Milk Paint Dresser Makeover

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I’m sorry it’s been awhile . . . I’ve had sick kiddos, school projects, Easter and birthday planning, and some furniture projects too.  But I’m back!

I wanted to share with you all one of this milk paint dresser makeover I’ve been working on.

Remember the tacky with a capital T dresser I found at a garage sale? 

Well in the true spirit of “lost & found,” I thought with a little love and lots of elbow grease it may still have a little life left.

I liked the diagonal lines on the top 2 drawers, they added some visual interest.

The hardware also was original to the piece and had some real patina to it.

It gave me this kind of 50’s vibe, so I thought I would roll with it and try out a new vintage color, “Luckett’s Green” from Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint line.

What do you think?  In the end, I was really happy with how it turned out.

If you haven’t ever used milk paint, you should definitely give it a try.

But beware, it’s a little tricky. It comes in powder form and you mix it with water.

It’s a little challenging to get all the pigments that make up the color completely mixed, so often it gives you a little streaky, color-washed look.

If you know that going into it, it’s no problem.  But if you’re trying to create a super-smooth modern look, you’re going to be disappointed.

Opt for the milk paint when you want to really go vintage.

Another quality of milk paint is that it self-distresses.

In certain places it will chip away from the wood all on its own, so it works great if you are wanting a real chippy effect.

On this piece, I wasn’t too big a fan of the original wood showing through a lot, so I painted a “primer” coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White.

It sticks better than milk paint, so I thought it would make a great base coat.  I put the milk paint on top, and it ended up sticking to the chalk paint pretty well.

I was able to distress it just enough to have a little wood and white show through, but the tacky original wood stayed mostly covered.

There must be a big market for green pieces, because this generated lots of interest and sold very quickly.  I may try the same color out on another piece soon.

So, all in all, a success.  Another tacky old piece of furniture rescued and given new life!

If you would like more information on milk paint, check out www.MissMustardSeedMilkPaint.com