How to Distress New Furniture

Create a unique distressing tool by inserting different size nails and screws into three quarters of the wood plank. Leave a portion of the wood empty so that you can use it as a handle. Place the nails and the screws randomly at varying heights. The only rule that applies for creating your distressing tool is that there is no rule.

Place the new furniture into an open area where you can swing the wood distressing tool and the chain without hitting anything else. Remove any glass that is contained in the piece.

Lightly hit the wood section of the new furniture with the wood distressing tool you made, dragging the nail and screw heads across the wood for effect. The harder you drag the nails and screws, the deeper the scratches will go in the wood. Gradually hit the wood furniture harder with the distressing tool until you reach the desired appearance.

Hit the wood with the chain, lightly at first until you determine how much the chain distresses the furniture. Begin with the medium-sized chain, and then fill in as needed with the small chain.

Drag the chains together over the tabletop to create unique scratch marks. Wrap the chains around the table legs and pull them free to help distress the legs. Hit the legs with the wood distressing tool so that the furniture is uniform overall.