The White Milk Paint Chest of Drawers

6 Materials
$90
2 Days
Medium

You can check out the full post & more pictures ----> HERE


I've really gone hard in the paint this year when it comes to the upholstery makeovers but I haven't forgotten about the other furniture categories that exist!

There are some cute chest of drawers that need makeovers too! Especially this one. The finish had faded and it was missing hardware but I could see "potential" written all over her. 

 

I knew that the beautiful detailing would really pop with some paint and light distressing so I decided to move in that direction. 

Other than hosing off all of the old dirt and dust, there wasn't much prep to be done! The original finish had a very raw wood feel and hardly and glossiness so I didn't expect much of the chipping that milk paint is known for. 


 I went with a mix of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Farmhouse White and Ironstone. 

I wanted a very opaque look so I layered on 3 coats of milk paint and leaving about 3 hours to dry in-between the coats. 

As predicted, there wasn't hardly any chipping but I did a light distressing anyways to help those details standout. 

To seal it all in I did a top coat of Minwax Polycrylic Water Base Protective Finish in clear Matte.

 

Since the base is completed I could move on to the hardware. The original stuff wasn't worth keeping or trying to find a replacement for the one that missing. I wanted to use glass pulls that I have used on other projects before. I order them from Amazon HERE. They have an antique feel but here is the problem, that nickel cover piece that sits in the center of the glass knob on either end and holds on to the attaching screw looks too "new". 

Example:

I have figured out a technique for fixing this problem.

I pop out all of the center pieces, sponge on flat black paint and let them dry.

I then took another small paint sponge and sprayed on Rust-Oleum, Metallic Flat Brushed Amber on the tip. 

Very lightly sponge on the metallic finish onto the center pieces of hardware to give it a faux-rust look.

I put them back in the pulls after I let them dry over night and now they look not-so-new!

 

AND DONE!

Distressing it a little but not too much, was a great way that makes the details stand out & make this piece interesting to look at but not in a distracting way. 

I'm hoping this piece will find a great home in someone's bedroom or entry way!


insta: @amandasmercantile

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2 of 11 comments
  • AndradeTea AndradeTea on May 20, 2020

    That looks really good! A world apart from the "before."

  • Linda Linda on Aug 11, 2021

    Hey, I like the before. But I like the after, too! Great job transforming a piece of furniture that is worth keeping and using. Amanda, thanks for sharing.

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