How To Create a Modern Farmhouse Look on Previously Painted Furniture

 
modern farmhouse nightstands, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

Supplies Needed

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Our nightstands, blanket chest, and lingerie dresser began as raw pine ready to assemble furniture. At the time, it was an economical way to duplicate a look I had seen on the cover of a mailer from a large furniture manufacturer. I fell in love with the two-toned look and wanted it in my bedroom.

I chose a warm golden tone stain and a paint similar to Boxwood. Later, I changed the base to a dark gray but left the original stained top. I used a basic latex-based paint both times.

 
nightstand with latex paint, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

Now years later, I realize just how much I didn’t know about working with raw wood and how many mistakes I made along the way. The first mistake was not sealing the knots in the pine. Although the bases were coated multiple times in several layers of paint, I still had bleed-through.

The second mistake was using latex-based paint. I constantly had the back of the drawers stick to the faceplate. My solution was to add felt pads to the corners of the drawers where they contacted the faceplate, which also softened the sound of the drawer closing. The properties of latex paint are excellent for walls, but not so much for furniture.

Here are the steps we used to clean, prep, paint, and finish these pieces to coordinate with the door headboard. You can read all about our headboard here:

 
 

Preparing The Surfaces For Paint

We always start every project with a good scrub using a mix of TSP and water with a general-purpose Scotch-Brite. This mixture removes just about everything that can be on the surface, all while scuffing the surface. Don’t forget to give your piece a good rinse to remove any residue left behind by the cleaning mix.  

 
TSP with maroon scotch brite pad, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

We then used an orbital sander with 150 grit sandpaper to remove the old stain from the top and more paint from the base to better expose the knots.

 
dewalt orbital sander with diablo sanding discs, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

We then applied a layer of shellac to seal the knots and prevent bleed-through.

knot on pine wood furniture, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
bulls eye shellac sealing pine knots, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

The last step was to apply stainable wood filler to fix a couple of deep gouges. Once everything was dry, the nightstand was ready to paint.

 
sealing knots in with shellac, filling holes with wood putty, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

Painting The Bases

The bases were painted with two coats of Typewriter MilkPaint™combined with MilkGrip™ Indoor / Bonding Agent in a ratio of 4 parts paint to 1 part bonding agent. This step will prevent adhesion issues since the latex paint is not very porous.

 
Typewriter milk paint on nightstand, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

Next, we applied beeswax to the areas where we wanted the top layers of paint to chip, followed by a couple of coats of Farmhouse White MilkPaint™.  

Tip: If you are not getting the resist or chipping desired, add heat with a hairdryer, direct sunlight, or a heat gun.

 
White Milk Paint with chippy black underneath, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

Staining The Tops

Before applying our protective finishes, we stained the tops using Typewriter MilkPaint™ combined with water in a ratio of 4 parts water to 1 part paint. It was quickly absorbed into the raw wood top, making the perfect combination for our new updated 2-toned modern farmhouse look. We used a paint brush to apply the stain and a lint-free cloth to wipe back the stain.

Applying The Protective Finish

Before applying the protective finish on the bases, we used sandpaper to force chipping and remove the loose paint where we applied the beeswax. We followed that with a final wipe down to remove the paint particles and dust. We decided to use MilkWax-ECO™ on the tops. It adds moisture and cures to a hard washable finish. We are known for the occasional glass of water spill along with cold remedies and such.

 
Pine wood stained with Typewriter Milk Paint sealed with Milk Wax Eco, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Top: After MilkWax-ECO™ | Bottom: Before

 

Then we applied MilkOil™ Indoor / Hemp Seed Oil on the bases. Both were allowed to sit and absorb, followed by a wipe back and buff with a lint-free cloth.

Best of all, no VOCs!  

 
Modern farmhouse nightstands, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint
 

There is one final project left to go before we show you the finished room.

Next up is a makeover for our mirrored maple dresser!

Brenda Hess | Owner, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

I am a very creative person and spent my college years focused on Fine Arts. Although I didn’t make it my career, I still needed an outlet for my creativity and found a love for papercrafts. Now I dabble in a lot of different types of crafting and enjoy the process of repurposing and upcycling. In 2014 my husband James and I decided to make a drastic change in our lives, and we created our furniture and woodworking business, Rundown Rustics. Shortly after, we began using Miss Mustard Seed’s® Milk Paint which was a perfect match for our vintage-inspired creations, giving them an authentic aged look. I love all things primitive, antique, and vintage and love to research the history of these amazing pieces. Owning Miss Mustard Seed’s® Milk Paint brings me so much joy. I love the simplicity of this amazing paint, as well as its versatility. I want to share my love of MilkPaint™ and hope to inspire others to use this historical all-natural paint.

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