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? 

DSC02125

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.

dresser 1

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.

dresser2

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.

dresser3

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

More Green! | lose the ordinary. find the unique.

Monday 8th of April 2013

[...] ← Dresser Makeover [...]

Dixie

Sunday 31st of March 2013

It seems that green is the "it" color this season. My friends The Curious Boys call it "low color". Green being my favorite color... Is all over my house. Your dresser turned out great! Happy you marked it sold so quickly!

Christy Grigsby

Saturday 30th of March 2013

You did a great job! I love the finished look!

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