Farmhouse Style with Old Fashioned Milk Paint

Time again for another Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest. This month’s sponsor is The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company. Perfected back in 1974, the company has expanded its milk paint line to include other products for your painting needs. Their milk paint is “all green” and comes in 20 wonderful colors. What I love most about this milk paint is the authentic colors. Check them out here. Some or all of the hosts of The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest receive monetary and/or product compensation from the sponsoring brand, The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co., in order to complete their themed projects. The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co. will also provide the prize package for the contest winner. This month’s theme is Farmhouse Fun!

Farmhouse Fun!

Bloggers are challenged to write a blog post on the flip a piece of furniture using this theme. Judges from the sponsor and FFFC group review the entries and select a winner. The winner receives a prize package from the sponsor along with bragging rights as that month’s champ!

I selected this beautiful old skinny cupboard for my project. I love the tall skinny look. Folks today are always looking for pieces of furniture to tuck into small spaces. These babies can hold alot of items in the kitchen, bathroom, or any nook!

Color Choices

When I think Farmhouse, I think of old white! So I order Snow White milk paint to use for the bulk of the piece and Tavern Green for highlights. I also received Milk Paint Extra-Bond(bonding agent) and Tung Oil(sealer). Milk paint is known for it’s chippy qualities, definitely my kind of paint! But not every piece of furniture is suited for the chippy look. The bonding agent helps prevent any chipping. I plan to use the bonding agent on the inside of the skinny cupboard to prevent any chipping there. And I have never used Tung Oil so I am excited to try this as a sealing agent.

Preparing Milk Paint

OFMP comes with wonderful instructions. It comes in a powdered form and must be mixed with water. But, don’t stress as it is very easy to prepare. Here is my first batch of OFMP in Snow White.

I prepared the cupboard by wiping it with warm water to remove any dust and debris. I applied one coat to the cupboard and really liked the resulting look. The wood absorbed much of the paint on the first coat resulting in a rather distressed look that I loved. I decided to go with just one coat because of the great patina. I waited for that coat to dry and then dry brushed the entire piece for weathered and multi layered look. Here she is after those steps:

Next I mixed up the Tavern Green. What really intrigued me about this paint is the variations of color that can be produced by mixing colors. Refer back to the color chart to see all of the 80 colors that can be created by mixing white in varying amounts to the basic 20 colors. I used part Tavern Green and part Snow White to create a pale green for the inside of the cupboard. I added the Extra Bond to the paint. Extra Bond does not dilute the color!

I applied two coats, allowing the first coat to dry completely before applying the second coat. This lighter green reminds me of country kitchen aprons and old formica counter tops. I liked the fact that I could alter the depth of color simply by adding more Snow White. Amazingly, I loved the result of my first mixture!

I allowed the paint to dry overnight. I almost always distress the furniture that I paint. But the patina on this piece was beautiful as is and I worried that distressing would make it too busy. Funny! This is a new feeling for me…resisting the distress! So no sanding on this piece!

Tung Oil

Being a first time user of Tung Oil, I was a bit apprehensive. So I followed the directions closely. I used a brush to apply a liberal coat of Tung Oil over the entire piece.

I allowed it to dry for about 1 hour and then removed the excess with a lint free cloth. A light buffing with a mildly abrasive pad was the next step.

Then a second coat of Tung Oil was applied, allowed to dry for one hour, and the excess removed. A final buffing resulted in a smooth finish.

I was tempted to add chicken wire to the doors, but I felt I should keep the integrity of this sweet little farmhouse piece by re-inserting the glass panels. After all, who wants to clean all of that Ironstone of the remnants of good ol’ country cookin’?? Y’all know what I’m talking about…residue from deep south deep frying of chicken, okra, tomatoes, and the list goes on!

I re-installed the original knobs. And I believe she is glorious! Can’t you picture Grandma shuffling around her as she grabs her ingredients and utensils for making her special cornbread? Yum!

I had so much fun playing with all of the Farmhouse accessories!

While I absolutely love the patina on this piece, I am anxious to try the rest of my Snow White on a small side table to obtain a pure Snow White finish with some chippy action going on. Check back for those results!

This month’s hosts are Evey from Evey’s Creations and Stacy from Anastasia Vintage. Each of these talented ladies has also prepared a furniture piece using OFMP. Click on the links above to see their wonderful creations! Special thanks to these two gals and the other hosts of this amazing monthly contest, Carrie (Thirty Eighth Street), Colleen (58 Water Street), Thea (Sweet Tea Refinishing), Lynn (On Fern Avenue).