Is there a foolproof method of distressing furniture?

[TheCunnyFunt]

Revamping our bedroom this year and I love the look of distressed furniture, I saw a brilliant tip which says to paint the furniture in one colour, then do something with a candle then paint a different colour over the top then do the distressing thing so the base colour shows through. The instructions I found looked quite complex but I've heard that it's meant to be really easy to do.

It is fairly easy to do. Make yourself a sample board (a piece of hardboard) and practise first.

The candle wax will resist the top coat of paint thereby letting the base colour shine through. You could also use wax polish. A dry brush or lint free cloth is a good way to spread colour into corners and crevices. Wire wool is also good for sanding down edges to make them look distressed.

I seem to remember that limed oak and other types of distressed furniture were popular in the 1980s and there were loads of books available on the techniques.

If you search on, say amazon, for paint effects and look at some of the sites for the second-hand books it throws up, then you may find a good book with loads of good photos and lists of the materials you need.

I seem to remember a book called Paint Effects by Jocasta Innes that dealt with marbling and combing, but don't remember if it included paint effects on wooden furniture.

Try Alibiris - older copies are often a better bet regarding techniques, although some of the materials may be harder to find.

Just searched under "paint effects" on alibris.co.uk, and there's a copy of a book for 60p, although not sure if it's a UK book or a US one.

Lots of tutorials on how to do this are on Pinterest too.

Tell it it's tomorrow's landfill.

< sorry I have nothing useful to add! I just couldn't resist>