Do you like the distressed look?

8 years ago

No, nobody's sending out an SOS, we're talking about distressed wood of course! That rickety age-old look is hugely popular nowadays and adds bundles of rustic charm to any space.

But is it for you? Do you like the distressed look on furniture or is it crying out for some much-needed TLC? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Shabby-chic Style Kitchen · More Info

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Clare Ainsworth

8 years ago

I love the distressed look. It adds real character, charm and makes your house look like a home!

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Comments (38)

Emmanuelle
8 years ago
Yes, if not painted, in a rustic , industrial, pared down , old georgian style. However, cannot stand distressed in chabby chic French style, with paint effects! Although my mum ( who is French!) loves the latest and I grew surrounded by it!
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Rachel Brown
8 years ago
Definitely, I think it's so warm and inviting - exactly what a home should be!
Aisling O'Callaghan
8 years ago
I love it - but only if there are enough modern pieces/accessories to balance it out.
Jonathan
8 years ago
You say distressed....I say shabby
Matthew Decorator
8 years ago
I like the look of it but being a decorator I don't think I could live with it, would be to tempted to repair and redecorate it
Catherine Hounslow
8 years ago
Yes love, it but not all of it .Pictures frames and mirror frames it can make these look more interesting .
Tom Flanagan
Original Author
8 years ago
I love it too, but I agree that it has to be balanced out by more contemporary design to give it some freshness!
Helene
8 years ago
I love the distress wood/look but as the say, less is more every time. There is too much distress in this kitchen for me. I would he 1 or 2 (1big,1 small) pieces distressed and the rest more contemporary and then dress the room as you wish. The again I am no expert.
vastiwilson
8 years ago
I love the look if it is a created effect, more of a faux aged look. Then it seems planned....the more authentic it looks, the more neglected it appears and then not really to my liking. As someone mentioned above...I would also feel like I need to repair it or feel like it was carelessly stuck in a room to try but not succeed for a destressed look.
sianember
8 years ago
I like it sometimes, picture & mirror frames work well, but as someone else says, less is more. I have seen some really dreadful examples of shabby chic furniture where people have painted items a dull colour with some emulsion then got a bit of P60 sandpaper & sanded back a little patch on every leg or a patch on a dresser top, the result being total crap. I saw a sideboard recently, bog standard 70's fake wood affair which had had one door roughly painted with white emulsion, the rest left as it was & marketed as "shabby chic, Skandi style - stylish & practical". Dreadful does not adequately describe it, I stood & laughed at it for a good 5 minutes it was so awful.
Nicola Jack
8 years ago
What are we talking about in the image you've posted here? The only furnishings that don't look new are the table (perhaps; it's covered with a cloth, so it's not really possible to see) a few unmatched chairs and the shelving at the end. Those Ikea freestanding units were quite expensive......but probably not as much as a fitted kitchen would be. It looks like a very tasteful solution to the problem of not having a vast amount of money to spend, to me. And it looks like a home, rather than a 'boutique hotel'.
chalkandbell
8 years ago
I love an original finish, the chippier the better although I do see how it's not everyone's cup of tea. I once bought a very distressed painted chest of drawers thinking it was the bees knees only for my Dad to comment "that's nice. Are you going to strip it?"
I'm also not averse to painting and distressing something myself but the real thing us always preferable. I think distressed furniture adds real character to a room.
adit06
8 years ago
I like distressed wood effect. We had our dining table made out of scaffold planks but I am not a big fan of shabby chic.
nudejude
8 years ago
I love the look. The chipper the better. I'm currently planning to try Milk Paint on a secondhand cupboard that I bought recently. However, as seems to be the general consensus, if every piece of furniture in the room is distressed it looks overdone and contrived, whereas a couple of pieces in a room look like family heirlooms.
PRO
Ensign Accessories
8 years ago
The distressed look is like Marmite - love or hate. Personally I hate it, and would go round painting the various surfaces to give a "proper" surface. Hate to see chips, and I see this distressed look as unfinished. Personal opinion only!!
sizzlinghot
8 years ago
