Turn Thrift Store Furniture and Accessories into Antique Treasures

Finding authentic antique furniture is not only difficult, it can also be expensive. Trying to match your existing décor is challenging as well. Fortunately, there is a relatively easy way to give ordinary furniture a distressed finish, making it appear old and time worn. You can use this technique to create shabby chic or cottage style furniture or furniture with a weathered, rustic look. Best of all, you can turn an ugly piece of furniture or an outdated, ordinary accessory into something quaint and charming by refinishing it with a distressed or antique look.

First you need to find something to work on.

There are many places you can look for inexpensive, used furniture and décor to refinish. Remember not to worry about scratches or dents as this will actually help add character to the piece. Chipped, cracked or peeling paint is not a concern because you will be lightly sanding and then repainting the surface. Here are the things you should be looking for with wood furniture:

• Real wood, not MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard)
• Check for loose, wobbly legs or weak joints (although sometimes minor fixes can be accomplished with a few finishing nails, staples or wood screws)
• Unique shapes or detailed carving

You can source used wood furniture and décor at places like:

• Goodwill
• Salvation Army
• Flea markets
• Consignment stores
• Yard sales
• Craigslist
• EBay

Choose colors and technique for the finish.

The distressing technique will involve a two-part process where you will choose one color for the flat base and another color for the glaze. The base color will show through the glaze when you lightly sand the areas you want to look distressed.

There are different options for color combinations. You can choose a dark color for the base coat and a lighter color for the glaze or vice versa. You can also choose two contrasting colors such as dark blue and rust or you can go with lighter colors for both the base and the glaze for a more subtle effect.

You can see examples of these color options on the following blog featuring images of distressed furniture. The first photo shows a small dresser with a dark brown base and light cream glaze. The second photo shows a buffet with a light cream base under a turquoise glaze:

Distressed Furniture

You can also give furniture an antique look by using crackle glaze paint. This type of glaze can be used for accessories such as porcelain vases, mirror frames or even accent walls. The technique for using crackle paint is slightly different than the distressing technique. Valspar has a complete line of products for creating distressed and faux finishes called McCloskey Special Effects. Take a look at these brochures to see what's involved for each technique:

Distressed Wood Finish

Crackling Techniques

Now that you have a basic idea of how to refinish furniture and give home accessories an antique, aged look, you can go treasure hunting this weekend!