First up, project #1, this gorgeous antique dresser! Check out it's ornate mirror and those adorable shelves on each side. I bought this from a local gentlemen here, who tried to sell it as is, but didn't have any luck. First glance at this gem, I knew it was screaming yellow! What better choice for a shade of yellow than Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint "Mustard Seed Yellow", of course!
Because I really wanted this piece to be chippy, I only gave it a quick wipe down with TSP which to those of you who don't know what TSP is, it stands for Tri-Sodium Phosphate. This is a de-greasing solution that is used to remove any dirt and grim. If you have a piece that has a high sheen to it, you can do 1 of 3 things to help your milk paint adhere to your piece. One is using the TSP by itself. A quick but effective way to remove the build up of polyurethane, dirt and grim. Another sure way is to use both the TSP and then go over the piece with a high grit sand paper. This will sort of scuff up the substrate and allow the milk paint something to stick to. The third trick for superior adhesiveness is using the bonding agent. With this agent, option 1 and 2 are not necessary. Simply add the bonding agent to your paint mixture at a 1 to 3/4 (milk paint to bonding agent) and stir well.
Remember, you only need to add the bonding agent to the first coat. So when you are mixing up your first coat, only mix enough for that one coat of bonding, and then proceed to make another with no bonding to conserve your agent.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any chippy paint, but after painting 3 coats this yummy color, I was still able to distress around the edges and filigree to where the dark wood stain popped out. This is one of my favorite parts about distressing. The contrast of the rich brown stains and the warmness of the Mustard Seed Yellow is gorgeous!
I felt this dresser, as pretty as it was in the yellow, could use some dressing up a bit. So, I mixed up a small amount of MMSMP Ironstone. With this batch I made it a little more thick because I didn't want to keep having to go over each little detail. That's one of the wonderful things about this paint, it is so versatile. You can go from a stain by mixing 3 parts water to 1 part milk paint or by doing the 1 to 1 ratio you get more coverage. But for this, I added 3 parts milk paint to 1 1/2 part water to get a thicker paint just for the hand detailing.
Now for project #2 for the week. These mid-century end tables were really cute, but needed some style! Being inspired by summers blue/gray skies, I chose to use Miss Mustard Seed's Shutter Gray. When using Milk Paint, you will notice that with every piece of furniture and it's finish, you will get a slightly different shade of the color you choose depending on it's original finish. For example, these tables were originally a cherry stain, but after using the Shutter Gray, which looks like a gray on the sample board, they look more of a gray-blue sky. It's a very soft and calming paint shade, just lovely! I added a French Postage Stamp stencil to give them more character, which I believe it did. They went from boring to interesting with just a few coats of paint and a stencil. Oh and of course, the distressing and sealing with hemp oil helped it with its lustrous sheen.
My final project-#3 for the shop was this mid-century chest of drawers. I used Shutter Gray for this one as well because I knew I wanted to try this new Chevron stencil and needed it to look fresh and clean. On this dresser, I did scuff it up a bit with a 220 sanding block and wiped it down with TSP just because I didn't want to much chippy especially around the stenciled drawers which I paid more attention to during the prep work.
Because I really wanted this piece to be chippy, I only gave it a quick wipe down with TSP which to those of you who don't know what TSP is, it stands for Tri-Sodium Phosphate. This is a de-greasing solution that is used to remove any dirt and grim. If you have a piece that has a high sheen to it, you can do 1 of 3 things to help your milk paint adhere to your piece. One is using the TSP by itself. A quick but effective way to remove the build up of polyurethane, dirt and grim. Another sure way is to use both the TSP and then go over the piece with a high grit sand paper. This will sort of scuff up the substrate and allow the milk paint something to stick to. The third trick for superior adhesiveness is using the bonding agent. With this agent, option 1 and 2 are not necessary. Simply add the bonding agent to your paint mixture at a 1 to 3/4 (milk paint to bonding agent) and stir well.
Remember, you only need to add the bonding agent to the first coat. So when you are mixing up your first coat, only mix enough for that one coat of bonding, and then proceed to make another with no bonding to conserve your agent.
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| And this was the before, minus the mirror, which of course, I forgot to take a picture of. |
Now for project #2 for the week. These mid-century end tables were really cute, but needed some style! Being inspired by summers blue/gray skies, I chose to use Miss Mustard Seed's Shutter Gray. When using Milk Paint, you will notice that with every piece of furniture and it's finish, you will get a slightly different shade of the color you choose depending on it's original finish. For example, these tables were originally a cherry stain, but after using the Shutter Gray, which looks like a gray on the sample board, they look more of a gray-blue sky. It's a very soft and calming paint shade, just lovely! I added a French Postage Stamp stencil to give them more character, which I believe it did. They went from boring to interesting with just a few coats of paint and a stencil. Oh and of course, the distressing and sealing with hemp oil helped it with its lustrous sheen.
This dresser took 3 coats of Shutter Gray. It did have a few chippy areas which I loved. A little round with the sanding block to distress the corners and edges a bit, a coat of my favorite sealer hemp oil, and there you have it, a fabulous updated dresser! I did spray the original hardware with a Rustoleum's off white spray paint to coordinate with the "Linen" Milk Paint stenciling.
We have also been extremely busy with custom work, and I promise to post about a few before and afters from them. Have a blessed week everyone. Hope you are all having a fun filled summer!!
Linking up to these fabulous Blogs:
Linking up to these fabulous Blogs:
