Since last summer, I’ve had a lot of fun with decoupage and nautical charts. It started with the Navigating Maine table for the WHRL’s auction, Hannah’s pencil holder makeover, and my Christmas Tree Festival ornaments.

Somewhere in there I decoupaged nautical maps on a bench. This project was just for me.

I spotted this small chest for $25 in the local swap and sell. I picked it up with plans of painting it for Hannah’s room to replace the table (with zero storage) she’s using for a nightstand now. She liked the idea and when I asked her what color she’d like – she asked if I could “map it.”

I opted not to map the top because, well, this is for Hannah. Once she takes ownership you’ll never see the top again. Rather, I painted it a soft blue and mapped only the drawer fronts. From the NOAA Nautical Charts, I chose three Downeast coastal locations that are special to her and ordered custom printed tissue paper.

I glued the tissue onto the drawer front with a mixture of Elmer’s glue and water, wrapping the paper over the edges of for a clean edge. A few coats of polyurethane finish it off with an extra strong finish.

I wanted to have this finished and in her room before she returned from Denmark – which didn’t happen given her early return due to the Covid-19 shutdown in Denmark. The chest redo has made a good project during our two weeks of self-isolation up on her return.

$25 for the chest
$42 for the paint and polyurethane
$19 for the nautical chart tissue paper
$86 for a one-of-a-kind night stand