Accenting an Antique Dresser with MMS Milk Paint in "Typewriter"

I love painting furniture, but my first love is the timeless beauty of true antiques.  There is no duplicating the gorgeous wood grain that's found on many pieces and the patina can be breathtaking.

Then, there are some that are really pretty, but lack some 'umph'.  That's how I felt about this Empire dresser we found recently.  To be brought back to it's former glory, it will require some serious refinishing....and this piece will take a lot of bad chemicals, hand sanding and a long process to put the shine back on.  Not on my agenda....

Instead, since we had to do some repairs on the top, I knew I wanted some paint on it.

I let it sit in my foyer for a while as I studied it, stared at it and spent hours on Pinterest trying to get some real inspiration for it.  My first thought was to paint the whole piece a soft, light color, but every time I got ready to work on it, I literally could not bring myself to put my paint brush on it.  So, I came up with a Plan B.

I wanted to highlight it's handcrafted beauty, but at the same time, cover up the repairs on the top and the large veneer chips (yes, this piece is veneered), so I decided to just accent the piece with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Typewriter.

Look how the beautiful wood grain of the drawers really show off, now!  The finish on the drawers still has the alligator-ing going on, but I feel that patina just adds to the rustic feel of it.  I actually thinned the paint a little more than usual because I wanted the wood grain to show through...then lightly sanded to reveal more in places.

The whole piece got a top coat of Hemp Oil.

I know that these are not the original knobs, but are the ones that were on it when we bought it.  I had no problems with keeping them!  They are gorgeous!

So, before anyone yells at me for defacing an antique....this piece can still be refinished just as it could have been before I painted it!  I look at it this way...I am just preserving it for now. :)

This one will be heading to the new store soon as we begin to move things in!