My Sister's Bedroom Makeover with Farmhouse White Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

When most people go on holiday, they lie on a beach, explore nature, read, relax — that kinda thing, right?

Apparently, I do bedroom makeovers!

My sister is a giver and always helping others. She wasn't well for a few years, so when I visited her recently of course a full DIY bedroom reno was in order!

By the way, my sister was going to TOSS this set and buy a new one?!

Even my nieces didn't have faith in me, but I begged them to be patient. They both eyed me suspiciously...

Before!

and After!

1 of 2 nightstands

Armoire before the makeover

It is such an honour to work on furniture that is built-to-last.

Even though this bedroom set has moved house, seen three children come and go and been used daily for decades, the only repair we had to make was to ONE drawer rail. That's it. Nothing needed anywhere else. I love that. 

Where to begin?

I started by taking out all 20 drawers and removing the lining which my sister said she put in herself when she received the furniture as a wedding gift. 

​The great thing about old drawer lining is sometimes the glue is old so the paper comes out easily. Any sticky bits were helped along with eucalyptus oil.

Original paper lines the drawers

And so it begins...

After taking out the drawer lining, I lugged the tremendously heavy drawers outside to enjoy the sunshine.

First coat of MMS Milk Paint with Bonding Agent in Grain Sack

When taking a dark surface to a light colour, a grey such as Grain Sack helps knock back some of the colour peeking through. This little trick has never failed me. The first coat is MMS Milk Paint in Grain Sack with an equal amount of Bonding Agent.

I didn't sand and I wasn't confident of how chippy it might go. I used Bonding Agent as insurance.  Also, my sister had no idea what to expect so I thought I'd play it safe.  

And here they are...the first coat uglies...

Yes, the nieces were still giving me the stink-eye at this point! 

MMS Milk Paint First Coat Uglies!

Once I started painting I had a better look at the timber — and the wood grain intrigued me. Then I thought of my brother-in-law and how much he'd LOVE if it wasn't completely "pretty and white" in the bedroom.

This led to sanding back the tops of the long dresser and nightstands. Such a smart choice everyone went, "WOW!" The grain is beautiful.

Although we loved the colour of the timber once it was sanded back, due to other elements in the room I deepened it by staining with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Curio with a touch of Typewriter. 

Sanding back to reveal the grain

My nieces picked up brushes to help as we painted Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in the can't-go-wrong colour,  Farmhouse White.

MMS Milk Paint in Farmhouse White

Did you notice the handles on the set? The big, giant almost gothic looking things? My nieces were determined that even if they came over to the painting of the set — the handles HAD to go. I begged for a chance to prove them wrong.

I almost lost them on this one...

Metal is tricky, you need to mix your paint thick and even then, these took three coats with Bonding Agent. But then they looked "too perfect!"

We distressed them with sandpaper and I love love love how they turned out...so did everyone else!  (Is it wrong that it feels so good to be right?!)

Milk Painted metal handles perfectly distressed

Distressed, aged, crackled and rustic...the perfect Farmhouse White finish!

We used Tough Coat Sealer to decoupage the insides of the drawers (yes all 20 of them...whew!) with coordinating papers in a patchwork pattern.

In my brother-in-law's bedside, we picked patterns that were more masculine — books, antique compass and typewriter. My sister picked out  pretty florals and girly patterns!

Beautiful new patterned paper in varied patchwork patterns now line the drawers

Once the paint was on, my sister decided she liked a chippy finish, so I hit the entire set with sandpaper using a sander on the wide flat surfaces and hand-sanding the rest.

Look how beautiful taking it all the way back in spots to emphasise the gorgeous carved detail.

Revealing the layers of stain and timber and letting the carved detail shine

The entire set was sealed with two coats of Tough Coat Sealer to stop any unintentional chipping and to hold up to another 40 years of use!

​I'm not going to sugar coat this and say it was easy. The painting was easy, but the enormity of the job wasn't!

Was it worth it in the end? Hearing my sister say "I love it. I love it. I love it" every time she walked into the room...
​
​You bet it was worth it. :)

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