soldier blue.

Published on by Quandie

As you’ll remember, a couple of the prize packages for my 12 days of giveaways included some Homestead House Milk Paint in a color called Soldier Blue.

I had never used this color before, and in fact never even really realized this color was available (see all of the Homestead House Milk Paint colors here).

Two things struck me.  First of all, it’s a gorgeous shade of blue.  Second, it’s pretty close to the 2020 Pantone Color of the Year, Classic Blue.  I knew I had to give it a try myself, so I mixed some up.

It looks a bit lighter as wet paint and I wasn’t sure I would get that gorgeous deep blue in the Homestead House photo.  But, as you know, paint always looks different once dry.  Especially milk paint.  Plus the top coat you use over milk paint can really change up the color.

So I pulled out this adorable little vintage kid-size folding chair that my picker Sue found for me.

I knew painting all of those slats was going to be a pain.  It’s so challenging to avoid drips when you have this many surfaces going on.  But one of the things that I love about milk paint is that it’s super easy to sand off any drips one the paint is dry.  Much easier than with other types of paint.

All I did to prep this chair was wipe it down with a damp cloth.  I was hoping to get some chipping, and the previous finish was fairly worn off so I was willing to gamble on getting just the right amount of paint to stick.

I painted the chair with two coats of the Soldier Blue, then once dry I sanded it lightly to distress.  Sure enough, I got some awesome chipping.

I knew that using hemp oil as my top coat would give me the deepest version of this color, so I pulled out Dixie Belle’s Howdy Do! Hemp Seed Oil.  This is another new-ish product from Dixie Belle that came out around the same time as their Big Mama’s Butta.

I usually apply hemp oil with an inexpensive chip brush, and that definitely would have been the smarter/easier option for this chair.  But, I was too lazy to dig out a chip brush so I just used an old t-shirt.  Clearly this is another situation where I have to say, ‘do as I say, not as I do’.  It’s a little harder to get the oil applied in all of those crevices using a rag.  It would have been much easier to brush the oil on, and then wipe away the excess with a clean rag.

Keep in mind that hemp oil will not add much sheen (if any), and it will also produce the darkest version of the color of your milk paint.  In this case, it was the perfect choice and it really brought out the richness of the Soldier Blue.

I had the perfect little piece of vintage toy china to use for staging this chair.

Isn’t it sweet?  I found it at a garage sale last summer.  It’s only about 2.5″ tall.

Remember when Mr. Q and I cleaned out our attic while getting out the Christmas decorations?  I came across some old stuffed animals in a box and decided to hang onto a couple of them for staging kid’s stuff.

Mr. Bunny still looks pretty good after 20 years in the attic.

I’m loving this shade of blue.  Now I just need to find a bigger piece of furniture to use it on.

I’ve put it in the stash of stuff that I need to bring in to Reclaiming Beautiful (the shop where I sell on consignment).  I probably won’t get it in there until next week though.

  But in the meantime, how do you like the little Soldier Blue chair?

As always, thanks to Homestead House Milk Paint for providing the Soldier Blue Milk Paint and to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the Howdy Do! Hemp Oil used for this project.

42 thoughts on “soldier blue.”

  1. That is so cute! And I love those prints on the wall behind the chair! Your staging is so spot on. You could open a very cool shop with your skills!

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  2. I love the color, it is so rich and deep. It kind of reminds me of the sky after the sunsets but before it gets too dark. Beautiful staging!

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  7. Your staging is beautifully done.! I have a question about the hemp oil: does it seal the paint so you don’t need another top coat?

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    1. Yes it does. It is not quite as durable as a water based poly would be, but it resists water. Keep in mind that because it is an oil, you could not put a water based topcoat over it anyway. However, you could wax over it, but not sure why you would want to.

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  8. Could you tell me if the milk paint would work for chairs I would like to use on my porch? Also what is the purpose of the hemp oil? Does it protect the wood?

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    1. If your chairs have a finish on them already that you’ll be painting over, I wouldn’t especially recommend milk paint. But if your chairs are raw wood, milk paint is one of the best options. Milk paint will soak into raw wood rather than sitting on top of it like other paints. So down the road it won’t peel and crack. However, if there is already a finish on them, that will prevent the paint from soaking in.

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  12. That looks so good! I was fortunate to win some – and look forward to trying it on a table! Thanks for the tip about the hemp oil!

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  13. I love this color on the adorable little chair. So precious and your staging is great. Could you tell me about the rug or carpet? Is it natural fiber. I want it!

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    1. LOL, believe it or not, I purchased that rug at a garage sale for $20 (and I think it’s a 5′ x 7′). I just pull it out to stage photos and then I roll it back up and keep it in the closet. It doesn’t have any tags or anything though, so no idea where it came from originally or what kind of fiber it is.

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  14. Adorable! Love the chair, the color, the staging. I thought the chair was pretty cute before- but painted it’s perfection!😊

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  15. What a darling little chair! I love this color!! Years ago I used to paint with an acyrlic paint made by Folk Art called soldier blue. One of my favorite colors 😊

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    1. I wonder if that was the inspiration for this color? Or maybe the other way around. Or maybe Soldier Blue is a ‘standard’ sort of blue, sort of like Cobalt or Ultramarine. Either way, it sure is pretty!

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  16. I love this little chair! The color is beautiful and your staging is perfect! I’m sure this little chair will find a new home quickly.😊

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  21. This is just beautiful! How do you stay inspired to create different things all the time? One of my struggles is that I get on one technique or one color and that is all I seem to paint.

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    1. Well, to be honest, I think there are two things that inspire me to try something new. First, having a blog. I try really hard not to get stuck in a rut and to come up with new things to share with you guys. Second, having sponsors who give me their products. I know it’s easier to try something new when you don’t have to buy it. Because what if you don’t like it? You’ve wasted your hard earned money. Quite honestly, if I didn’t have a blog and sponsors, I’d most likely stick with tried and true techniques and colors myself. Hopefully by sharing some of the products I try and have success with, I can help encourage you to try something new every now and then too.

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