How to Make Knotty Pine Cabinets Look Distressed

Remove the cabinet doors from their hinges. Take off the handles and any other hardware.Clean the cabinet frames and the detached cabinet doors with a mild dish soap, gently scrubbing any stains or soiled areas. Remove the soapy residue with a clean, damp rag. Set the cabinet doors on a large piece of plastic sheeting to protect the underlying surfaces. Tape off the edges of your cabinet frames to keep the paint from overlapping onto adjoining walls, doorways or appliances.

Wipe the surface of your cabinet doors and cabinet frames with a clean piece of tack cloth to remove any small particles of lint or hair. Spread a drop cloth below the cabinet frames to catch any drips or spills.

Apply a layer of semi-transparent latex paint to the cleaned cabinet frames and doors, using a small brush to get into the grooves and crevices. Let the paint dry on your cabinet wood for the amount of time recommended by the manufacturer.

Create small dents and scrapes in the painted wood by slapping it with a short length of chain or randomly tapping it with different sizes of hammers. The idea of distressing is to cause the appearance of years of wear.

Sand the highest points of the cabinet doors and frames with a piece of fine-grit sandpaper, slightly removing the paint along the areas that are subject to the greatest amount of wear. This will allow the natural pattern of the knotty pine to show through. Wipe the wood with your tack cloth to clean away any sawdust or other debris.

Apply a translucent glaze in a color several shades darker than the latex. Use a brush to sweep the glaze onto a small area and then wipe off the surface with a clean rag before it dries. This allows the glaze to remain in the recessed areas of wood, creating additional depth and adding a well-worn look to your cabinets. Allow adequate time for the glaze to dry before replacing the hardware and hanging the cabinet doors back in place.