Give your old wooden candle lantern a fresh look with a pretty Milk Paint makeover! We show you the vision and how to accomplish it.
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In my friendly little community, we have a Buy Nothing Facebook group where neighbours are always gifting things back and forth. The idea is to list what you want to give away, in hopes that there’s a taker. It helps someone else, and unloads some additional clutter from your own home!
So if I’m ever feeling heavy with stuff that I don’t really think is sellable in its current condition, I’m on there listing frequently as well.
But of course, the best part is landing something you yourself want or need! I’ve managed to pick up hundreds of dollars worth of stuff to either fix or enjoy in nearly brand new state. Talk about retail therapy on the cheap… with current prices so high on most any retail shopping, it’s fabulous!
And one of my latest finds happened to be two wooden candle lanterns.
When these two large wooden outdoor lanterns were sitting in a pile of other stuff that someone posted, I couldn’t get their address fast enough! It was hard to tell the size of the wooden lanterns from the picture, but what does that matter if they’re outdoors anyway, right?
And I was pleasantly surprised at how large they were!
Ways to light patio lanterns
- solar lights on strings
- pillar candles
- plugged in white mini lights on a light timer
And now how to light them!
Since the vases inside are so tall and large, a large pillar candle or tea lights could be safely used. However for more carefree options, I quickly envisioned the inviting atmosphere and comforting mood these decorative lanterns would cast in the evening with solar lights which would be completely labour free, or white mini lights run off a battery and timer of sorts.
I personally like the idea of turning them into solar lanterns with a warm glow myself. A decorative touch that would be completely fuss-free.
Where to use patio lanterns
- hung from lawn poles along walkways
- as a garden lantern illuminating flower beds
- sitting on front porches
- standing on patio tables
- deck sitting areas
- on fireplace mantels
- any outdoor space that could use a little illuminated focal point accent
Could you imagine the ambiance each outdoor light would create hung from posts in any outside space or along outdoor pathways? Perhaps I may use them around our inflatable hot tub we just got! (more on that soon)
Or even possibly brought indoors as decorative accents on the living room fireplace mantle! What a great addition they’d be for Christmas decorating!
My imagination runs wild with the thought of using each large lantern in a unique way.
So yeah, these lantern candle holders were a great find!
Since they had also been stored for a good long time, there was a little elbow grease cleaning up to be had. But nothing a quick and light pressure wash couldn’t handle in a jiffy!
Other lantern painting ideas
While I’m not usually a blue coloured decor fan that each original candle lantern was painted in, they were made out of wood making them easy repainting candidates in any tone desired.
If I desired the idea of a black candle lantern, they could be painted in matte black to create faux aluminum candle lanterns!
Or create a real statement piece and go chippy bold, or perhaps paint in a gradient method… the sky’s really the limit.
And I can’t wait to show you how pretty one turned out! I ended up selecting a pretty neutral milk paint colour and it looks SO high end now!
I’d been debating on building some wooden patio lanterns anyway, so it was such a big plus to just land these instead! Repurposing at its best.
So here’s how I ended up revamping these pretty lantern accessories for a favorite porch or outdoor area so perhaps if you have some outdated lanterns yourself, this tutorial may offer up some fresh ideas for your own!
This post contains some affiliate links in which I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases through these links, at no extra cost to you. Thank-you for helping to support my blog!
Easy and pretty candle lantern makeover with milk paint
Supplies used:
Homestead House Milk Paint in Silhouette (10% off)
Fusion Mineral Paint in Cast Iron (10% off)
Get all Fusion products for 10% off if purchased online HERE
White pressure washer tip (white is most gentle)
Preparing the wood lantern for milk paint
1. The lanterns were lightly pressure washed using a low setting.
Since I didn’t want to damage the wood, I used a light duty electric pressure washer along with a white pressure washing tip which offers more gentle cleaning.
The pressure washing choice made washing the shutter-styled sides effortless rather than brushing down each wooden slat separately.
