Milk Paint Dining Table - featuring 'Milk Paint as a Stain'

 My experience with Milk Paint just seems to get better and better!  I was given this table, from a colleague of my husband Mike - it was going to be taken to the dump! I love the big chunky barley twist legs.  This is a really solid well made piece of furniture, and I couldn't wait to get started on her.

The top was quite worn and the original lacquer needed to be sanded off - the wood - solid oak, was in good condition so I knew it would be fine to sand there was no sign of veneer of any sort.

 Here she is before - lovely detail and legs.

I always sand - 3 times - going up from course to medium and then fine to finish off and get a really lovely smooth finish.  It sanded beautifully, as the wood was so good, I tried applying hemp oil on a small inconspicuous spot to see what the colour would look like if I applied the Hemp Oil straight onto the sanded oak.  It was a little on the orangey/yellow shade which I don't like, so I decided to use the Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint shade called Curio - which makes a fabulous walnut shade.

I gave the base 3 coats of MMSMP - Grainsack - which is one of the white shades - it's a lovely soft greyish white - I added bonding agent to the first coat, although I would have been very happy to have some chipping, as the table is quite old - approximately 1930's and has  had a lot of use sometimes, especially on a dining table there could be grease, which will resist the paint and I wanted to have more control of whether I had a 'chippy' look or not.

The table has 2 extending leaves which tuck underneath the main top - when fully extended using both leaves the table is 185cms long! It's gorgeous!

 To finish and seal the paint I used Hemp Oil, and the finish is really smooth, and the colours of the stained top and greyish white base compliment each other perfectly.

 This label shows the table was bought in Arding & Hobbs which was a well know reputable chain of  Furniture Stores across London established in 1862, I do love a piece with some history!

 I love the scalloped detail - and of course those barley twist legs are fabulous!

Now that I have used the Curio Milk Paint as a stain with such tremendous results I will certainly be using it as my first choice for a stain for some other projects which I have lined up!

Lots more Milk Paint projects on the way!
Bye for now
CJ, Juniper & Roses