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A few weeks ago, a friend approached me about an antique dresser that she was using in her bedroom that had seen better days. It had been her Grandmother's Mother-In-Law's and it was OLD. She wanted to to be refinished, but to keep the classic look that can come from antiquing and distressing a piece of newly painted furniture. I knew instantly that I wanted to use Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint for that chippy, vintage, worn look that can only come from a paint like that. I was even more thrilled when my friend picked Luckett's Green, as it was the color of the month! Sure, I could have used chalk paint and spent hours sanding and distressing. Miss Mustard Seed's paint does that on it's own. Well, most of the time. You never know how it might react, but I like to "Live on the Edge" so I gave it a whirl. And boy, am I glad I did!
Let's start from the Before and you can see what I was working with:
Here is the dresser in my playroom. You can see I've taken the top drawer hardware off but that is it. The dresser was not stained, or if it was, it was a very odd stain. It was almost like it was covered in a brown/red paint mess. You can tell the hardware is coated with whatever it was. MMSMP is non-toxic, VOC free, etc so I painted in my house with zero problems. I did have an old sheet that I used underneath to catch drips and wore a mask anytime I sanded. But for the most part, it is pretty low maintenance.
I made a custom mix of colors to get the color closest to what my friend wanted. I used primarily Luckett's Green, a little bit of Linen, and even less of Kitchen Scale. I did love how it would occasionally separate a bit and give undertones and streaks to the paint. It really added to the aged effect.
You can see a bit of the blue highlights here.
You can see where the paint cracked and gave a natural crackle look. I used a top coat of MMS's White Wax which smells incredible! Love the fresh smell of lavender! The white muted the paint just a bit and added a natural aged look of dust to the cracks and crevices.
You never really know where the paint will flake, and I thought it was funny that the middle part wanted to flake the most, since it was probably the area of the dresser that has seen the least wear. You can see the wax in the inlay of the wood here. Once the wax is on, the flaking and peeling stops.
One side of the dresser. That middle drawer wanted to poke out since it was on a bit of a hill.
The other side. It crackled a bit more, and the blue shows more here as well.
A close up of the crackle and the beautiful hardware. It took a lot of work to get those clean (more than the dresser almost!). I tried baking soda and boiling water, and a bit came off, but finally I had to call in the Big Dogs and used Citristrip. I did that outside, with a mask, and with heavy gloves made for stripping.
Here is one last look back at the dresser……What do you think? My friend was elated when she came over to see how it came out! I hope it will remain in her family for many years to come!
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karen@somewhatquirky says
You did a great job! Not much beats milk paint. Even when it doesn't chip it is still beautiful.
Donna Wilkes says
Love the patina you created. Beautiful job!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks so much Karen! I really liked working with it!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks Donna! I appreciate it!
Jazmine Brown says
It looks so beautiful. I want to try this with some of the furniture I have.
Teresa says
I'm still loving it as much as I did when I first picked it up!
kim d says
do you know the exact measurements of the different paint colours? I love the colour you created!
Salvaged Inspirations says
Love this Sara!
Maureen says
I love the color variation. So pretty!
P.S. For cleaning hardware I generally soak it in hot water, salt and vinegar. You won't believe what comes off!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks Maureen! I usually try those things first, but these were very stubborn!
MrsMajor Hoff says
I believe it was about 3/4's green, 1/4 part linen, and then 1/8 blue
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks so much!
MrsMajor Hoff says
I'm so glad! Your such a trooper for trusting me!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Give it a shot! It's so fun to work with!