Scroll to the bottom of this post for our amazing GIVEAWAY!
(Our giveaway is now closed and we have a WINNER. Thanks for entering!)
Coffee tables are probably one of my favourite pieces of furniture to up-cycle or refurbish. They’re small enough to finish in a few of hours and don’t usually have too many ‘fiddly’ bits. Here’s the kind of basic table you’ll find in many second hand stores or garage sales:
I gave the table top a thorough sanding to remove all the varnish because I’m going to stain the top and the raw wood finish is best for staining.I decided to use one of the new European colours in the Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint line to mix a stain. The colour is Schloss and it is a darkish gray.
Stain: mix 1 tablespoon milk paint powder with 3 tablespoons water and shake or stir thoroughly.I brushed the stain on making sure it covered everywhere. It was a grey wash type of effect. The second pic below looks like it is quite washed out, but remember it will have a milky or chalky appearance when milk paint dries.
When I add the hemp oil or furniture wax to a piece like this, it will show the grain so nicely through the painted stain.
Once dry, I gave the top a coat of Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil. See how it deepens the stain and brings out the grain in the wood:
Now I was ready to paint the base, and I chose another Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Euro colour – Bergere, a lovely blue.
Regular Milk Paint is mixed using equal parts water and paint powder.

Mixed paint on the left; dry milk paint powder on right.
For this table I opted to add a little bonding agent as I wanted a smooth look and not distressed. Bonding agent adds extra stickability to the milk paint. If I was wanting a distressed or chippy look, I’d leave the bonding agent out.And here’s the finished look after using more hemp oil to finish the painted surface.
I just LOVE this colour! Bergere, and all of the other Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint colours are available in our product tab above.
This piece sold rather quickly. Seems you can’t go wrong with blue these days!
I’ll be adding this post to my featuring many of the pieces I’ve done using Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint, so if you are on Pinterest, head over to follow my boards.
(Our giveaway is now closed and we have a WINNER. Thanks for entering!)
You won’t want to miss this giveaway:
Starts 5pm 29/05/2015 (Brisbane, QLD time) & goes for a week (6/6/15)
The Prize pack contains:
1 Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Look Book One (autographed by Marian Parsons!)
1 Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint Apron (great for painting, cooking, gardening)
1 MMSMP Natural Bristle Paint Brush
2 x sample packets (30g) of MMSMP
4 x sample pots (37ml) of Fusion Mineral Paint
We are authorised retailers for Fusion Mineral Paint and Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Australia. This blog post may contain affiliate links.
34 Comments
Elisabeth
May 29, 2015 at 5:33 pmHi Sharon!
I’m so excited! Your newsletter came through to me! Chuckle. You might recall, for some reason, your blog updates never get to me? Well your newsletter did this time! Lovely! How nice is that blue on the coffee table!? Love it! I’ve tried re-subscribing, so maybe all will be OK now. Hope so.
Have a great evening,
Liz (Wollongong)
admin
May 29, 2015 at 6:05 pmOh Elisabeth, that’s great that you got it this time. I think I might have to try a different program for my newsletters. I’ve had trouble all this month along with your problem of not receiving them. I just sent via my gmail this time. Hopefully I can get it all worked out this month.
Laurelie
May 29, 2015 at 5:35 pmOoh this is great. I’ve definitely been inspired after your last workshop. Hope I can win this to build up my Milk Paint collection!
admin
May 29, 2015 at 6:06 pmSo glad you’ve been inspired, Laurelie. Was fun having you at the workshop. I hope you received your order okay this week? Sharon.
Tracey Bradshaw
May 29, 2015 at 6:47 pmI love the finish on the table – the top looks so soft and smooth and I am loving the new European colours from MMSMP. I really need to try the bonding agent as it give such a different look and finish.
lyn lindsay
May 29, 2015 at 6:49 pmHi Sharon, an exciting opportunity, Ihad to laugh that at the moment as of next week we are going shopping ,second hand, for guess what a coffee table one like yours, would love to have a go at milk paint to give it new life, that’s if I find one.
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:42 pmAwesome, Lyn. All the best for your shopping trip!
Sharon
May 29, 2015 at 7:13 pmHi Sharon – came across your blog on internet and love your work! I am also a Sharon living not to far away who enjoys restoring things! I am trying to find a cupboard atm to restore for school bags, notices etc. in our entrance so am glad to have found your blog for inspiration! Thanks!
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:41 pmGlad you found me Sharon! Send me some pictures of your pieces. I love seeing projects others are working on too. Have you joined our facebook page?
Lindy
May 29, 2015 at 7:38 pmA little inspiration for the weekend.
Cindy
May 29, 2015 at 8:05 pmI can’t wait to start my first project
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:40 pmGo Cindy! Warning: it’s addictive …
Carol
May 29, 2015 at 9:46 pmYour work looks so neat and almost perfect. It looks like you have a roomy work area.
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:40 pmThanks Carol! It is a big work area. There’s a story about that … LOL. I do have a blog post about it somewhere.
SusAn
May 29, 2015 at 9:59 pmDo u do any classes in Brisbane
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:39 pmOur workshops are about 45 mins south of the Brisbane CBD, Susan. You can find the details on our Workshop tab.
Claudine
May 30, 2015 at 4:26 amhello,very nice work and it is sublime blue provence
i’m french and i love your tutorials,have a nice week-end
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:38 pmThank you Claudine!
Karen
May 30, 2015 at 2:53 pmLooks amazing. I have a coffee table in need of help and the giveaway would be perfect for me to start.
(Can’t pin the image of the giveaway, keep getting an error so pinned the coffee table instead!)
UnderTheCat
May 30, 2015 at 3:07 pmSo exciting, love a little giveaway!
Laurels Bruner
May 31, 2015 at 2:59 amLove the color. So beachy/summer
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:37 pmLovely colour, yes! One of my new favs.
Sue Neumaier
June 1, 2015 at 12:37 pmThank You for this opportunity, enjoy your Demos!
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:37 pmThank you kindly, Sue! All the best!
Jess
June 1, 2015 at 2:35 pmI’d love to win! I have a little stool needing a make-over – hubby has reinforced it and sanded it back for me… Now I need paint!
admin
June 1, 2015 at 5:36 pmsounds like a cute project Jess! All the best.
Karen A.
June 2, 2015 at 6:56 amBeautiful table! Thanks for the opportunity to enter your giveaway!
Anne Roberts
June 2, 2015 at 12:51 pmI have a coffee table almost identical to the one you have up-cycled above Sharon. Would love to get stuck into mine for a makeover!
Linda Greiss
June 5, 2015 at 11:24 amI love your coffee table with the milk paint stained top and the wonderful blue legs and skirt. Thanks for the opportunity to win your give-a-way!
admin
June 5, 2015 at 12:07 pmThanks Linda. All the best for the giveaway.
Dorene @ Seasonal Chapters
June 5, 2015 at 11:33 amThis table turned out great! I love the way you utilized milk paint as a stain!
admin
June 5, 2015 at 12:07 pmYes, Dorene, I love using Milk paint as a stain. Especially their darker colours for wood stains, but lighter colours give a great white wash effect.
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