How to Distress a Leather Couch

A leather couch is more than just a piece of furniture or a home furnishing; it's a durable, long-term investment. Unlike other pieces of furniture that visibly age and fray with time, a leather couch will age gracefully, creating a graceful patina and lightly distressed appearance. However, if you can't wait for your leather couch to become distressed naturally, you can easily distress the couch yourself, even if you're not a professional designer or crafter. Just as a new and pristine leather couch can look elegant, a distressed couch can look equally or more elegant.

Things You'll Need

• Wire brush
• Rotary tool
• 80-grit sandpaper
• Handheld vacuum

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Remove the cushions from the couch and rub them up and down an asphalt driveway. Flip them over and repeat. Dust them off with a feather duster to remove any loose dust and replace them on the couch.

   • 2

     Attach a wire brush to an electric handheld rotary tool and run the tool across the surface area of the couch. This will rough up the leather.

   • 3

     Press a piece of 80-grit sandpaper to the bottom of an electric sander and run the sander across the couch. This will further distress the couch.

   • 4

     Run a handheld vacuum cleaner across the surface of the couch, sucking up the dust from sanding.