Remember my debate on milk paint versus chalk paint?

I went with the milk paint, solely based on the fact that it was overall cheaper. I am *giddy* with the results! It is exactly what I wanted, and it was so amazingly easy.

Now, regretfully, I don’t have a good “before” picture. I asked my sweet husband if he would help me take the doors off, and he was so quick to get to it that I couldn’t get a picture taken before he had it done. So you’ll have to imagine the pieces put together in all their countryness.

The doors

The doorless cabinet pre-painting

God bless these bronze hardware, but I couldn’t wait to chuck them!

I watched the tutorial on using milk paint on the Miss Mustard Seed website. I’m so glad I did, as milk paint is so very different than latex. Not only do you mix it from powder, but it’s incredibly thin. It goes on like a stain but works more like paint. Watching the tutorial helped me know what was normal. Milk paint is so forgiving. I did absolutely no prep work, it was a little lumpy when I applied it, and I chipped more paint when I applied the wax. The result? Perfection.

The beautiful, perfect, finished project

Isn’t it beautiful?!?!?! I can’t believe I did this and in under 3 hours total. I can’t wait to do it again!

Yes, this hardware is much, much better.

Freshly painted, looking 50 years old. Love it!

Milk paint is awesome in how it antiques itself. Depending on the gloss of the previous finish, it chips as it dries. My cabinet wasn’t very glossy, so I aided the process just a tiny bit with a putty knife. It looks like it’s been sitting in someone’s barn for 50 years, but the finish is smooth and cured.

I’ll admit, I drug my feet in starting this project because I feared the effort that would go into making it look like I had it pictured in my head. It turned out to be so easy, I am eyeing my next project!