Old is the new new. All you have to do is page through home styling magazines or walk into furniture stores to see that the rustic antique look trend won’t be going away any time soon.
Antiques, and things that look like they are old, are notorious for being expensive, but like all things, the easiest way to get around that is to do it yourself.
Here are some tips to distressing wood to make it look old and rustic.
• Paint
• 2 paint brushes
• Sanding paper
• Vaseline
• An old rag
• If the wood is not porous, gently sand the surface so that the paint will stick.
• Depending on whether you want more than one colour, you can paint the base first and let it dry before putting on the second colour. In my case, I only want one.
• Put some Vaseline on your first paint brush and cover the areas that you want to look distressed in paint. (The corners are usually a great spot.)
• Paint the piece as normal and make sure it is 100% dry.
• Using your rag, start wiping off the areas that were covered in Vaseline and presto, you have your distressed furniture.
• Before you start, if possible, try it on a patch of wood to see if it works (before ruining your grandmother’s furniture) because once you start, it is hard to go back.
• Always sand the wood before starting to paint and make sure the surface is clean.
• When you want to distress colourful furniture, always use a lighter colour for the base coat and a darker colour for the top coat so it can look like it has naturally aged.
