Take a spin along a country road in summertime and you’re bound to come across antique furniture for sale—or, in some cases, antique-like furniture: purposely distressed dressers, tables, kitchen cabinets, doors that are made to look used and abused.

Distressed furniture, whether real or faked, carries a feeling of warmth into any room, used sparingly of course; too much and your house becomes a mismatched auctioneer’s room or, worse, a set from Little House on the Prairie.

Having one or two pieces of distressed furniture in an otherwise modernized room creates great contrast and dramatic effect, showcasing the antique object, whether real or faked, as the room’s focal point. A distressed dining room table looks especially striking amidst sleek flooring and furniture; the minimalism of the modern surfaces allows the knotty, pocked-looking tabletop to shine through.

Of course, adding distressed furniture doesn’t begin and end with movable furniture like tables, cabinets and hutches. Equally effective: lining a wall with barn boards or using the boards as trim around a window frame, putting down barn board flooring, or installing a distressed wooden beam that spans an entire room.

Up next: making your own distressed furniture. Why pay for someone else’s old or old-looking furniture when you can make your own?