Sooner or later, most of us end up with some odd pieces of old furniture. Ordinary pieces like these aren’t suited for restoration, but they’re ripe for reinventing with a timeworn look. Plus, you can paint the pieces in colors that work with your decor.
Add Charm. To give your furniture this style, you simply need to “distress” it to mimic natural wear. That’s done by adding dents, and then wearing away some of the new paint to make it look old.
Give your piece an interesting aged personality by using a homemade distressing tool to add dents and dings. To make one, insert screws with various head sizes and shapes into a board.
Use your DIY tool to hit the piece in areas where dents would be likely. Stop to gauge the effect to avoid overdoing it. Then sand the edges of the piece to mimic wear.
Paint your piece with two different colors: a base coat and then a top coat. Complete the distressed look by sanding through the top coat to add the look of even more wear and tear.
