I showed you guys the full bedroom set that I purchased just to get the headboard for my master bedroom.
If you look just in front of the tall headboard you can see that the bed came with a foot board. It also had side rails, but they aren’t pictured.
Since I modified the full size headboard to fit my queen size bed, I couldn’t use the side rails or the foot board, so I decided to re-purpose them. I called Ken over for a consultation and explained that I wanted him to cut down one of the side rails and attach it to the foot board as a shelf. Oh, and cut several inches off the legs. Ken has gotten so used to me now that he doesn’t even question my crazy ideas anymore. He just takes the pieces away to his workshop and a few days later brings them back completed.
And then I take it from there.
Initially I was going to paint this piece white. I pulled out the packets of milk paint that Homestead House generously provided me with last winter to see what I had in white. I had Sturbridge White, a fairly bright white, and Champlain, which is more of an off white. I also had a packet of Miss Mustard Seed’s Ironstone, also a bright white. I knew I didn’t want bright white, so I chose the Champlain.
One thing you should know about the lighter colors of milk paint is that they sometimes will take on color from whatever is underneath them. It’s not necessarily the same thing as when the stain bleeds through your paint because it’s more of an overall color not so much random spots of bleed thru. This foot board had a very orange-ish colored stain on it. That gave my Champlain a bit of a peachy look. Ugh. Not what I was going for at all. So after two coats of Champlain, I switched gears and added a final coat of Homestead House milk paint in Stone Fence.
I love this color. It’s a pale greige. In hindsight this would have been the perfect color for something in my own bedroom! It reminds me quite a bit of the Edgecomb Grey I used on my walls.
Once the paint was dry I sanded to distress, vacuumed away the dust, wiped it down with a clean cloth and then added an Iron Orchid Designs transfer. I had to cut and paste the elements of the design to fit on the foot board, but that worked out perfectly.
I sanded over the transfer just lightly with 220 grit paper to take away a little bit of the shine.
Finally I applied some Dead Flat Finishing Cream from The Real Milk Paint Co.
A while back I tried the Low Sheen Finishing Cream from The Real Milk Paint Co and I loved it. I wanted something just a bit more flat though, so I asked if they would be willing to send me a free sample of the Dead Flat in exchange for a review on my blog. They were game and sent some out asap along with a brush for applying it.
The first thing that I really love about this product is how easy it is to apply. It has the consistency of a thick body cream …
To apply I just dipped the end of my brush in the cream and then brushed it onto the surface. You don’t have to work it in like wax, you don’t have to wipe away any excess like with hemp oil. You just brush it on without over working it. It dried quite quickly for me and I was careful not to over brush as it started to get tacky.
What I also love about this product is that there is very little smell. I would definitely feel comfortable using this inside my house in the winter, which is an important quality for painters in Minnesota! Furthermore this is a non-VOC product, it’s water based so you can clean your brush with soap and water, and after 24 hours drying time the finish itself is washable. Also, you can paint back over the Dead Flat with milk paint as soon as the finish is dry. That is not the case with wax or hemp oil. That could be very handy if for some reason you need a do-over. Say for example you realize that an IOD transfer looks terrible over dark green milk paint (been there, done that) and now you want to just start over.
I’d been looking for a finish to use over milk paint that is more durable than wax or hemp oil, but still has that matte look that I love and this one fits the bill perfectly.
I used an old galvanized tub full of Annabelle hydrangeas in my photos.
I’ve had this tub for years and I usually use it to hold shopping bags for my annual occasional sale. Since I’m not having a sale this year, I decided I should dig it out and use it for something more decorative. I filled it with flowers from the Annabelle hydrangea that is out back in my cutting garden. This time of year the Annabelle’s turn really green, while the Limelights are starting to get a pink tinge.
Oh, and as for the other side rail from the bed, I turned it into a Farmers’ Market sign. I painted it with the Homestead House Sturbridge White milk paint, stenciled it with Funky Junk’s Farmer’s Market stencil, sanded it lightly and then finished with the Dead Flat.
It would be perfect hanging above a sideboard in a dining room, don’t you think?
Since I don’t have an appropriate spot for either of these pieces in my own house, they are both for sale locally. If interested, check out my ‘available for local sale’ page for more details.
q is for quandie 
As is always the case, your pieces are meticulous and beautiful. Thanks for the review on the wax! This is great information to know as I’m one who has struggles with waxes. I’ll have to give this one a try.
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You should try it. And just to clarify, it’s not a wax per se. It’s a water based top coat. It’s really so much easier to use than a wax.
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You are soooo clever! They both turned out great!!
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Thanks V!
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Beautiful,love re purposed stuff.What a treasure Ken is to have a s a neighbour! I will source out the dead flat finish sounds easy to apply.
Thanks so much for your blog I really look forward to our visit three times a week and it is often nice to start the weekend inspired.
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Thanks so much Laura! As for the Dead Flat, it really is so easy to apply. And I should also have mentioned that a little goes a long way.
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Looks fabulous Linda! Ken is the “Man!”
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For sure! I’m lucky to have Ken next door.
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I look forward to your blog post daily! Your work is splendid! I just wish I was closer for purchasing (my pocket book
is probably happy I’m not 😉). I’m glad to hear about Dead Flat I have the perfect piece that needs it!
Smiles, alice
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Thanks Alice! Give the Dead Flat a try and let me know what you think of it.
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Love them both. If the side rail with hooks was smaller it would be great for the rolling pins. But we looked and none of them have holes in the ends.
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I thought of that too, but quickly realized it was too long for your kitchen.
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Fabulous! Thank you for the information. I too have been looking for something like this to use. And by the way THANK YOU for sharing your entire trip with all of us. I sure enjoyed it!
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You’re welcome Monica! I’m glad you enjoyed tagging along on my trip 😉 And you definitely should try the Dead Flat, I really do like it.
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You are amazing! I have the same type of bed in my guest bedroom. I have the footboard with the side rails and the original wire box springs. I have thought of painting it many times but really do not enjoy the
process so it will sit the same for now. I did just paint a table with fusion paint and finished it with a satin poly urethane. I wish I had known about this type of finish, because I hate using wax, and hemp oil needs re applied at some point. The poly looked ok, but it still had some shine that I did not like. It sold in our booth within a week but if I was keeping it I would have not been pleased with it. Thanks for telling us about this new finish.
Blessings
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I’m wondering why you added poly over the Fusion, since Fusion doesn’t require a top coat. Especially since you didn’t do it to add the shine. For me the best thing about Fusion is that it is quite durable without a top coat. I used it on my dining room window ledge, it gets rained on more often than I’d like to admit, and it is holding up great without the addition of a top coat.
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It was a farm table that I painted the bottom white with Fusion paint and I stained the top then used poly for the top. It was for re-sell so I was using up what I had on hand. It turned out well, but I am not a fan of poly. I would have kept it but no room to put it.
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Ohhhh, OK, I get it now! Thanks for explaining that. I’m not a huge fan of poly either, although I do use a Wipe On satin finish poly on dresser tops or table tops that I’ve stripped and stained. I’m not sure how the Dead Flat will look over stripped or stained wood. I’ll have to do some experimenting with that. So far I’ve just used it over milk paint and I love the results.
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As usual a great post. I love your
posts. Great ideas for footboards! The body cream like finish coat…you said not a wax so do you think you could pain over it after a month or so of cure time? Did you have brush stroke issues? I would love to try it.
Thanks Q
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Yes, you absolutely could paint over it. I did not have brush stroke issues, but keep in mind I used the Dead Flat version. The flatter or more matte your finish is, the less you’ll see brush strokes.
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