A Milk Painted Vintage Music Cupboard Becomes a Stylish Printer Stand!

Before: My vintage music cabinet score with leaded glass

What's the old adage....
a plumber's pipes are always leaking? 
An accountant's books are never in order?

I rarely have time to paint for myself, 
but I've slowly been working on my home office renovation
which is not only important for peace in my home, 
but also for staying on top of For The Love paperwork!
A disorganised workspace helps no one.
After an exceptionally busy week 
I decided to reward myself by making the time to
paint something for myself.
Once my home office is finished, I will post the entire project as it's been an exciting journey. 

But for today....let's look at my gorgeous printer stand/stationery cabinet.

I found this beauty the very day she turned up at one of my favourite haunts, 
and before they could even slap a price tag on her, 
I added her to my lay-by! 
The owner told me it would've been used as a music cupboard
with sheets of music kept inside on the shelves.

I don't know if that's true, but the idea makes me love it even more.
Aside from that, it was the perfect height and width, the printer would fit on top,
there was shelving inside for bits and pieces, but mostly...
this baby has STYLE!!!!

Sometimes discovering what colour a piece wants to be can be time-consuming. 
Either patience or trial and error are required. 
But other times you just know.

I knew instantly in my heart of hearts,
the cabinet was going to be Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Flow Blue. 

MMS Milk Paint in the gorgeous shade of Flow Blue

Beginning the first coat of MMSMP in Flow Blue on this vintage cabinet

I mixed up a batch of Milk Paint using the Mini-Whisk, added 
an equal amount of Bonding Agent 
and allowed the paint to rest for  five minutes during which time 
I taped off the glass-fronted, leadlight door. 


Once the paint rested, I stirred it again and began painting.
Isn't this colour amazing?!
So is the coverage and using a quality 
natural bristle Paint Brush will ensure this.

First coat of Flow Blue nearly finished

The stencil in Metallic Indigo Blue. There are more than 20 metallic paint colours in our online shop, $17.95

Because the stencil is inside and will mostly be hidden, 
I wasn't overly concerned about getting it perfect 
and used a foam roller instead of stencil brush. 

Finding the best companion to pair with Flow Blue using the Paint Deck and samples

It's important to me that my surroundings are filled with colour. 
Especially my work environment.
I find inspiration and joy in colour, so I tend to 
surround myself with a lot of it! 

I knew I wanted a hit of colour inside this beautiful cabinet
 so I had a play with MMS Milk Paint samples. 
The thing is...Flow Blue is such a surprisingly 
neutral shade that nearly every colour looked 
gorgeous when paired with it.

I positioned the stencil quite high as I assume I will be
mostly seated in my office and prefer it at eye level. 
This also allows for office supplies to be piled on the top shelf.

It was time for its second and final coat of Flow Blue
using Miss Mustard Seed's purpose-designed
Dual Medium Paint and Wax Brush.
Not to be melodramatic (too late?!) but this brush is a game-changer!

Positioning the Bee & Laurel stencil for maximum impact. Find this stencil ($29.95) and more in the online shop.

I love drama, bling and a bit of the unexpected.
When I've done twice as much as the Average Jo...I tend to take it one step further....
Flow Blue and a gorgeous sorbet with leaded glass? 
Well of course I should add a Bee & Laurel stencil in Metallic Indigo Blue!

Custom mixed shade of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in delicious coral-hot-pink-sorbet

As I left the last coat of paint to dry for a few days in the studio
I kept looking at those gorgeous curvy legs.
Then one day she told me she'd love to show them off.
We put our Metallic Paint in True Gold to work on her legs and hardware.

Fortunately a lovely customer visited the studio and shop
 that day and we ended up creating a shade of
coral-hot-pink- sorbet that was not only perfect for her project...
but ended up being exactly what I was after as well. 


I LOVE my customers, they are an endless source of 
creativity and inspiration.
And this colour — good enough to eat!

Using our Metallic Paint is an inexpensive and effective way to update vintage hardware

The second and final coat of MMSMP in Flow Blue

Painting the inside in the custom-mixed colour of MMS Milk Paint

Gettin' her legs done!

Those legs are just so gorgeous, they had to shine.
Now, with two coats of True Gold Lumiere Metallic Paint, they POP!


 Once the cabinet dried I opted to protect and seal it
 with my favourite top coat — Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil.

I brushed the cabinet liberally with Hemp Oil using my Large Hemp Oil Brush,
then left it to absorb overnight.
There wasn't much excess the next morning,
so I repeated the process by adding another coat of Hemp Oil,
allowing it to sit overnight and the following day wiped away the excess
leaving a soft, matt, mellow finish I just love.

Applying MMS Hemp Oil as a topcoat to seal and protect the finish and the furniture

Printer stand IN ACTION!! I'm sorry about the lighting, there is NO getting a decent photo in this tiny room!

Getting a peek at the colourful inside

This is Tex, she desperately wanted in on the action!

Isn't she beautiful?! I'm loving these colours together

This beauty spent its time curing in the studio
but has since moved into my home office. 
I'm nearly finished and cannot wait to share the 
entire home office renovation with you!
Sign up on the right to be notified of future blog posts.

Cannot wait for this to cure and move in!!!

Hemp Oil intensifies the colour giving depth and dimension to the finish

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