Looking for Opiniions

[Keith E Byrd]

I am a hobbiest woodworker. When I make projects, blanket chests, tables, toy boxes etc my wife has been suggesting that I make them look old, distressed or rustic. What are your thoughts on making furniture pieces this way and why?
My response has been I work hard to make the piece with good joints, design and finish - why would I want someone to think I made an old or sloppy piece?

[Lee Koepke]

There is a difference between 'old and sloppy' and 'distressed'.

The standard answer is 'it depends'. Making something to compliment a surrounding decor or persons particular interest.

Rustic (or distressed) does NOT mean low quality.

[Darrin Vanden Bosch]

when I make something old and distressed I use reclaimed lumber, usually Chestnut. When I'm done I have an instant antique.

Darrin

[Van Huskey]

I agree with the comments but I have a different personal opinion. I have always felt distressed items were best left to the mass market. I think of distressing as being character much like that of a man, we aren't given character but it is learned and developed over time. Maybe it is an odd sentiment but I feel like distressed furniture is a lie. I understand the need or desire to match pieces and make a cohesive unit with furniture, however this is a modern (but not current) value. I make a piece as perfect as I can (with my humble skills) and figure if I build it well enough and impart function and design that maybe not timeless does at least age well, the piece will be cherished and used until it is "distressed" the piece has then earned its right to have scratches, dents and wear. I know I may sound crazy but alas it is how I feel.

I am also loath to use anything but (more or less) clear finishes on wood but my faith in this conviction is far weaker than that of distressing a piece.

In the end it is your wood, your design, your work and most importantly your wife... :D

[Keith E Byrd]

I guess my use of the word sloppy was wrong. I was thinking more of what I tend to see in the "mass market". So much of it looks like the joints were made poorly, finish applied poorly etc. I agree with your comments about earning its right to have dents and scratches!

[Dave MacArthur]

I am 100% behind Van Huskey on this one. Having lived in England and seen antique furniture sitting in houses that earned their distressed look from years of use, there is just something fake to me about seeing intentionally distressed pieces. Every time I see it, while I can look at the wood and joinery and think, "nice materials, well done...", I always find myself thinking, "can't believe someone would lie like this on the piece's history..."

I know it's just one opinion, but it seems to me that if I feel that way so immediately, then so do others probably. And since the intent of distressing the wood is to create an image of "long and faithful use, enduring craftsmanship that has weathered the test of time, a solid piece of work I can TRUST " kind of thing... but instead it results in, "OMG what fibbers! That's more bogus than a 1 year old sports bar hanging up knick nacks from a flea market and calling themselves and Irish Pub! But certainly in the same vein..."

... Well I just wonder if it's not a self-defeating technique hey? The only people who would ever NOTICE in the first place and care, are probably the exact same people who would thus know it's fake. But hey, I've never been a fan of anything "all hat and no cows", YMMV ;)