Milk Painted Dresser

11 Materials
$130
6 Hours
Easy

This outdated dresser had seen better days. It had scratches, dings and dents and was in need of big refresh. Thanks to hard work, creativity and milk paint this dresser can now shine again.

After cleaning, filling, sanding your piece and removing your hardware, decide what look you want for your piece. This piece was over 100 years old and was missing the key hole covers on the drawers. 

I decided to make molds using DAS clay modeling material and ReDesign with Prima Molds to make cute covers to glue over the open key holes. First I sprayed the molds with Pam cooking spray to promote a simple release of the clay once it is formed. Next, I took a section of clay and molded it to fit the key hole shape I chose from the molding sheet. I popped it out immediately and used wood glue to adhere it to the drawers while it was still pliable.  

After that was dry, I mixed the milk paint according to the directions for that manufacturer. For this piece I used Shackteau Interiors Milk Paint in Magnolia Pier. I mixed equal parts water and milk paint and used a mini whisk. After letting it sit in a glass jar to thicken up a bit I used my Zibra Fan brush to begin applying the paint. 


After the first coat dried, I took a super fine sheet of sandpaper and smoothed out the finish even though with this paint and piece it did not seem to be necessary. I used a microfiber cloth to remove any sanding dust and continued to paint my second coat. After my second coat was dry I took a fine grit flexible sanding pad to see if I could promote some chipping with sanding lightly. It worked! After painting and staining the top using General Finishes Walnut stain I applied Wise Owl Unscented Furniture Salve to seal. The last step was using Annie Sloan dark wax around the newly created key hole moulds to create some depth and interest on the drawers.

The final touch was adding these beautiful D. Lawless teardrop pulls! Aren't they perfecticon

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  • Christina Christina on Jan 11, 2020

    Iā€™m not usually crazy for painted antique pieces but this is really lovely, striking. What color is the paint? It looks almost like a pewter.

  • Melody Stern Melody Stern on Jan 13, 2020

    Great job! I think it looks marvelous!,,,I love antiques (I'm 70) but nothing wrong with bringing them into the 20th century! The white pulls are beautiful too, just the right pop against the gray color! They lend a more modern feel,yet are traditional in style!! Brown furniture doesn't always go in a gray/modern setting! Your piece will now fit in perfectly with either style!......Naysayers,,you don't have to have this piece in your home, and I'm wondering how many people would be interested in purchasing it in it's original condition??...As far as the knobs go,,,I'm sure they can be repurposed elsewhere!.........Kudos Amini

  • Jackie Jackie on Jan 28, 2023

    Where did you find the key hole molds?

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