Milk paint revisited...and a really cool planter

This milk painted planter journey began with a sentimental attachment to a little vintage dresser with amazing curves. It was my husband's grandmother's piece and I fell in love with it as quick as I did with the woman herself. However, it needed  A LOT, and I mean a lot of work for it to be a functional piece.  My husband looked it over and the drawers were going to have to be completely reconstructed, and the top rebuilt  (or at least reapplied)  for it to withstand much use.  So we left in her estate sale inventory...however, the morning of the sale, my sister-in-law convinced me I should keep it..knowing how much I loved it.  Very glad she was my voice of reason!

So I began thinking about what to do with this little beauty.  Knowing how much work it needed, and that my husband was not at all too excited to rebuild it, I decided to make a planter out of it.  No need for the drawers to work, no need for it to be "perfect" and it would be a stunning accent to my front porch...and the very best part? It would remind me of Gma Cole every time we looked at it. Below is the finished project and the "how to"  of turning an old dresser into a planter.

I knew I wanted this piece to look "aged" and "worn"...like it had been outdoors for years.  It was already a really pretty brown glazed color, so I just applied a light, uneven coat of  a mossy green color paint.  After letting that dry, I dry brushed on one coat of  milk paint. Knowing this piece was going outside, I did not focus too much on my strokes or making it perfectly even.  Once this first coat dried, I applied a second coat of milk paint, paying a little closer attention to evening out my strokes and completely covering the piece.  Let me just say I owe milk paint a pretty big apology (and probably the man at Woodcraft as well)! In my previous milk paint post, I wasn't as impressed with milk paint as I had hoped to be. However, I did give the liquid form of milk paint a try for this project and I fell in love instantly! The new love story goes like this....I picked up a can of General Finishes Milk Paint (liquid form) in Antique White.

It is a different consistency, but much more like paint than the powder form had been. It was very smooth, no clumps, and went on well.  I used a brush for this project, although, it did show streaks.  Since it was going outdoors, that dry brushed, almost streaked look was what I was going for (just a side note, using a foam roller with this product makes it  much easier to apply evenly and is highly recommended if applying to a piece going indoors or a more finished look.)   I went ahead and wore a mask due to my pregnancy, but I never noticed an obnoxious smell, so that is big plus!

After all the coats of paint, I took 220 grit sand paper and sanded over the entire piece....the milk paint simply flaked right off. I absolutely loved how the milk paint distressed out. A picture of the top is shown below so you can see the distressed effect up close. You can also see what I mean about how the  brush strokes are very obvious...you won't have this if you use a foam roller.

I then applied a coat of poly-urethane (wearing a respirator mask) and let that dry completely.  Always apply poly to pieces that are being using outdoors.  To finish out the piece, I went over the dresser with a foam sanding pad to smooth it out.  The polyurethane turns white when sanded, so it just added to the finish.  I drilled holes in the bottom of the two functioning drawers, lined with very inexpensive plastic liners (to protect the wood drawers from rotting out)  I bought at dollar general, and then added the plants!  The fabulous part is now I have a functional gardening center, with storage, that fits perfectly into an odd space on our front porch! You can also find many similar ideas and  tutorials on turning furniture into planters on Pintrest!

Happy Planting!