How to Age Kitchen Cabinets

Distressing

• 1

  Paint the cabinets with a dark base color and let it dry completely.

• 2

  Paint a second color over the first and even a third if you like, letting the paint dry after each coat.

• 3

  Distress the surface by sanding through the multiple paint colors around corners and areas of heavier wear. Give the cabinets a rustic, banged-up look by gauging with screwdrivers, scraping with razors or pins, hitting with a chain or any other means to achieve whatever level of distress you want.

Antiquing

• 4

  Paint the cabinets a light base color and let it dry completely.

• 5

  Dip a paintbrush into a second light color and dab it into a rag until the brush is mostly dry.

• 6

  Dry brush the second color onto the cabinets around the edges and in patches to simulate areas of wear.

• 7

  Sand lightly in patches to produce further antiquing or splatter a darker paint in tiny specks to simulate flyspecks. Try running your thumb over a toothbrush loaded with some paint to produce the specks, but be sure to practice on another surface first.

Crackling

• 8

  Paint the cabinets in a base color and let it dry completely.

• 9

  Paint on a specialty crackling glaze, available where paint is sold, brushing in one direction only. Paint thickly to create bold, large cracks or thinly to create smaller cracks. Allow the crackle glaze to dry for about one hour, or according to the manufacturer's instructions.

• 10

  Paint on a second coat of latex paint in another color, again working in only one direction. The crackling will form as the top coat dries, revealing the base coat in the cracks. Try not to brush over the same area multiple times because you may paint over the crackling.