What’s the best/easiest way to distress furniture?

I love distressing furniture. I did this chest, but I only had my tablet and it is in a hallway, but maybe it will give you an idea. This is how I did it: I painted the piece, dry brushed it, took a sanding foam block and went over it until the wood showed through (don't try to do it in any kind of order, just random sanding) and then I spray painted the hardware. Good luck, I had so much fun doing this.

Ty Karla. I’m Carla also. This very helpful.

Paint it first and then sand off part of the paint. Have a great day!

To add to the distressed look, I beat the furniture up! Use a chain, mallet, or anything else to give it some dings and dents, then go ahead and paint it.

the success of any paint/stain job is in the preparation of what ever you are doing -- remove ALL the hardware; if you are going to keep it, be sure it is spotlessly clean -- depending on the metal, you may want to just use a soft tooth brush and some dishwashing detergent; if you intend to paint it, https://refreshrestyle.com/how-to-spray-paint-hardware/ I like to clean with a solution of denatured alcohol - in the paint dept at any hardware store; same with the piece itself -- you have to remove all traces of furniture polish/oil/dirt/etc. then depending on the paint you choose you may need to sand and/or use a 'primer' in the paint. The easy part it the painting itself!!

If you want your piece to look worn only distress (sand) it in the places that would get a lot of wear and tear. On a desk it would be on the front edges and near the drawer pulls. This is where I do most of the heavier sanding. Then you can do a light sanding in random spots. If you want to make the piece look very old and worn you can use a dry brush method and then a light sanding...this will make it look like most of the paint has been worn off. Of course you may want to leave a heavier amount of paint in some areas. Go to a local antique or some such store and look at the genuine things to get a good idea of how you want it to look. Good luck. And don't forget it's only paint, if you make a mistake just paint over it or sand it more.

So I am not a distributor of the product I am about to name but it is super easy to use, comes in lots of colors, gives a quality look, doesn't break the bank and you can find tons of online videos showing you how to use it and the product is... Dixie Belle chalk paint. Seriously, super easy. You'll have to find a retailer on their website but I live in a small town and even I found one close to me. Maybe other chalk paints are easy peasy too? I have no knowledge though as I'm not a hardcore d.i.y.er. You don't even have to sand your furniture before starting was the selling point for me. Have fun!