5 Hacks to Make Your Furniture Look Old and Antique

Antique furniture is highly desirable – but it also comes with an eye watering price tag. That’s not to say a similar look is out of reach for a smaller budget, though. In fact, there are plenty of ways of achieving a vintage look for any piece of furniture, no matter how old or cheap it is. Let’s take a look at some of the best hacks to make your furniture look like an antique.

Use paint

It’s amazing how many people buy furniture and just leave it how they bought it. I guess there’s an element of worry that they will ruin it, but paint can leave nothing that can’t be fixed with some stripper and sandpaper. So, look into the types of paint that are great for furniture – like this chalk paint from Annie Sloan. You don’t need a lot, and it will give your furniture that antique finish you have been looking for.

Distress your pieces

There are two types of antique furniture. First of all, there’s the classic, beautiful furniture that you can get from Antiques World and other dealers. It’s been looked after over the years, and most of it will be in excellent condition. Then, there are the distressed, aged antiques. Again, these can be pricey, but it’s a look that you can pull off with a little elbow grease. Just use the paint mentioned above, and then take a metal scrub to the piece. Once you are finished, seal the pain with a furniture wax, and you will have a rugged looking piece of shabby chic that looks as old as the hills.

Use wallpaper

One thing that our ancestors knew how to do well was jazzing up their furniture. Find some offcuts of wallpaper with a strong pattern, and stick it on the back of a dresser or bookcase. It will give the piece an instant lift, and make it appear that it is much more of an antique than it is.

Change the parts

A brand new table from IKEA might look about as modern as is possible. But, all you need to turn it into a more vintage table is to source some older looking legs. Take a look at your local charity shops, and see what you can dig up. Or, find a carpenter who can make you four awesome looking legs for a good price. You can do this in other areas of the home, too. For example, a modern fireplace will look older by taking off the plastic controls and switching to hand painted ceramic knobs.

Get into upholstery

If you can master upholstery, then you can make anything look far older than it is. Cheap sofas and modern dining room chairs can look plain and dull, but if you replace the fabric and material, they can look fantastic. Head into your local haberdashery and find some beautiful fabrics, and then try the DIY method. One word of warning, though, although DIY upholstery is a cheap way of going vintage, you can make expensive mistakes. So, think about enrolling in a course to teach you the basics first.

We’d love to hear how you get on – so why not let us know?