Welcome back to Nik-Cre. I’m so glad you stopped by again.
This week we’re working with retro antiques, teak wood, sandpaper, turpentine and danish oil. Yes, you may be a little bit confused; but these are the ingredients of my upcycling project.
“It’s nice, but I really want one with legs.” This is the sentence I voiced over and over in my mind as I browsed the thrifts shops of Coventry. I didn’t want a standard Chest of Drawers, the big rectangular block sitting snug against the floor. I wanted one with leg, that would stand up off the floor. Six months later I found my match and for a good price too.
The British Heart Foundation Furniture and Electrical store are brilliant. If you’re looking for something old or new, affordable, vintage, modern, retro, antique; you name it they have it. £15 was the price of this Teak 5 Drawer Chest, on splay bracket feet.
It came in great condition, no cracks or restoration work. All that needed doing was the sanding away of that hideous red varnish. I found the same Chest, with 6 drawers on Harrison Antique Furniture for £250. I’m sure you’ll agree that I found a bargain with this one.
The Chest I purchased is an original antique piece, as you can see from the plaque in the image. I did a little research and Lebus Furniture was set up by Louis Lebus in the 1800’s. His business began in a small shop in Hull, and as it expanded he later moved to London.
After Louis Lebas died, his son Harris took over the business. Their pieces are largely recognised as being part of the Arts and Crafts movement. One of the reasons I feel so connected to this piece is because Lebus opened a factory in Tottenham, North London. Tottenham is my birth town, but it is also where I went to church for seven years before returning to Coventry. This is a piece that ties together both of my homes.
Upcycling this was a pretty simple project. I began by sanding the body of the Chest, working with sandpaper on a sanding block to firmly hold the paper in place. You can use a power Sander if you want too, I found mine left circular etching in the wood which I didn’t like. Sand until the wooden surface is smooth and has removed all traces of varnish. 
I then took out the drawers and removed the knobs so that I could also sand these down. After sanding, I wiped all the surfaces down with Turpentine, to remove excess dust. If you have White spirit you can use that as well. Initially, I wanted to paint patterns on the Chest like the images you see on Pinterest. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like it and it would be ruined. A colleague recommended that I oil the Chest down with Teak oil, but I couldn’t find this so I purchased a tin of Danish oil from Wilko. The Danish oil brought out the natural colour of the Teak and helped to restore warmth to the Chest. It also highlights the grain in the wood showing the contrasts of light and dark brown.
As you can see the Chest came with its original Brass circular knobs. I changed these out with white and gold porcelain knobs, I got these on eBay from Knobbles and Bobbles. These new knobs really add a touch of royal elegance to the piece. This Chest lives in my bedroom, I’ve gone for a natural wood theme up there so the Chest matches the blinds, the cork flooring, and a lovely structural beam.
I hope you like how I’ve upcycled this Lebus Chest and brought it back to life. Let me know what you think in the comments, and to receive regular updates please follow me. Join me next time for a gentler project, as I ‘make life- rooms, into living rooms.
Nik-Cre
Nik-Cre 
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