Painting with Old Barn Milk Paint

Last year I discovered milk paint. I loved everything I saw online and knew I wanted to give it a try. So I reached out to a few milk paint companies and ended up fortunate enough to be able to partner with Old Barn Milk Paint.

My first project was the coffee table trunk that I painted with Sweet Cream Old Barn Milk Paint. After I painted it, I attached tin ceiling panels to the top. I will be honest, when I started this project I had no idea what I was doing. But I followed the directions and it turned out great! I was hooked and convinced that this milk paint was magical. This was my kind of DIY!

 

Old Barn Milk Paint comes in powder form and in adorable bags (which of course is important!). They have so many different colors. In fact, I think they have around five different shades of white. I really like Sweet Cream and Stoneware. But they are all great. I can’t wait to try more colors!

To mix the paint, just use equal parts of paint and water and stir for a few minutes. Then let it sit for about fifteen minutes and stir again. IF you are wondering how much paint to order, I painted a very large armoire and used only one bag of Old Barn Milk Paint.

OBMP makes a small scraping tool and it’s awesome. I totally suggest that you get it. It makes scraping really easy.

I just completed a remodel of one of our boy’s bedrooms for the One Room Challenge. I painted three pieces with milk paint: a trunk and two nightstands.

When I originally bought the trunk I didn’t think I would need to paint it. It was white and that’s what I needed. But after I cleaned it, it was kind of an ugly white. So I decided to paint a very chippy trunk with milk paint.

I started out by sanding the trunk lightly. And by lightly, I mean I spent about ten minutes sanding the trunk. This is a very important step when you use milk paint because you want to remove any varnish or gloss finish so the paint will adhere to the wood. You don’t need to sand too hard, especially if its an older piece. But don’t skip this step as you will be much happier with the end result.

I painted two light coats and let it dry. This is when the milk paint takes over. It will start to bubble in some areas and create a really beautiful chippy look.

Next, I used the sanding tool to scrape away some of the paint. This is a crucial step and it’s also where I think the most mistakes are made. When you use a tool to chip paint, you need to think about where the paint would have chipped naturally. You need to show restraint and only scrape where it makes sense. Any places where a hand would touch the furniture to open a drawer or a door would likely be where there should be more chipping. Edges are also a place where there is likely to be chipping. Be careful not to scrape in the center of a cabinet where chipping doesn’t make sense. Also, when you scrape, don’t do it uniformly. Make it sporadic and not uniform!

Here is the trunk in the finished room. I just love it.

I also bought this gray nightstand at a flea market. I also assumed it would look great in the boys remodeled room but when I put it in the room it looked awful! So I painted it with Sweet Cream Old Barn Milk Paint. It looks so much better.

The second bedside table I bought looked too peach so I painted it too. I am amazed that it looks like it has been painted this color for years. And years.

So what’s next?

Well, this is my biggest project and it’s a “doozie”. It’s a seven-foot cabinet that will serve as a closet in the beach house cottage I am remodeling in Long Beach. One of the bedrooms doesn’t have a closet so this will work great to hang and store clothes.

The only problem is the wallpaper that was glued to the recessed portion of the cabinet doors. I know it looks hideous. But I am excited knowing this piece will undergo a huge transformation this week. I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

I know, it’s hideous. So what do you think? Can I restore it to its natural beauty?

I think so.