Modern Farmhouse Milk Painted TV Stand Update

See how I used General Finishes milk paint to transform a tv stand from Shabby Chic to Modern Farmhouse style. This milk paint furniture makeover is super simple.

I purchased this TV stand when the real “shabby” look was in. You know what I mean, right? I would almost say that this tv stand looked dirty. I got a wild hair one night and decided to do something about it. Project time; or more specifically my modern farmhouse MILK PAINTED TV STAND UPDATE.

I recently discovered that painting is a stress reliever for me. The more stress I go through, the more I want to paint and create.  I’m sure everyone has an alternative they turn to when times become a less than optimal. That being said, I went through a “low time” when my daughter was about 6 months old. She never slept, she was always screaming, and I also had a 3 year old to take care of.  Let’s just say my tank was empty.

This little project was a great stress relief for me. That being said, don’t mind the “baby crate” around the tv stand. It’s real life around here, lol.

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The “before” picture of the TV buffet before milk paint.

It didn’t look bad, I just felt like it needed a little “up cycling!”

First I needed to decide on a paint color and then a paint. There seems to be a million chalk paint products on the market, but only a few milk paint products.

What is milk paint?

Milk paint is known for its environmentally friendly ingredients which include milk protein, lime, pigment and sometimes clay. You could say that the first paints made many years ago were probably created from some form of milk paint.

Milk paint comes in two forms; the powder form and already pre mixed form.

If you are interested in reading more about milk paint, I summed up an entire post on milk paint vs chalk paint and which one I prefer and why. You can see more about Chalk paint VS. Milk paint here.

General Finishes Milk paint

For this project I’ll be using the pre mixed milk paint product from General Finishes. General finishes is typically known in the furniture painting business as the “go to” pre mixed Milk paint. I love it because of its durability.

In my opinion, milk paint has a smoother, slightly glossier finish than chalk paint (the General Finishes brand, not all milk paints). Chalk paint requires a top coat or wax, otherwise it will rub off easily. General Finishes milk paint does not require a top coat.

I decided to use the color Antique White by General Finishes.

I feel the white colors match my modern farmhouse style a little more than the old dingier creme colors.

General finishes have tons of other pre mixed colors too. You can check out their other colors here on their website.

I love this stuff! It doesn’t require any real “prep work (most of the time at least)”  and goes on smooth. This is a great paint for those DIYers who don’t want a lot of steps (like no sanding) when refinishing a piece of furniture.

Full disclosure; all milk paints are different. For this post, I’m speaking about General Finishes. You can see another post where I used a powdered form of milk paint product HERE.

Refinishing TV stand with Milk Paint

So here I go… notice the “cage” I had to use to enclose the TV stand so my sweet but nosey child wouldn’t terrorize it!

Milk paint furniture makeover

1. Remove the doors and hardware from tv stand
2. Clean the surface with a lint free cloth or tack cloth
3. Apply Milk paint with a roller and 2″ angle brush to base of tv stand
4. Apply milk paint to the door faces
5. Apply second coat of milk paint if necessary
6. Re attach the door faces and or hardware

Since the current color of the TV stand was already a light color, I only had to use one coat of paint.

I could have used another coat, but I like the more “rustic” distressed furniture finish.

The last thing I did to complete the TV stand update was to spray paint the existing hinge hardware that holds the doors. I used an antique bronze color spray paint (I’ve used all different brands, they all seem to work about the same) to spray the hinges.

I replaced the knobs with pulls I bought at Lowe’s because in my experience, anything you continually touch doesn’t need to be spray painted. Using the spray paint for light fixtures, hinges, or anything that requires very little touching is perfect. For knobs (which are used continually by my little ones) the spray paint will probably NOT hold up.

I like the new clean white look. It still has an old vintage feel, but with more of a modern farmhouse touch.

Don’t forget to check out my milk paint coffee table makeover too.

I added a vintage inspired furniture transfer by Iron Orchid Designs. I love the way it transforms my milk painted TV stand and makes it a little more personal. Come on over HERE to see a post all about image transfers with IOD.

Best part about this furniture makeover? It was virtually free! More importantly, it was an escape for this tired mama!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ve been inspired to repurpose or up cycle something of your own.

Lindsey*