How to Distress Night Stands

Giving your old wood night stands a distressed look is a great way to revive them and make them look like expensive antiques. Distressed furniture can be mixed and matched in modern designs as well as more traditional country settings. This technique is quite simple and can be completed in just one weekend. A refinishing project such as this will prolong the useful life of your nightstands by turning them into beautiful pieces of furniture that you enjoy having in your home.

Painter's tarp
Medium sandpaper
Latex paint
Flat paintbrush
Coarse sandpaper
Face mask

Instructions

- 1
  Set the nightstands on a painter's tarp in a large, well-ventilated area. Remove any drawers and set them aside.
- 2
  Sand the surface of the nightstands with a medium-grit sandpaper, moving with the grain of the wood. This creates a slight texture on the surface, which allows paint to stick better.
- 3
  Paint the nightstands and drawer faces with one coat of latex paint using long, broad strokes with a large, flat paintbrush. When distressing furniture, use two different shades; the bottom color will show through the top coat once you complete the distressing process.
- 4
  Let the bottom coat of paint dry. Apply another coat of paint -- in a different color, if desired -- and let the nightstands dry for at least 24 hours.
- 5
  Rub the edges of the nightstand with a sheet of coarse sandpaper while wearing a face mask. Rub until you being to see the bottom layer of paint showing through. Do this for all corners and edges to complete the distressed look.

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