Tag Archives: furniture

After seeing these hilariously beaten-up, wooden stools I totally had an I-can-make-that-myself moment — and wanted to share, because who doesn’t have a totally beyond sand-paper repair banged-up piece of wooden furniture? An old table? A clean-lined chair? The more dented and imperfect the better. How to get your own? Take said wood stool/chair/bench/table and up the distressed look—don’t be afraid to get destructive (well, within reason). To add to the dents collection, I like to pound the wood with a heavy chain (the super heavy type makes it easiest, you don’t have to swing to create imperfections and indentations), but any heavy “instrument” will make indentations. Next, get yourself a wood carving knife—they aren’t pricey—and make sure it’s made for carving wood and not simply an X-Acto or hobby knife (or a kitchen knife!). Get carving. I like the mix of actual words/hearts/obvious elements and also vague, abstract shapes as in the stools, above. Last step: Re-stain. Before you stain, lightly sand and also wipe the piece down well. Throw on whatever color of stain you’re into—and let the stain pool in the crevices. That way you’ll get the above look where the carved bits are darker. [Wary Meyers] Keep reading »