2 unpainted ones, at home and at my Beach house. I love them, and would never replace them with anything new. I already have plenty of “new” things! ( Curiously so many new things are distressed to look old) Ashley, your nursery looks adorable. it’s nice that you kept the trunk you enjoy. I can see your daughter pulling out all kinds of dress up clothes and having a wonderful imagination one day.

  6. That is hilarious! I have the same trunk (with the same missing handles), that I use as my end table…I so wanted to use it as my coffee table, but the Men spoke…I never thought of painting it…I think I’ve got something to do this weekend.

  7. LOVE all the shanties you revamp!!!! You guys have encouraged me to take my junk and turn into treasure!!!! Thanks to your ideas and encouragement, i have decorated my house on a dime.

    As for Christy’s comment….i would have to disagree. The things people “notice” in a house is the creativity and character. ANYONE can “BUY” decorations. It takes talent to decorate a house with revamps. BUT kuddos to handling negativity with class!! I’m sold on SHANTY 2 CHIC!!!

  8. Love the trunk and the room. Please, please, please — make sure no one can get stuck inside. There are safety recs for store bought toychests so kiddos can’t get stuck inside (in old days some were so tight the air was very limited) and so fingers can’t get smashed.

    1. Thank you Janet:). Someone else was sweet enough to bring that to my attention last night as well:). Thank you so much for your advice! I will be installing a hinge and taking any other steps I need to to make it safe for Tenley:).

  9. WOW Christy! I think you should probably not be surfing the internet for home ideas and be searching for MANNERS. That was really rude!

    I love Shanty 2 Chic!

  10. You two girls are so talented. I LOVE how you revamp furniture and make it a treasure. That is what your blog is all about. I get it, “Shanty to Chic”. I am guessing that there are at least 5,000 other people that feel this way since you have over 5,000 followers. Don’t let one hurtful comment stop you. You are doing a great job!

    I just don’t get it. We all have choices on what sites on the internet we visit. We purposefully go to those sites. If I am not interested in a site, or don’t like it, I just don’t visit it anymore. It is not necessary for me to make a snarky remark.

    Keep up the great work girls!

  11. I love it! I have a curved trunk just like that and have hesitated for 30 years to paint it. Why? I do not know. I think that I will have to tackle that in the near future. And, BTW, I love your baby’s name!!

  12. There comes a time where you have to actually start putting nice items in a house. If you keep on repainting or revamping everything and making items for the house, your house will look like a doll house (kind of like it is now). I know your whole goal is to “DIY” your house, but you can only do so much. This is just my opinion.

    Christy

    1. Thank you for sharing your opinion Christy. This is my daughters nursery and I love it:) BTW…this is a DIY blog;) Everyone has different styles and that’s what makes decor so much fun! I am sure there are decor blogs out there that would better suite your taste. I am sure you have a lovely house;)

      1. I love this trunk… and her beautiful room …and everything else you guys do!!!!! Ya’ll are so talented!!! I enjoy coming here and seeing what ya’ll have thought up next and I am never disappointed! Don’t waste your time on tacky comments like the one just left and just feel sorry they have enough time on their hands to give their negative opinion NO ONE has asked for… And I also bet she has a lovely house to go along with that lovely opinion 🙂 Keep up the good work girls!!!!

        1. Thank you Kyndra:) You have to have thick skin to put yourself out there and we do! Thanks so much for your support:))

    2. BOTH of your houses are beautiful, and it takes true talent to do the things that you girls do.

      The beauty of the internet is Christy, IF YOU DON’T LIKE THEIR BLOG, DON’T LOOK AT IT!!

  13. I really like that yellow!! Such a fun burst of color! Wondering where I could use it in my house…. 🙂

    What color blues do you typically use?

    1. Thanks Stephanie! I only have it in the nursery right now but I have thought the same thing many times! I just love it!

  14. I have that same trunk… as a coffee table in the bonus room.. I never thought you could spray paint it… great idea!! I love the yellow in the nursery… was there much prep work and it looks like you sprayed the leather handles too?

    1. You can spray paint and latex paint! I didn’t prep it at all…just started spraying. It took two cans but it saved so much time vs. latex. I did spray the leather handles too. Most of them have fallen off/ripped off anyway;) Thanks so much!

    1. Thank you Clarissa! I bet your baskets are beautiful! I love the color so much that I just want to spray it on everything in my house:)

  15. I just totally had a flashback!! My mom used to have a trunk just like that, painted that beautiful shade of yellow. What a lovely and warm memory to have brought back!! It looks just lovely in the nursrey!! Thanks for sharing!!