Warzone Chic.

(Is that mold growing on the wall in the 3rd photo?)

HGTV featured a couple that called it "country crappy".

The way things are going here in the US (economy) we will all have to have chipped walls so I guess we better like it.

Looks hot in a photo. In person this would send me over the edge.

I think the rustic, un-done feel is cool...but not in massive doses. I don't want to feel the urge to get a tetanus shot after walking barefoot in someone's home...

Distressed is different than just plain old dirty looking.
"Old Country" distressed wood: fine
"Warzone chic" as bepsf coined it: unsanitary looking.

Distressed or not distressed, I would feel like I would need to take a bath all the time if I lived in this space

I generally like this look (esp with furniture), since i grew up in a faded jewell of a house...but that last one reminds me of the house in Fight Club

I think it's okay (and even dramatic) if only one element in an interior is distressed or undone... but all of them? Definitely overkill. I can just picture my family members scoffing.

Just imagine walking over those floors in your sock or bare feet. Yuck. A little character is one thing, but this is too much.

Ugh, ugh, ugh. I think the people who live in these places by choice must be so filthy rich that they have forgotten what it's like to live somewhere run-down by necessity. These photos make me think of the dives I've seen when house hunting recently and send a shiver down my spine. No one who really lives in a 'rustic' locale would be caught dead in such a shambles if they had any say in the matter!

I feel the need to bathe just looking at these!
Like everyone else has said... in teeny tiny doses, it's okay. But anything more is bathtime.

I once had a girlfriend who applied texture plaster to her bedroom walls and then used some kind of glaze on it. It looked like the entire room was water-damaged...think Fight Club. I was horrified. Needless to say I'm no longer with her and I have pretty walls.

I love the distressed/vintage look but the above examples look like abandoned buildings that are dangerous & unhygienic. Imperfections, wear, and other signs of comfortable use and age are great but a whole wall of peeling paint and wood that looks termite and mold ridden? They remind me of Tyler Durden's place in Fight Club.

Hideous.

Those floors are AWFUL!

It's like living in an Urban Outfitters photoshoot...

"It's like living in an Urban Outfitters photoshoot..."

...A fate worse than death.

Aw c'mon - these are just yucky

i kind of like it but what's with the little pile of dirt on the floor in that last photo? i think these pictures are a bit extreme for this look, as i've seen it done many times where it still retains a clean modern look. i think the key here is CLEAN! when it looks like a dirty sty that would be featured on Hoarders then it's gone overboard. i do like the intention of this look though - communist decor.

makes me think of the house brad pitt lived in in Fight Club.

Beautiful in photographs; horrible in reality.

Totally agree with Donsie_Lass.

I don't get it.... if your "rich" and choose to live like that, it's fashionable... but if you were "poor", people would probably say your living in squalor...

weird.

Evocation of the "Fight Club" digs is true.

One might also expect to discover "human skin" garments in the closets.

Mildew and extensive decay are not chic.

If you have nostalgia for war movies, where people are living in elegant ruins waiting out the occupation, well perhaps. But really, not hot. Not hot at all. It kinda mocks people who do live in squalor.

To complete the look, however, how about a few chickens and goats roaming about?

I'm beginning to wonder if these are just photo sets and props, and not actualy living quarters.

lead paint and black mold. awesome.

i like it. think super worn out wood floors, or stripped walls. but clean.....like, not actually encrusted in filth. the second two pics are over the top. ugh. the third. i want to go on a picture straghtening spree!!

I did this a little in an old apartment in London 10 years ago. I won't be doing it in my 1940's place in LA now! If it's right for the building it's gorgeous, but it's usually not right, especially in the US.

I love this if the decrepitude is just visual and not actually festering, living filth. Didn't have the same "icky poo poo" reaction as most. It's actually, oddly, a breath of fresh air after years and years of shiny-plastic-antiseptic-mass-produced-faux-mid-century-desperate-to-be-Audrey-homoginize-the-soul-out-of-it Modern.

Apparently you have to be rich in order to outdo the poor at living poorly.

haven't any of you lived in a house that was being renovated or had a slumlord? or both? it's nothing to emulate.
Monpetitchevre- right on. DHS would probably intervene if they found out that children or the elderly were living in any of those houses.
mold, lead paint, etc...

"Warzone Chic" is right, bepsf!

The third picture looks to close to my first apartment (actually in a recent war zone) for me to find this look appealing. In my case, yes, the "accent paint" was mold.

No no no no no! How in the world do you ever get it clean?

Why, yes I have (both), vonponyfeather! And it didn't look like this at all, lots more plastic sheeting, stained carpet, and crappy drywall. And now I have a job where I visit "poor people" at home all day, and their homes don't look much like this either!

However, I have also lived in London in homes that were too old to get everything perfectly clean and smooth without spending $$$, but that had amazing proportions and bones, and where the layers of paint and texture were quite beautiful. It made sense there to embrace it and work with it. Apartment Therapy to me has always been about listening to your home, that's why all my places over the years have been very different.

I say that to say that I think the outrage and guilt tripping in this thread is misplaced and silly, but yes, if you're trying to make a Phoenix Mc Mansion look like this, that's just bizarre.

um, if this is a "look" that you make happen, then hells no! like, take a perfectly good place and "distress" it?? weird. so weird.

but, if this is the way you found your place, then...well, it's not so bad. i think it's looks interesting in photos, but i wouldn't want to live in it.

warzone chic - perfect description. Could be the house I grew up in, in the ghetto - wouldn't wish that on anyone - why would someone choose this!

Like Europe after World War II. So not chic.

