these cute shelves (designed to hang on the wall, plate-rack style) were constructed for a lovely client’s nursery by a doting aunt and uncle.  she asked for a clean, white finish, and so milk paint seemed just the thing, especially since it’s completely non-toxic, and won’t off-gas anything icky into precious baby woodson’s micro-atmosphere. 

milk paint (like lime wash) is coming back into everyone’s range because of its environmental friendliness, and because it offers a little something different from regular paints…that kind of old-school, chalky, perfectly-imperfect finish that gives something new a been-around-forever feel.  it comes in gorgeous, organic colors, but is beautiful in plain vanilla, too. 

here they are, before and after:

since you mix milk paint as you like (it arrives in powdered, pigmented form), it can be washed on in thin layers, giving a wonderful, streaky look, or slathered on in a thick coat, leaving a slubby sort of texture. with a couple of passes of sandpaper, it rubs down to a silky sheen.  please forgive the fact that photos just can’t do this finish justice.