milk paint | DishOnDesignGal

I can’t believe the work week is here and almost gone! I am still in the middle of several Chalk Paint projects – don’t you LOVE my checkerboard coffee table pictured above so far? I adore it. You’ll have to wait to see the final photos though, because a) none of my projects are 100% finished and b) I’m in Florida on business with Gigi (my business partner and friend) for the next two weeks. After that, I’ll be home a day and then off to NYC for a fabulous weekend! I already know its going to be fabulous because NYC is always fabulous. Even on a hot summer smelly day, it just is fabulous.

I thought I’d give you a quick update on my ongoing experiments with Milk and Chalk Paint. Have I told you that I am in love with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint as well as her clear and dark wax? I am in love with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. There, I told you again. Seriously, I can’t get enough of it and the funny part is I really don’t like to paint. But, because I love this stuff so much, maybe now I kinda sorta like to paint.

It started innocently. Really, I could blame it on you. I thought to myself… what is this chalk paint and milk paint that I keep reading about? What is the difference between the two products, how are they to work with and why is every going gaga over them? I mean really, as a blogger and designer isn’t it my responsibility to explore this trend? So of course because I love you, I dove in and quickly formed some pretty solid opinions on the two.

Milk Paint? Major pain in the behind and that’s being nice, but it does have its unique qualities (it gets chippy in random lovely places) and is quite nice if you have the time and patience for the process. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of the above and therefore I am confident I will not be mixing another batch anytime soon… unless I decide to try Miss Mustard Seed’s new line when it comes out and of course I probably will – mostly because I really do like her and the work that she does. Hopefully, it’s like childbirth in that the distance of time (plus the sweetness of that little bundle of joy) eventually makes you forget the pain.

Chalk Paint? Have I told you how much I love it? It’s sooooo easy. No priming or sanding required, comes pre-mixed in a can, covers really well, dries fast, look gorgeous. Done… signed, sealed and delivered, amen.

Anyway, I’m probably being overly dramatic, but I really started with a simple metal mirror and before I knew it I had painted two outdoor container pots for herbs, a mirror, a coffee table, a dresser for my daughter, an old small cabinet that was my mother-in-laws and a work table in my office. Plus, when I get back I have plans to paint an entire set of furniture for my guest bedroom. I know. I’m slightly obsessed. Maybe possessed. Either way, I have lots of unfinished projects that eventually I will be ready to share, promise! xo Amy

I’ve been hearing so much recently about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Old Fashioned Milk Paint, I’ve gotten a creative itch to try them both out. I was actually going to try the Milk Paint first, but on a whim last week, I stopped by The Miss Enlaineous Studio ran by the adorable Lainie Discepoli and her four-legged friend…

Check-out that sweet innocent face as he realizes he’s just been caught in the act chewing up some paper, haha! Our mutual friend Julie Phillippi Whitney has been talking about introducing Laine and I for several years and now I know why – she’s fabulous! I’m hoping we can do some things together in the future and I’m definitely going to take a class or two of hers in the future! PS. If you ever need a PR Guru – Julie’s your gal!

Laine stocks Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint along with her Soft Wax and by the end of my visit I walked out loving Laine and a with bag on my arm full of this…

A few days later I stopped by Woodcraft and came home with this…

The salesman was very helpful and gave me lots of tips about painting with Milk Paint, including the fact that I should use a natural brush to apply the paint.

Miss Mustard Seed (who is coming out with her own line of Milk Paint soon) has a great comparison of the two products which you can read here: Milk Paint versus Chalk Paint. I’ll throw in my two cents once I finish my three projects…

One project is this Lane coffee table I’ve had for years – I like the style, but the top has some water damage and I’d like it a bit darker…

Sanding/re-staining the top is not an option since it’s a wood veneer and warped. I actually like the color of the legs, but I’m not crazy about the shine. My plan is to use chocolate-brown milk paint on the top and a creamy white on the base; using sandpaper to add a distressed look to both. I’m not quite sure about the brown, but if I don’t like it I’ll paint over it with milky cream and distress it so the brown shows through. That’s the beauty of milk paint – you can just keep playing until you love it.

The second project is a large table in my home office that I use for projects…

There’s really nothing exceptional about it, but I love the size – 32″ x 48″. It’s currently stained a dark brown and here’s my plan…

Add my favorite casters from Ikea so I can move it easily around the room…

These sweet things run $9.99 for a pair:

or $9.99 for 4 of the smaller version:

I bought the larger version for this project – they go better proportionately and have a stop on each wheel which is really nice. If you’ve ever priced casters, you know this is a GREAT deal.

For paint, I’m going to go with a pastel blue by Annie Sloan called Duck Egg and I’ll also add goodies from a new line of hardware at Ikea as well…

I’m thinking about keeping the top as-is and painting the bottom. The jury is still out on that.

The third project is this old cabinet with a single drawer (not shown) that has been sitting in my garage forever…

I think it will make a great portable cabinet for my copier. I’m going to also finish it in Duck Egg and will put 4 of the smaller wheels from Ikea on the bottom.

While I’m at it, I may also paint a few photo frames as well anything else I think of along the way…

Stay tuned! I’ve added the casters already – now I need to get painting!

Last night I got around to planting some flowers I purchased over the weekend and this time I saved the markers so I can tell you what kind I used – I forgot to do that last year, oops! I’ll post about that in the next few days, but here’s a sneak preview…