a martha washington sewing table painted in miss mustard seed’s milk paint with a zinc wax finish
Martha Washington sewing tables are some of my favorite pieces to work on. Not only are they adorable, but they’re a great size to serve as nightstands or side tables. Plus, they have lots of functional storage, making them ideal pieces to have in your home!
a miss mustard seed’s milk paint makeover
While I was at Morgantown Market one day last month, I spied a beautiful Martha Washington sewing table. The top lifted up, revealing lots of mechanisms and the housing for a sewing machine. While the machine was long gone, the piece had potential!
I took it home and removed all of the “guts” inside, including the sewing machine mechanisms. While they were neat, they no longer had any function and they added unnecessary weight.
Once the piece was gutted, I gave it a milk paint makeover using Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint products. My colors of choice were French Enamel and Trophy.
Using a 1:1 ratio, or equal parts, I mixed up a custom color that was absolutely beautiful!
a hemp oil and zinc wax finish
Once the piece was painted and distressed, I applied a coat of Hemp Oil. This darkened my Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint and created a rich color.
I wanted a little extra “something”, so I applied a layer of Zinc Wax over top once the excess Hemp Oil was wiped away.
Zinc Wax is the newest finish in the Miss Mustard Seed’s line. It has the buttery spreadability of clear Furniture Wax and an on-trend gray metallic tint that adds subtle sparkle and shine to your piece.
You can read more about using Zinc Wax by reading up on these custom pieces I finished recently.
making the martha washington sewing table functional
It seemed a little pointless to have the top of the Martha Washington sewing table open to reveal an empty chasm inside. To fix this, I screwed the top to the body so it no longer opens.
The panel on the front is faux and the drawers do not pull out. Using some wood glue, I sealed it shut and added some mending braces to the back to hold it in place. Now, when you pull on the knobs, the panel stays put instead of falling off completely!
side storage
While the top doesn’t open anymore and the drawers are faux, this Martha Washington sewing table still provides storage!
If you lift up each side flap, there are side storage compartments underneath.
The one on the right had a nifty organizer tray!
And in case you were wondering, this Martha Washington sewing table has Good Housekeeping’s stamp of approval!
So how about you? Now that you see how functional (and beautiful) Martha Washington sewing tables can be, will you pick one up the next time you’re out antiquing?
