10/12/2026
The History of Milk Paint with Amy Howard | What Is Milk Paint? 🎨
Have you ever wondered why an old painted piece of furniture can have so much depth, even when the color is incredibly simple? That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with milk paint.
Milk paint is an ancient paint made with casein, the protein found in milk, mixed with natural pigments and often lime. Craftsmen were mixing it themselves from materials they could find locally, long before factories were filling cans. It doesn’t sit on the wood like a sheet of plastic. It becomes part of the surface. The pigment settles into the crevices, the edges wear, and the layers start to show, even in one single color. That’s the look of those wonderful Swedish chests and French painted cupboards we all keep falling in love with.
Here’s what I want you to remember: patina is not the same thing as distressing. Real patina is a history of layers, built up over decades from wax, handling, oxidation, and repainting.
That’s why I love our Toscana Milk Paint. It’s made with pigments from the south of France, and it’s naturally imperfect, just like the old finishes that inspire me. I’m not trying to make something look distressed. I’m trying to make something look like it has a story.
I hope you enjoy these little history minutes. I want you to know the why behind what I do, and maybe you’ll learn something new about the painted finishes of the past.
Until next time, keep looking closely at those old world pieces. They have so much to teach us.
What’s the oldest painted piece in your home? We’d love to hear its story!
