How to Distress Furniture With Bleach

Place a piece of finished wood furniture outdoors over a drop cloth. You can use any type of finished wood furniture.

Fill a 1 gallon bucket with 1/2 gallon bleach while wearing thick, rubber gloves.

Dunk a sponge into the bucket, saturating it. Wipe the furniture's surface with the sponge. Squeeze it as you drag it across the wood surface, using it as a squidgy as you do so. Dunk the sponge into the bleach and repeat two more times. Let the furniture air dry for an hour. This results in a streaked, lightened appearance on the furniture.

Dunk a shaped sponge, such as a heart or star, into the bleach, saturating it. Place it directly on a flat surface of the furniture. For instance, put it on the chair's seat, or the surface of a table or nightstand. Let it sit in this spot, without disturbing it, for 30 minutes to an hour. This will cause the spot of wood to lighten in the sponge's shape. Remove the sponge. Repeat as needed.

Spray the furniture with water to rinse away the bleach. Quickly pat it dry with clean linen towels.