drop leaf table

I can’t stop with the drop leaf tables. There’s more where this one came from too! This is another one that we picked up in Brimfield. It is the perfect size in my opinion. I like drop leafs for their versatility. This one is petite when closed. Just right for a cottage beach house kitchen that can open up to accommodate additional diners around the table. However it could also make a really functional sofa table that can open up as a game table or home office if need be. Anyway, enough imagining its future life. Let’s discuss its former.

When I acquired the table, it felt really primitive to me. Too primitive for my taste. It needed color. A little pizazz.

I started with a coat of tricycle MMS milk paint which is such a good, vibrant red. Why I haven’t I used it in so long? However, red on this piece still felt primitive. I punched it up with french enamel MMS milk paint, a gorgeous light blue that I also don’t seem to use enough.

The twist, though, is that I created a resist once again using hemp oil. Just like the last drop leaf I painted. The red peaks through in just a few chipping spots on the legs and apron of the table.

I considered staining the top with curio, the dark brown MMS milk paint. It is getting increasingly popular as a stain for table tops and dresser tops. But it turns out that just a coat of hemp oil did the trick to revive the dehydrated wood top. I love the nicks in the top too. It gives so much authenticity.

Ahh, the magic of hemp oil!

This table is for sale at West End Garage in Cape May. The chairs are not. They’re mine! The entire Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint product line is also available so you can achieve this look on your own piece of furniture.

Have you made over any furniture lately?

I picked up this drop leaf table while in Brimfield. I have a growing drop leaf table collection. It is an addiction really. I don’t know what it is about them. Their versatility. The timeworn tops. Not sure. But I’ve never met one I don’t like.

Well that’s not totally true. When the tops are impeccable and shiny, I don’t usually like them. I like a worn stained finish and of course a chippy worn paint job to match on the legs.

And that’s the exact treatment this table got.

Oh the power of milk paint and the chippy goodness it can create.

The first coat on the legs is Trophy.

The second coat is Grain Sack.

I followed a similar suit on the ladder back chairs which I previewed here before.

This chair features Apron Strings & a custom mix of French Enamel and Linen…I think.

The options are endless when it comes to milk paint. But to get this layered look you need to create a resist between colors and coats. This can be achieved a number of ways including applying the wax puck or hemp oil as a resist.

See, milk paint naturally wants to absorb into the surface unless, of course, there is a previous finish there for it to resist. That’s where it gets interesting.

All three pieces are available individually at Serendipity Shops of Doylestown.

Circa Dee

vintage inspiration for a modern lifestyle

another day, another drop leaf

a whole lot of legs