I recently worked with American Farmhouse Style magazine to come up with a post for fall using our milk paint. I had the perfect project in mind. I have always wanted a vintage faux mantel but have never came across a good one. I decided now was a great time to build one and use our milk paint on it for the perfect chippy paint job!
I started with just your basic raw pine from Home Depot. I designed the mantel, got all the pieces and trim cut, then my dad made the corbels and put the mantel together.
After it was built, I stained it so you will see dark wood when the paint chips(I used Minwax in dark walnut), gave it a light dusting of a clear coat(see pic below of what I use) so the paint would resist and then painted with 2 coats of milk paint (Sweet Pickins Milk Paint in Flour Sack). After my paint was dry, I sanded to get all the loose paint off make the paint buttery smooth and then done! See my article from the magazine below for more info.
After! Just look at the perfectly chippy paint with all that crackle :)
Here’s the write up from the magazine…
Now to find a spot in my house for the mantel!
Happy painting!
