Simple Milk Paint Dresser Update

antique painted dresser

I found this beauty at a resale shop in my town, and it sat for a couple of weeks, until the 50% sale on pink tags rolled around.  I snagged it up on the first day of the 50% off sale for $30.  It actually had a slab of pinkish-brownish granite on top of it, but as soon as I saw how great of condition the wood on the top was in, I knew that I could easily restore it.  (Thank you, granite.  You kept the top of this baby looking gorgeous!)

painted dresser before

It was a fairly simple update.  I recently purchased some of the new European colors of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint from The Ironstone Nest, and I knew I wanted to try out Bergere for this piece.

blue painted dresser with milk paint
Milk Paint Dresser (no bonding agent – has chipped more over time)

I LOVE this color.

I lightly sanded the piece down, and painted two coats of milk paint (no bonding agent added).  Then, I lighted it up by adding a little Ironstone to what was left of the Bergere and a little more water, creating a thick wash.  I brushed this over the entire piece, avoiding the crevices in the drawers as I wanted the carved areas to have a little contrast to the rest of the piece.

blue dresser with wood top using milk paint without bonding agent

After a light sanding to distress the drawer edges and corners, I finished it off with MMS furniture wax.

antique milk painted dresser grey blue

As for the top, I used 220 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the top, and then a coat of Minwax Polyshades in Pecan, in a satin finish.  This stuff is pretty awesome.  It is stain and polyurethane together, and it lets you stain over previously stained and finished wood.  It allows you to change the color of the wood or keep it the same, depending on what color you started with and the stain you are using.  This guide helps me to select my colors before starting a project.

refinished dresser with polyshades

It gives dresser tops a nice durable finish, without all that heavy sanding or stripping.  I’ve found that if the previous finish is in decent shape, Polyshades stain works really well.

milk paint without bonding agent to create chipping look
 

Because this particular piece was painted over finished wood without bonding agent, the paint will (and did) continue to chip away in small pieces over time. If this isn’t the look you are going for, it’s important to seal the entire piece with a water-based polyurethane to stop the chipping. This post will give you all the information you need to know about using milk paint on furniture.

Jenny at Refresh Living (dev.refreshliving.com)

Post by Jenny Leads

Jenny is the voice behind Refresh Living. She has a passion for helping people to create a home they love without spending a lot of money.

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14 Comments

  1. This turned out lovely and I like how you left the top the natural wood color. It is so fun to paint and stain furniture, I have become a little addicted myself!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

  2. gorgeous job. I’m a sucker for beautiful wood on paint tones! You’re being featured at Outside the Box!