Clever wordplay aside, my picled finishes have nothing to do with pickles. This isn't my normal cup of tea. I like finishes you could have found 200 years ago and this one has a decidely modern twist. Despite that, I swallowed my pride and gave it a shot anyway. I'm glad I did.

I normally don't go in for "fake age" when making things. The way I see it, if I make it well enough it will still be around in 150 years and by then it will look like a 150 year old thing. No need for me to rush it. I recently found myself in a situation where I needed a murphy bed. I've got some company coming and didn't really have anyplace for them to sleep. I decided to see what I could do with big-box supplies in order to shorten time to completion.

The pickled finish was something I decided on simply because I wanted to lighten up the overall look while still letting the grain and character of the wood take center stage. The white paint pickle really helped this enormous cabinet float in the room. Any darker finish and I think this thing would feel like a high rise building looming over your head.

Anyway, the process is simple and well documented all over the Internet. If I had time, I'd probably make sure I had the right color of milk paint on hand and use that in the future. It feels more correct and I like the way that multiple layers of different colors look as they age. Dings and scratches become an exciting flash of contrasting color rather than a dissappointing blemish. I'll certainly be posting about milk paint finishes at some point in the future so stay tuned.