How to Distress New MDF Furniture

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Make your new furniture look like it's been in your family for generations

The key to any good distressed finish is to create a plausible ‘history’ for the furniture or cabinet. We’ve all had hand-me-down furniture that has been scuffed, scratched, painted…and painted again over decades of use. With a little imagination, you can easily create a back story for your newly-built MDF or wood furniture that can guide you to making it look like it’s been in your family for generations.

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Feeling a Little Wonky

JR’s grandmother was a Brit who used to talk about feeling “wonky” every now and then, when she was a bit unsteady on her feet (age, not vino) and had to sit down. I wonder if this (wavy-wobbly furniture) was the way she saw the world, at those moments!

The Mini Wonky Jewellery Box here, a little chest of drawers just under a foot high, is the bold primary version of a whole clan of these woozy dance-y little stash boxes from Canadian craftsman Paul Szewc at Masterpiece Cabinets

In fact, there’s a whole gallery of even more groovy one-of-a-kind hand-painted boxes (and full-sized cabinets, real furniture, as well) to gladden the heart of your Alice Through the Looking Glass.
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Blandito Italian Bendy Foldy Lazy Floor Pillow

So your Blandito may not be the seat to offer your aged auntie when she drops by for tea and scones, but as a cosy crash mat for the multifunctional small-space lifestyle of the hip young urban creative with a penchant for modern Italian design?

Furniture of merit, indeed.

I believe the title says it all. Blandito® by Oradaria Design of Italy, is described as a “transformable pad for lazy living” – and I think we can all get behind that concept, no?

Cosy as a sleeping bag or one of those appalling slankets but with, you know, much more padding and much less of the nerdy monk look.

Stuffy as a floor pillow, but with its own smooth moves – transformative!

Yet, furniture-ish in a couch-inspired way, but without all the stiff bits that keep you from slouching in comfort.

Yeah, well, the pictures say it all.

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Dust Furniture One-Offs and OutTakes

Most of us don’t make a habit of stalking a furniture maker on Facebook, but here’s one you may want to make an exception for.

If you’re already a fan of craft artist Vincent Thomas Leman’s “abstract traditional” style — the heart of the practical yet whimsical Dust Furniture — you will know exactly what I mean. If not, you soon will be craving the warped and wonderful pieces for yourself.  Each piece is  handcrafted with skill and good humor in the husband-wife team’s studio in Valparaiso, Indiana, USA.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on their Etsy outlet, if you’re on a budget, to catch the occasional sales on handcrafted “prototypes, web exclusives, extras and sometimes, mistakes…” and the occasional surprise deal you’ll find hard to resist.
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