[Laura in Colorado is here to show her wares as we run the last of the finalists for the writer positions here at The Kitchen. Welcome to Laura! Let us know what you think of her posts.]
Next time you're looking for an easy and inexpensive way to update your kitchen, look no farther than your refrigerator. Virtually odorless, environmentally safe, and non-toxic, Real Milk Paint is a perfect choice for updating those dark kitchen cabinets.
A milk paint finish actually strengthens with time and exposure to moisture in the air. Purchase it from The Real Milk Paint Co. in powdered form and just add water, mix new colors with multiple pigments and add to RMPC's base, or mix up a batch using one of their authentic recipes (using real skim milk or cottage cheese!).
I am in love the look of lighter wood, but I would worry that mixing some cottage cheese into my paint might leave a lingering odor, to say the least.
I was under the inpression that milk paint should be sealed with an oil-based varnish/poly/sealer because milk paint is always reversible and will be removed, smudged, liquified with water and any water-based product.
from their website:
"After the paint has dried 3-4 hours you may top coat with varnish, oil finish, Pure Tung Oil, lacquer, or wax."
Olga,
RMPC says, "If the milk paint is old, over a year, paint remover will not touch it." In my kitchen, I've found it to be very durable and we actually decided to forgo the top coat altogether.
That being said, in my research to choose a milk paint supplier, I found there are a lot of different products out there labeled "milk paint" that all act very differently...so your impression is certainly worth noting for anyone out there looking at various brands of milk paint.
Such a timely article, thanks Laura. We have very old, very dark cabinets in the kitchen that I would really like to paint, and milk paint seems like a great choice (any paint fumes make me so sick).
Just the kind of article I look for... informative, personal, and inspiring. Two thumbs up!
I know that old (from the 1800s) milk paint is a bear to remove, so whatever they did to it back then made it not at all easily reversible.