The best source to answer that question is Jim Arthur at Arthurworks.

The painted cabinet exteriors were fabricated from Butternut which has wonderful texture quite unlike the poplar or soft maple typically used for painted cabinetry. The exteriors were under-painted with two quite different shades of milk paint ( a yellow and a salmon as best I can remember) before being brushed with a topcoat of cream. The casein in the milk paint reacts with the Butternut which darkens it to an authentically aged look so that after the colors were built-up we could distress the corners and moldings to reveal slight hints of the previous layers and the wood below. Once we had achieved the effect of cabinets that had generations of use, we sealed all the woodwork with a matte catalyzed vinyl sealer to lock the color in and protect the milk paint. The overall effect in terms of color and texture is very subtle and layered in person, not the easiest finish to reproduce but worth the effort.

Arthur, I am really interested in this treatment. Is the cream topcoat milk paint, too? Also, can you share the actual product/brand of milk paint and vinyl sealer you used? Just beautiful. Thanks.