I absolutely do not like the distressed look. It gives a room a very shabby look as if it needs a makeover. I like clean lines with lots of natural stone and marble.
Roy Loughran
8 years ago
Looks great to me, I love the eclectic mix of modern and stuff that has lived. Imperfection personified.
soozmacrae
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Hmmmm, im undecided. I guess, at the end of the day, Im rather fed up of it now. Although in a lovely quaint cottage, it always looks good.
peediewee
8 years ago
i like it if it's not 'created'. i love the idea of having some pieces that have real history to them. wonder what caused that chip or scuff. and i also think it has to be balanced with the modern. i hate the fashion for 'shabby chic'. i'm not against painted furniture (i'm in the middle of painting a set of drawers myself) but i think you can tell when something's been distressed & it's just looks false to me.
Juliet Docherty
8 years ago
Only work for me when it is genuine old pieces with a history. New stuff that is distressed lacks honesty and looks a bit contrived and 'paint effect'. I'm a snob.
PRO
Ocean Home Designs
8 years ago
I'm with the "prefer it as a planned and executed look balanced with clean crispness for contrast" camp. I really love painting a coloured primer layer on the pieces and then a light, neutral tone to cover it and then paring back with sandpaper gently to reveal the layer below plus some of the natural wood just on the edges etc. Just need to be careful not to use too garish a colour combination or you can overdo it.
Lindsay Nightingale
8 years ago
Absolutely hate it ! Nothing nice about it. Paint over it for a lovely new crisp finish.
Sarah Louise
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
my pet hate is shabby chic. it is no longer 1985! i am all about midcentury vibe, modern if not strictly minimal, and non-frilly anything. if something is appealing and naturally a bit battered, thats ok by me. but contriving 'age'? stop it
Natalie Patton
8 years ago
I think it depends how it's done. Some distressed pieces with a contemporary design looks fab but if it's over done it just looks messy and thrown together
minnie101
8 years ago
I love industriał design so I have to say I like it. I also don't mind the shabby chic look in the right setting. I painted and distressed an old 1980's bar bought on ebay, saved us at least 4k and everyone comments on it (the bar is in an appropriate setting btw). It's easy to say distressing aka annie Sloan is a contrived look but then why is it any different to regurgitating styles from earlier periods ie mid-century style, which I love elements of btw, is that not contrived unless you happen to pick up originals? It's not new to the the 21st century either it's been done for 100's of years. At least with shabby chic you are guaranteed something which is unique to you
User
8 years ago
Not everywhere. Some people put too much in a room.
Najeebah
8 years ago
love the look too much to term it 'distressed' :) looks great
R Thomas Rainbow
8 years ago
Not on the homeowner....
Jan Johnson
8 years ago
No, i don't like it at all. i saw too much of it when i was younger when people were too poor to buy new. Picture frames OK but i feel it makes furniture look awful when furniture is so expensive even second hand.
PRO
David Chatfield Architectural/Int Photographer
8 years ago
Im a big fan of old and new. Apart from being an interior photographer im also a joiner. I hate seeing ol timber being burnt or thrown out. Theres more reclaimed timber in my store than new. If i can send a pic of this table made from partly roting oak and pine i will. I made oak legs and frame with pine top still with stains and lightly rubbed out Dinks. So yeah rustic or shabby....im in. Not sure on the rug!!
PRO
David Chatfield Architectural/Int Photographer
8 years ago
Oh and the cable is temporary! !
rekhagladysdavid
8 years ago
everything is perfect to it...warm homely and not blaring...
lesley henderson
8 years ago
the only thing I don't like about shabby chic is for the need to overstuff a room with accessories, must take an age to clean
mjcobbin
7 years ago
I hate all things distressed - furniture, clothing, you name it, I hate it. Seriously, who the heck wants to live in a TGI Fridays?
Lisa Errett
7 years ago
I'm torn! I do like it, I like the look and feel of it. It does look comfy and homelike. Although, a corner of my mind is screaming at me, "that's stupid! People have been buying and redoing "distressed," pieces for years now. Or buying new to get, well, new. I'm having an emotionally charged, distressed tug-of-war!
Daisy England
7 years ago
I hate it. It's untidy and scruffy.
User
7 years ago
I quite like it in small doses. It needs to be mixed with more modern or industrial elements to stop it looking dated.

Do you like the distressed look?

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