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Distressed furniture is becoming more and more popular nowadays. Although you might be wondering, what is so special about these pieces of furniture and what makes them so sought-after? What is the actual process behind making a piece of furniture looking distressed?
The whole idea of such pieces of furniture is that they are made to look even older than they are by performing some special techniques. This kind of look is actually quite desired in today’s world.
What makes distressed furniture so special is the feeling that it gives to you and your guests; it emits feelings of warmth, feeling at home and friendliness. Another good thing about such pieces is that they age really well, and you will not have to worry about it in the long-term; in fact, aging is even encouraged and is bound to make these pieces look even more special.
Image source: Kevin Rugee Architect, Inc.
That sort of distressed look can be found in many homes, mountain cabins, mountain lodges and especially country homes. It can even be found in old Victorian homes and old fashioned homes where distressed furniture attempts to bring a feeling of warmth and a bit of nostalgia back to these places. It also allows you to get used to the home much easier and feel more at home.
Image source: Serenity Design
To find such pieces of furniture, you don’t really need to look for too long; in fact, you don’t even need to leave your home. You can transform any piece of furniture at your home and give it that distressed look with some effort. Let us take a look at some of the best ways you can use distressed furniture in your home.
Distressed Furniture Ideas
The goal of distressed furniture is to give it a bit of a weathered look as if it has been through a lot. You can do this by using several techniques, and the intention is to make it look less perfect by intentionally destroying it and transforming it with those techniques.
The more imperfections the furniture has, the better it is; but you do need to keep the balance and not overdo it. The first step would be to remove some paint with sandpaper, or at least some layers of paint on the top in order to give it that worn look. Distressed furniture is full of imperfections, and you need to add them if they are not there.
Keep in mind that all distressed furniture comes in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Any furniture that is made from natural lumber can be made distressed. You can provide some uniqueness by displaying dents, worm slots, knots and bring out the details that make it look distressed.
Add Old Parts to New Furniture
Image source: Dustylu
It shouldn’t always be the case that you add new pieces of wood and buy them in the local store and make them look distressed; you can be inventive and add used pieces of wood and put them together into one entity; that’s what makes a good piece of distressed furniture.
You can even buy used furniture and turn it even more distressed by some work. That can be even more satisfying than turning new furniture into distressed.
Milk-Painted Nightstand
Image source: A Beach Cottage
With some effort and with milk paint, you can create a lovely distressed nightstand that would add some warmth to your bedroom. And it is all budget-friendly as well.
Coffee Table With a Distressed Look
Image source: Perceptions Interiors
Having a coffee table with a distressed look is an awesome idea for a coffee table because it looks great, and you will not need to worry about additional scrapes and scratches that could be made by your kids, for example. That would even enhance the look of the furniture and make it even more unique.
Distressed Metal
Image source: Bliss Home and Design
If you want to bring some of the rustic charm back into your metallic pieces of furniture, then you can furnish it in a way that would represent old Mexico-style furniture. You can create tables and chairs to make a whole set of these materials.
Distressed Headboard
Image source: The Home
You can make your bedroom warmer and make it feel like home with a distressed headboard. It looks much warmer than new pieces of furniture and headboards. You can even do it yourself by using some wood stain and sandpaper.
Image source: Make Room
Of course, it would look out of place in a modern bedroom with modern furniture, so make sure that you also have some distressed furniture to go with it and it will look great.
Achieve Coastal Beach Look with Distressed Furniture
Image source: Colonial Reproductions, Inc.
The coastal beach look can be a really cool way to spruce up your home; it looks as though it has been worn down by the sea and the winds.
Image source: Houzz
You can achieve this look by yourself by add a variety of shades and then distress them with various different types of sandpaper – from more fine ones to more harsh ones. Also, make some dents into your furniture to make it appear even more worn.
Cozy Seat to Read
Image source: LEDSON
What is more comfortable and satisfying than sitting down in a cozy chair and table, snow or rain outside, and you are reading your book or watching the television in your favorite seat? This is a great idea to make a distressed chair with a distressed table to put down your book or drinks and get comfortable in your chair.
Distressed Desk
Image source: Anne Collard Design
An amazing piece of distressed furniture that can be used in a variety of different settings and for many uses would be a distressed desk. You can style it in your own way, and it would be suitable for many designs.
Distressed Furniture for Dining Room
Image source: Cabbages & Roses Ltd
Image source: Archipelago Hawaii Luxury Home Designs
Another great way to use such furniture in a very effective way would be to use it as dining chairs and a table, and you can style it in such a way that it complements the furniture and wooden floor.
Distressed Furniture for Outside
Image source: Ggem Design Co.
If you own a patio or a garden, then making such pieces of furniture would be absolutely ideal for it. It would give the patio or the garden a very warm feeling and you can even pair it with more modern pieces to complement the whole look.
Bench for the Hallway
Image source: Montreal Lighting & Hardware
Do you want to impress your guests when they enter your home already? You can do so by putting a distressed piece of furniture such as a bench into the hallway or the entryway. You can repurpose old pieces of furniture that have no use and make them usable again in a different way. With some work and refurbishing, they can be valuable additions to your home design.
Ending thoughts on distressed furniture
Let’s conclude this article with some useful tips. You can distress your furniture in many simple ways and with some great techniques. In general, there are three techniques you can use for distressing: wet distressing, dry distressing and the resist technique.
As for the colors you use for distressing, it is completely up to you; a great thing about distressed furniture is that it goes well with many color schemes and palettes. Overall, a natural color scheme works much better than putting too much color on distressed furniture. Natural colors bring the best out of these pieces of furniture.
To conclude, distressed furniture is a great way to liven up your home and make it more romantic and warm. Use these pieces with these ideas and you are sure to have a warm, nice home.
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