Craft challenge(d)

So, I totally need mom for this one, or at least her sewing expertise. She never taught me to sew, although she left her sewing machine to me after she died.  I was always afraid of it - especially that little pedal thing that would make the machine rev up.  Now I regret that I never asked her how to work it.  The best I ever got when it came to sewing was how to sew on a button (and even at that, my husband can do a better job than me!)

Anyway, I've got a project that has to be completed by the time the baby arrives (preferably by Christmas, because we hope to have M in her room before then).  PLEASE share any ideas or suggestions - or maybe even your talent - to help me figure out what to do with my predicament.

When J and I got married, a sweet couple from my home church gifted us a beautiful hand-made cedar hope chest.  This stores a lot of our china, special tablescape necessities for the fall and Christmas seasons, and a few other random things.  It's quite sturdy - meaning it weighs a bagillion pounds.  It has a lid that opens with hinges on the back side, like a toy chest would, except the top weighs a good bit too. So if it were to fall down on your hands while not looking, you'd probably lose a limb!  It has been in the "office" since we moved into our house, but that room is slowly transforming into M's "big girl" room.  We have the first coat of paint (sweet buttered corn!) on the walls, and there is furniture ready to be moved in.  But this chest has no where else to go in our house. It HAS to stay in this room. So I need to do something with it to make it functional, safe, and look like it belongs in the room.
Here are some pictures of it's beauty:

(You can already tell the color on the walls - so glad it didn't turn out to be a blinding sunshine!!)



I should also note that the color is a cedar pine - beautiful in itself - but M's new furniture is espresso stained...like a deep chocolate brown, so the two really won't go together.

So, here's the plan so far: Part 1: move the hope chest away from it's current location on the wall to right in front of the window.  Part 2: Turn it into a piece of sitting furniture.  Part 3: Cover it so M doesn't know that it has a lid that will open.  I think we can handle part 1.   Part 2, I think I know what to do (buy some pieces of 2" foam, spray adhesive together, tack on some no-slid rug runner stuff to the bottom and viola!).  It's Part 3 that I'm having a hard time visualizing....and then, of course, producing.  I'm thinking something like a box cover, simple, durable and easy to remove when we have to get into the chest.  But I just don't know how to go about it.
1. Should I just get some fabric and drape it?
2. Should I get a table cloth and drape it?
3. Should I get something and sew it together?
4. Is there any other option out there for me?
5. How expensive is this little project going to run?

As a side note, the measurements are as follows: 39.5" length from edge to edge, 20.25" depth from front to back, and 18.75" from floor to top (keep in mind, there will be 2" foam pieces on top, making it a full 20.75" from top to bottom).
If you want to offer any suggestion, I'm game.  If you want to offer your assistance, I'm indebted to you.
Go get crafty!!