Black Milk Painted Dresser

Paint your old antique furniture with milk paint for an old-fashioned painted finish. This quick black dresser makeover is so cheap and easy that anyone can do it! Turn your old furniture or thrift store finds into something you can’t wait to put into your home.

I’m so excited to share this super quick and easy black milk painted dresser makeover with you today!

Get more Black Painted Furniture ideas here!

Before Photo - Old Antique Tall Dresser

One of the reasons why I love milk paint so much is that it’s so simple to use, it dries fast (which means that your project doesn’t drag on forever), and I love the old-fashioned finish it creates!

Supplies Used for the milk painted dresser makeover

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The top was sanded down and then sealed for a natural look, and then the old hardware holes were filled in to make room for fresh new knobs. Any detail that could be removed was removed.

Then the whole piece was painted in Shackteau Interiors Milk Paint and Hemp Oil.

Wood top of the black dresser

The Basics of Milk Paint

If you aren’t familiar with milk paint, here are a few fun little facts about it!

  • True milk paint comes in a powdered form. You mix it with equal parts of water to create the same type of paint that they used a long time ago!
  • Once it’s mixed with water, it needs to be used up ASAP or else it will curdle and go bad. So only mix it up in small batches.
  • Milk paint has a mind of its own! Sometimes it will create a chippy finish, other times it will create a smooth full coverage finish. Fun!!
  • There are ways to help it do what you want though!
Birdseye view of painted dresser in progress
Applying Hemp Oil over Milk Paint with Brush

The Top of the Dresser – Hemp Oil & Natural Wood

Orbital Sander on freshly sanded top

The top of this dresser got a little bit different treatment than the rest of this dresser.

I sanded it completely down to bare wood with my power sander.

Click here to learn all about the Best Sanders for Furniture!

Once I got the top sanded down and all the dust cleaned off, then I sealed it with multiple coats of hemp oil. The same topcoat that I used for the rest of the dresser!

Learn about the 3 ways to seal milk paint here!

Hemp oil works really well over raw wood to bring out its natural colors.

The front of the top was lighter in color than the rest of the top, so I went over just the front with a little bit of dark wax.

Finishing the Dresser – Adding New Knobs

To finish off the look, I added the cutest little white knobs with an antiqued base. I love the white against the deep black!

Learn the best way to change hardware on a dresser!

Right Side view of Dresser with white knobs

Black Milk Painted Dresser

Black Milk Painted Dresser

Give your old antique furniture a classic look with milk paint. Here are the steps for this black milk painted dresser.

Instructions

  1. Sand down the top to bare wood and seal.
  2. Remove old hardware and fill in hardware holes.
  3. Mix equal parts water to milk paint powder and let sit for 15 minutes.
  4. Prep your furniture to paint while waiting for the milk paint mixture to thicken.
  5. Paint 2 coats of milk paint.
  6. Lightly sand milk paint to see if you get any chipping and smooth it out.
  7. Seal the milk paint with some hemp oil.

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Black Tall Dresser with Wood Top

More Before And After Makeovers

Click any of these “before” photos below to view the “after” of that makeover.

Before and After of the Antique Milk Painted Dresser

I hope you enjoyed this quick little makeover and are inspired to refinish your own furniture in milk paint!

I’d love to know your thoughts! Leave us a comment below! And don’t forget to pin it for later!

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2 Comments

  1. Cheryl Atkinson says:

    Ho Natalie! I love this color black. So pretty. I am about to try Miss Mustard Seeds milkpaint for the first time and I’m a little nervous. This topic/video really helped me. What paintbrushes are your favorite?

    1. Don’t be nervous! Just let the milk paint do its thing. Don’t try to force it to chip or not chip. And enjoy the outcome, whatever the milk paint does!
      I use Zibra paint brushes when I’m not spraying! They are affordable, and they work really well with milk paint! I especially like their round brush for painting details on furniture.

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