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Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint

Before and Afters

Eulalie's Sky Cabinet

Well, the Lucketts Spring Market just wouldn’t be the same without torrential downpours and some point.  Thankfully, we got them out of the way last night and the weather forecast says partly sunny with a high of 68 for the weekend.  It sounds like perfection!  Unfortunately, though, the rain last night caused a lot of flooding.  One of my tents collapsed under the weight of the two ponds that formed in the tarp.  Thankfully, the tarp did what it’s supposed to do and everything inside was clean, dry and unharmed.  Jeff and his dad fixed it all up, so my mother-in-law and I could have a nice lunch at my favorite farm-to-table restaurant.   Jeff’s a good guy…he knew that a day driving to Lucketts to deal with a collapsed tent wouldn’t be the best for me on “Lucketts Eve.” I thought I would share one of my favorite furniture

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MMS Milk Paint Boxwood dresser before and after - www.mms2.wpengine.com
Before and Afters

Boxwood Dresser

For those who have been asking for furniture makeovers, well, you’re getting them now!  And I have about 12 more pieces in the basement that still need to be hauled up for their chance at a picture. This piece is actually a sort-of-custom dresser that’s already spoken for.  I received an e-mail a few weeks ago from a reader who was looking for a dresser in a specific style.  She sent some pictures along of other pieces I’ve painted and I just happened to be buying two dressers in the style she was looking for.  Jeff and my dad picked them up for me and I gave her first pick of which one she wanted. She picked the one she liked the best and asked me to paint it in Boxwood, but gave me liberty to paint it however I wanted.  That was awesome, because I usually don’t do custom

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Before and Afters

custom-mixed blue empire dresser

I shared a dresser a few days ago and labeled it as my new favorite piece in a while.  Well, I’ve changed my mind.  This one has knocked the other one off of that throne. I painted it in a color similar to French Enamel, but it’s a custom mix MMSMP of Flow Blue and Shutter Gray.  This is another Craig’s List piece I found.  It was a pretty good bargain, because it’s in rough condition.  The small drawers need runners and two of the larger drawers need to be entirely rebuilt.  But, I love empire style dressers, so I went for it.  Their chunky lines seem to lend themselves to milk paint.  Here’s how it started… The wood is beautiful, but the veneer is rough in some places and the brass hardware that was added was entire wrong for the piece.  So, we removed the hardware, cleaned it up,

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Tricycle Red Milk Paint Dresser - www.mms2.wpengine.com
Before and Afters

Tricycle Highboy Dresser Makeover

I don’t think there is any doubt that I am a blue & white lover through and through.  That being said, I have a soft spot for red.  Red is such a bold color that it’s hard to not give it a little attention.  And, when there is a perfect red, like MMSMP Tricycle, how can I not use it? This piece is a pretty ho-hum dresser.  Sure, it has a little turn to the leg, but otherwise it has straight and simple lines.  In order to make it stand out, I gave it a bold paint color. I was also being practical.  This piece was stained in that dreaded red stain that bleeds through and causes furniture painters everywhere frustration.  So, knowing frustration was imminent if I tried to paint it a lighter color, I decided to work with it and paint it red.  It’s okay if red stain

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Before and Afters

One of my favorites… |

This is one of the pieces I finished yesterday… Yes.  I painted it that way on purpose.  That’s not the before.  I’ve learned that some people get it and some people don’t!  I’ve been really inspired lately by pieces that are heavily worn, distressed and chippy, so I decided to take the distressing on this piece to the extreme.  And the result is one of my favorite pieces that I’ve done in a while. Here’s how it started…    I did take process pictures, so I’ll share a tutorial, but as a quick rundown, I painted it in a base coat of MMSMP Grain Sack followed by the Wax Puck and Hemp Oil to act as resists.  I then applied a coat of a custom mixed color – equal parts Shutter Gray and Trophy.  After a heavy distressing, I finished it with Furniture Wax and a little bit of Antiquing

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Before and Afters

1800's Linen Dresser

I hope you’re ready for some furniture makeovers, because you’re going to be seeing a lot over the next few weeks!  I’ve got quite a collection growing for Lucketts. Here’s the 1800’s dresser with the amazing carved handles that I finished yesterday… It was pretty rough when I bought it, but I could see the potential… It’s painted in MMSMP Linen.  The wood was very soft and porous, so it absorbed the paint well without any bonding agent.  I distressed the edges and, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, added some additional texture by applying more paint in patches and drying it quickly with a hair dryer. This lent a subtle cracked and crusty look to the paint that gives it a sense of age.   For the styling of this piece, I kept it monochromatic and simple with an ironstone bowl filled with wooden croquet balls and some leather

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Guest Room

guest room in the works…

After finishing the hand painted “Bavarian” guest bed last week, I could hardly wait to get it up in the space.  Swapping out the beds is a job I needed help with, though, so I had to be a little patient.  Well, I did carry up the bed myself and started swapping them out, but I ended up balancing the footboard on my hip while holding a rail on my foot.  Then I called for help.  Anyway, we got the bed in place and I took a few minutes to make the bed, try some different bedding options, and play with some fabric I had in my stash.  I love how it’s coming together. I found a vintage crystal chandelier on Etsy (the crystals were removed for shipping and I haven’t put them back on, yet.) I’m going to replace the builder-grade light that’s been in there for years with

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Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

MMS Milk Paint is in Australia & New Zealand!

Those of you who have followed my blog for a couple of years know what an amazing journey my Milk Paint line has been.  There was a time when I whispered a desire to have a product line, making sure I highlighted the absurdity of the idea lest people think I’m serious and laugh at me.  Well, I was serious and when the opportunity came to put a paint I love under my own brand, I jumped at it…really having no idea what it entailed.  My idea to pack the paint in my basement became silly when retailers wanting to carry my paint sent me e-mails in droves.  Since those early days, we’ve grown to over 230 retailers around the world.  The world!  It still blows my mind. My dad made a joke a couple of weeks ago about Mustard Seed Interiors going international.  I smiled at him.  “It is

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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