View electric pressure washers HERE
Check out universal pressure washing tips HERE
2. Allow to completely dry before repainting.
Homestead House Milk Paint in Silhouette (10% off) HERE
About milk paint
3. Select a paint of choice.
Since the wooden lanterns were already a matte finish and on the rustic side, I decided to keep that theme, and repaint them using Homestead House Milk Paint in Silhouette!
Why milk paint?
- no brush strokes ever since there’s no resin in the paint
- a good choice for indoors or out
- exceptional paint for rustic or raw wood
- milk paint powder has a forever shelf life
- you can mix only the amount of paint you will use
Milk Paint is a particularly excellent paint if you wish to achieve a traditional, rustic look. You have the option for a matte finish or to add a topcoat for more protection and/or sheen. I desired this piece to stay matte.
Silhouette is a lovely neutral that lands in the middle of beige and a soft grey. I’d call it a modern greige and the tone is light, fresh and neutral without being too heavy on the browns. I felt it would look good against our inflatable grey hot tub while still embracing the natural wicker tones of our patio chairs, so this tone makes this piece super adaptable.
So let’s mix up some milk paint!
How to mix milk paint
3. Mix up a batch of milk paint!
Mixing milk paint is effortless! The powder is so refined, it mixes up nearly instantly. Here’s how:
How to mix milk paint:
a) add equal amounts of milk paint with water into a cup
b) stir quickly with a small whisk
c) wait a few minutes, then mix again right before you paint
d) mix every so often while painting to keep the powder from settling
How to paint with milk paint
4. Paint your project using an appropriately sized paint brush.
I decided to paint this piece with a small chip brush because it was the perfect size for the small wooden slats.
It’s so nice that you don’t have to use a high quality brush with milk paint because you will never get brush strokes, since there’s no resin in the paint!
Homestead House Milk Paint in Silhouette (10% off) HERE
Fusion Mineral Paint in Cast Iron (10% off) HERE
The finished painted lantern
I then decided to paint the top and bottom of the wooden lantern with Fusion’s Cast Iron, which is a warm deep grey.
Did you know Fusion Mineral Paint came out with some new paint colours? This is one of them! I’ll share more about the rest very soon!
Isn’t the lantern now quite the stunner?!
The inside was not repainted since you can’t see it anyway, but if I ever decided to keep the lantern open at some point, say with cut flowers, I’d repaint it.
So let’s get this patio lantern in a good spot!
The candle lantern on an outdoor patio
Since the hot tub wasn’t yet finished, I decided to place this lanter on the patio picnic table to enjoy. I basically live on the patio throughout the day so this makes my fun space a little more special to enjoy and appreciate!
White mini lights were stuffed into the jar so it looks quite pretty at night! However I’d like to watch for some solar lights so I don’t have to worry about plugging them in.
I also added a rusty junk hinge to embellish the top metal piece just for fun. However I also think these lanterns would look beautiful hung up somewhere too!
But for now, I really love the candle lantern on the picnic table.
Sigh… Isn’t it gorgeous?!
I’ll be sure to update this post with a night time shot as soon as I pick up some solar lights!
Video – how to mix and paint with milk paint
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View the short video above to see how the lantern was cleaned and how easy it is to mix up a batch of milk paint!
What would you have done to these candle lanterns to suit your home decor?
More related unique projects to check out:
Learn all about MIlk Paint HERE (my own review)
Check out other creative lighting projects HERE
View more unique patio decorating HERE
See all milk paint projects HERE
OOoooooooo, they’re gorgeous. What a lovely find!!! I’ve been dying to try milk paint, but sadly it’s nowhere to be found here in SA and the last time I checked they don’t ship here either. 🙁 In the meantime, I’ll keep pinning all your tuts, just in case I can get my hands on some.
Beautiful!!! I kind of have a thing for lanterns and these are superb. Thank you for sharing Donna.
Beautiful, love them. Did you do anything with the glass globes inside?
Hi Dolores! So far I placed a string of white lights inside but they don’t show up all that much when lit at night. I’ll come up with something!
So cute. I order the Solar Fairy Lights from Amazon. The warm white with copper wire.
What a fantastic find!! I love the colours you chose.
You’ll be enjoying these for a long while. 🙂