Retro furniture will add a classy look in your house.

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Deliberately shabby-looking furniture is turning tables in restaurants and houses. Here's how you can replace the shiny ones and get the distressed look for your home

Where once being clean and shiny was the norm, slightly worn out and rough furniture is crowing restaurants catering to yuppies and hipsters to art galleries and upmarket homes. Distressed furniture is finding buyers who are either recycling their furniture to go eco-chic or simply want to make the most of what they already have. The trend is all about cabinets, tables, chairs and beds that look clean yet old and chippy with the paint falling off. "It gives a sense of nostalgia too," says an interior designer who is getting requests from clients to do up the furniture from their parents' generation. Furniture that looks like it's been around the block is for you if you find perfect to be boring.

For instant character

"Distressing adds depth and texture to a piece. Don't get the name wrong though, the furniture is waxed and buffed and may even have a sheen," says a furniture store owner. There's plenty to explore in this trend, since the furniture pieces aren't supposed to match and you can play around with different textures and patterns. Takers for distressed furniture say they prefer it to spending an arm and a leg for designer pieces at expensive furniture stores. "You can buy a piece and completely change the look of it for next to nothing," says homemaker Nikita Menon.

One of the hottest looks now is two-tone distressed. To get that look, apply one layer of paint, let it dry and then apply a layer of another colour of paint. Remove some of the top layer with sand paper so that two colours are visible.

Anyone can do

IT you don't need any special know-how to get started with distressing. All you need is a little creativity and some sense of balance and colour. Giving new life to old furniture is also therapeutic since it's a very physical task. Scour flea markets and street furniture shops lining Oshiwara, Chor Bazaar and Mahim for old pieces in good condition and follow our tips to get started.

Image credit: afghaninteriors.com

Day for distressed furniture

- Start with furniture that has clean lines, like a mirror or a picture frame. Upcycle a small coffee table before moving to a dining table.

- Prep up. Clean the wood and use a deglosser, apply primer and then choose the correct paint just as you would for any painted piece. Once properly painted, the personalising begins.

- Buy some sandpaper and lightly scrape areas that would normally be worn out -for instance, the legs of a table, the handle of a cabinet, and the sides of a drawer. Create general wear    patterns throughout the piece.

- To give the piece true character, take a rock or chain and bang it into the wood to add dents and scrapes.

- With a rag, apply a medium brown stain to the entire piece, paying special attention to panels, details, inlays and lines. The stain will stay on the corners and joints and anywhere you've  use sandpaper.

- Once the stain is dry, apply a clear coat of polyurethane. An oil-based polyurethane will yellow up and a water-based one will stay clear.

Kasmin Fernandes, Times Property, The Times of India, Kolkata