How to Distress a Black Table

Although shiny and sleek contemporary furniture is just what some people want, others prefer the look of worn pieces salvaged from the flea market or passed down from Mom and Dad. If that's the look you're going for, but you don't happen to have a family treasure, try distressing a piece of furniture to make it look old. For example, you can sand areas of a painted table to give it a shabby chic look. A black table is a prime candidate for this kind of makeover. The contrast between the light patches you distress and the black finish that you leave alone will give you the look you want, and you may wind up with a table that you pass down to your own children.

Things You'll Need

• Medium-grit sandpaper
• Rags or soft cloth

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Stand back from the table, and determine which areas get more use. These are the areas that you will distress, which will make your work look like natural aging.

   • 2

     Very lightly sand some of the black finish in the areas you identified, using medium-grit sandpaper. Wipe over it with a rag or soft cloth.

   • 3

     Stand back from the table, and assess the distressed patches. Some of them may look good as they are. Look for places where you can take the distressing all the way to the wood without making the distressing look forced.

   • 4

     Continue sanding the areas you’ve chosen to take back to the wood, and wipe again with a rag to remove the dust. Keep sanding and standing back from your work until you have achieved the look that you want.