Colonial Milk Paint

Before there was a large commercial paint industry, early American woodworkers used milk paint on their furniture.

When you see the beautiful matte antique colors on early American woodwork, chances are you are looking at a variation of milk paint. This historical paint has advantages over modern paints, it is very eco-friendly with no noxious vapors released during manufacture, application, or curing. This predates modern latex paints and was used in many early American pieces. It is completely non-toxic and is one of the longest-lasting paints known.

We mixed our own formula using commonly-found ingredients and added color using artist’s acrylic paints. Each batch of paint was hand-mixed, just enough for the project at hand, and discovered that the colors would vary a bit from one batch to the next, which is in keeping with our goal of making each item unique. The resulting colors have a soft warm nostalgic antique quality and we finished them with a thin coat of the same water-based satin polyurethane finish we use on all our woodwork, resulting in a reliable finish that is sound for the environment as well as durable in everyday use. Hoping to have a chance to work these colors into more items in the future.