Do you enjoy the appearance of antique furniture? The slightly worn materials combined with rich, dark colors provides a unique look that’s second to none. If this is a style that suits your taste, then it may interest you to know that it can be easily achieved without breaking the bank. While your piece may not possess the same quality as an actual antique purchased at Forsythe’s Antiques & Fine Art of Russellville, OH, it will certainly look as if it’s from another time.

The simplest way to produce a piece that looks like actual antique furniture is to use a process call aging. This method only takes a few hours to complete and consists of the following four steps.

4 Steps to Imitate the Appearance of Antique Furniture

Sand the Wood

The first thing you should do is rub down the entire piece with coarse sandpaper to give it a worn-out look. Make sure you sand all surface areas in a motion that follows the natural grain of the wood, so the paint or stain leaves a cohesive finish.

Construct Imperfections

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a piece of antique furniture that doesn’t have its own collection of worm holes and scrapes. This is important to remember when preparing to age a chair or table and can easily be replicated by drilling a few holes and dragging a nail along the wood. Any mark you make will quickly cause the furniture to look older than it actually is.

Apply Paint

Any color can be selected for this part of the project, as long as it contrasts nicely with the rest of your home’s décor. Apply the first coat and let it dry. Cover it with a thin layer of wax and leave it to harden for about an hour. After the furniture is dry to the touch, apply a finish glaze over the entire piece and let it dry for 24 hours.

Create a Distressed Look

Once your piece has been properly refinished, you can use the coarse sandpaper again to give it an aged appearance. This is done by rubbing the edges and details of the piece until the wood begins to show through.

While you can easily follow these steps to create your own spin on antique furniture, nothing compares to the authentic pieces bought by the antique purchasing experts at Forsythe’s Antiques & Fine Art. If you have an item that you’d like to have appraised or just want to learn more about their services, call (513) 791-2323.