A Rustic Farmhouse Cupboard Makeover with a Little Help from Ikea

What a solid little beauty. 

It is a piece that spoke pretty clearly to me.
Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint, in the colour Bergere, 
would be involved in bringing him back to life.

BEFORE: a primitive timber cupboard...possibly handmade

A bit worse for wear but the bones are there!
Are you able to see past a mess and recognise potential?
It's an integral part of upcycling...to release the (often hidden) beauty.

Given the repairs, within a day he would be ready for transformation.
The top looked pretty gorgeous already with a patina
I didn't want to hide. 
A quick sanding tidied without destroying the character.

DURING: Sanding the top to tidy, but leaving most of the character

The inside was pretty ratty...in fact, 
I think something with fur made it a home for some time.

DURING: Yikes! Bird feathers, fur, webs, leaves...there was a bit of everything tucked away inside!

With repairs, sometimes a peek behind what is going on 
can reveal a piece of solid timber or another interesting discovery. 
In this case, it was straight through to the inside!
Not really what you want to find so
out came the wood glue and weights, which fixed this easily. 

NOT a  pretty picture, right? 
A bucket of water and rag to wipe away the bulk of the mess
then spraying it with vinegar and a hint of essential oil (lemon),
brought it up pretty well.
Well, good enough for a lick of paint!

The revamp continued with MMS Milk Paint in Bergere, 
Unsure whether I would paint the  door panels ,
I taped them off to leave the option.

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in the stunning, classic colour, Bergere. From $10 on the website.

First coat of MMSMP in Bergere looking pretty gorgeous

While the first coat was drying,
the inside got a freshen-up with MMS Milk Paint in Grain Sack
using my absolute favourite Small Paint Brush.


I love Grain Sack for the inside of cupboards. 
It's not too stark of a white and freshens without being too bright. 
The colour is soft enough to blend with a vintage or modern restyle. 

DURING: Going over the tired, dirty yellow enamel with MMSMP in Grain Sack

WHAT a difference — and easy to achieve. I'm not afraid to open the cupboard doors anymore! Ha!

On a whim I mixed up the MMSMP colour Artissimo 
with a Mini-Whisk to use as a stain for the top.
I really appreciate the slight edge it gave the piece. 
Although it dried quite dusty-looking, 
Hemp Oil did what it does best and brought it to life.

While trying to decide what to do with the doors
I came across a packet of Ikea napkin/serviettes. 
Earlier that day a friend had sent me a photo of a pine stool
with a blue and white china top that she loved.
The pin dropped!

I took out a few napkins and loved how it complemented the
Milk Paint colour as well as the timber top.

Using Mod Podge (after removing the backing) I attached
 them to the center panels on the doors.
Once dry a quick coat of Miss Mustard Seed's Tough Coat Sealer 
was added to seal the finish.
The next day I sanded the panels back for a vintage look. 

In retrospect, I should've left the topcoat off 
for sanding as I wanted the pattern patchier but Tough Coat
is just that...TOUGH! And it didn't want to sand back easily!

Mixing MMS Milk Paint in Artissimo with the Mini-Whisk to use as a stain

Artissimo-stained top with a Hemp Oil finish

Ikea does it again—these napkins were a bargain and the blue and white china mood they evoke is perfect

Miss Mustard Seed Tough Coat Sealer is a great topcoat and works great for decoupage as well

Once finished the entire piece received a generous coat of Hemp Oil. 


Isn't it amazing what you can achieve?
 If you think something is beyond repair and has passed its use-by date, 
it may just be in need of some imagination, love...
and Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint!

AFTER: Vintage style with a bit of the unexpected

Slight distressing and staining the timber top — all sealed with Hemp Oil

Kept what vintage hardware was possible and added little cutie seashell knobs

Close up look at the distressing of the decoupage and the timber finish

It's all here...for the love...
Sada