DIY Milk-Painted Bathroom Table

Our house has two bathrooms--one that's old and one that's newer. (If you're a regular reader I bet you can guess which one I love most!) The older bathroom has tons of charm and character. Pine wainscoting, original hardwood floors, a clawfoot tub, brass faucets and doorknobs. If this were my house I would probably paint the wainscoting a creamy white but I've grown to love it as it is. It reminds me of a cozy ski lodge with all that warm, knotty pine.

The only problem with this bathroom is that it has zero built-in storage. Unless you count the top of the toilet, I really do mean zero. I've had to get creative with baskets and trays and my Dad hung a medicine cabinet on one wall when he was here a few weekends ago. This little table doesn't provide a ton of storage, but it's something I already had and when I tried it here it just fit so beautifully in this little nook between the door and the radiator. The cherry finish was in tough shape, though, and I didn't love how it blended into the wainscoting. That could be seen as a positive but I wanted it to pop against the warm wood.

I've been itching to try milk paint again and I knew this rich navy blue shade would look lovely with all of that wood and with the white tub and shower curtain. I applied two coats, both with the bonding agent, and then I did a super light distressing on just the edges and corners to give it a bit of an aged look. The knob came from Anthropologie, a place I rarely go to for hardware but since I needed just one knob I could afford to splurge a little. I like that the brass on the edges echoes the brass doorknob and the center almost looks like bone or ivory. It's so pretty in person.

This is my second time using milk paint and it's delightful to work with, so forgiving. Mixing it up using the powder and water is a little messy but I think it's worth it to end up with this really natural looking finish that almost looks like a stain. I wouldn't use it on everything but for the right piece of furniture it's definitely the way to go. And--no sanding required!

This was a quick and easy project but the difference it made in our bathroom is huge! It's so satisfying when just a few hours of work ends up completely transforming a piece, don't you think?