"I don't get it.... if your "rich" and choose to live like that, it's fashionable... but if you were "poor", people would probably say your living in squalor"... Monpetitchevre

I had to laugh when I read Monpetitchevre's comment....so true!
These particular photos are really over the top and look so contrived...

These are rooms that make you feel like you don't want to touch anything.

In moderation, a bit of this could work. There was a housetour a while back with layers of old wallpaper exposed that I loved - but it was because everything else was very pulled together. The 2nd picture just looks like a crumbling old house. That's a cool look for a photo shoot, but I grew up in a crumbling old house, and I can tell you that it's not very comfortable.

What I think is great is when people choose to leave something a LITTLE BIT unfinished. Like not refinishing your original wood floors. But damaged wood flooring, chipped paint, layered wall paper, and dusty antiques? That is taking it a bit too far.

If you want to see this done well in homes that people ACTUALLY LIVE IN you should read-New Orleans, Elegance and Decadence by Richard Sexton and Randolph Delehanty which was published in 1993. WAY before "rough luxe". It shows beautiful interiors and tells the reasons why people leave them the way they are.........gorgeous inspiration photos that won't leave you feeling a need to bathe.....................

Remember when John Derian's apartment was published in Elle Decor and people went nuts? They I think many (most, really) Americans are much too obsessed with cleanliness and newness.

That said, I really do like the imperfection of this look. But only if it is actually live-able. It's true that most of these are probably just sets for photo shoots. And the bathroom is hilarious since that tub retails for mega bucks. Pretty ridiculous.

But most people really don't "get" this look. We have a 1920s home that we have put a lot of work into. During the process of sanding and removing paint from one of the bedroom doors, we found that we loved the look of the "in process" door -- all these gorgeous layers of paint. So we just sanded it smooth, put a layer of clear poly on it, and left it at that. But people are always asking us about the door... as in when are you going to finish it??

RachelIOM--
"done well"=key words.
distressed elements can be soooo beautiful.
I really dig it. I grew up in
a Brady bunch house.THAT'S
the kind of home that skeeves me out!

It's one thing being rustic...another looking like being on the verge of demolition. I don't like perfection and a home should be lived in, but these look downright depressing to me...almost like a squatter living there. Distressed elements can be interesting in small doses, but not as an overall effect.

Makes me want to take a bath until you look at picture 3... Then it makes me want to stand in the middle of the room with my shoes on and not touch anything.

Having lived in a war zone, not so appealing, though a gently distressed house that reveals its history can be lovely. These just look silly and as mentioned by many, none too clean. Faded, layered wallpaper or worn woodwork can look great, but most of us, regardless of income, want a place that feels welcoming, and most likely don't find Miss Havisham's digs or war zone chic all that cozy. And if people are faux-finishing to create this look, that's just beyond comprehension. What's next? Templates sold of jagged holes in the ceiling to mimic the destruction caused by bombs? Grow-your-own-mold kits?

NO NO NO NO NO NO... argh yuck.

The photos look like they were taken on the set of a haunted house movie.

grimy. it doesn't look clean enough to live in even if it's intentional. Seems like you'd always be wanting to be cleaning. and that first photo looks like the wall is moldy with water damage and the floors look like they're constantly chipping off wood that you'd have to sweep neverendingly. gross.

Donsie_Lass has it totally figured out. David Rakoff skewers (a milder* version of) this aesthetic in Don't Get Too Comfortable:

It's what the French call Nostalgie de la Boue: a fond yearning for the mud. [...] You have to have endured years and years of plenty, the mud a long-distant, nearly forgotten memory. One must have decades of such surfeit under your belt that you have been fortunate enough to grow sick of it all.

*Holy crap, are these ever extreme examples! Nasty.

No no no NO. That is completely disgusting! Most messy rooms make me want to tidy and clean - these make me want to knock the place over because it's obviously structurally unsound. The floorboards in the first one look like they're ROTTING. And is that mould on the walls of the third one?

I didn't know crackheads were so into interior design!!!

After 10 years renovating an 1836 house all I see is lead filled peeling paint and old arsenic laden plaster.

I'm with the small minority (I'm talking to you, arroyo and Kuggy!) who like this aesthetic. I think the second and third photos suffer from poor lighting, and that they'd appear much more appealing (and cleaner) if better lit.

Thanks to arroyo for evoking John Derian's place ... it came to mind as soon as I started looking at this post. I'd love to see your 'in process' door.

And why go searching for terms to describe this look? We already have one: wabi sabi.

Man, seems like we've got a lot of neat-freak germaphobes around here. What about half peeled wallpaper makes people feel dirty? What's so gross about crumbled plaster? Ok, I admit that whoever forgot to sweep up their dirt pile before taking that first photo made a big mistake. And if the wall in the same picture is moldy and not just stained, that does pose a health hazard. But otherwise, most of this aesthetic seems to be about stages of destruction, which I personally see a lot of beauty in. I think the processes of time often creates much more interesting looks than intended design. I think the biggest appeal to me is the one-of-a-kind nature of anything that is in the process of breaking down. Nothing else in the world is quite like it. Say that about your Eames lounge chair or your mid-century modern whatever it is. Pretty? Well designed? Maybe. But there are a couple thousand other people with the exact same thing.

Love it, love it, love it!

Especially the first photo.

I plan on taking a blowtorch to every surface in my house!

the fireplace scene is a little too Grey Gardens for me.

i love a little wabi-sabi, but these types of spaces look best in high-end photography books.

Reminds me of Derelique from Zoolander.

Having lived in a crumbling apartment with "ultra distressed" floors (layers and layers of chipped, peeling paint), I can tell you that it sucks. The floors always looked dirty, no matter how hard we scrubbed them, and they were not nice to walk barefoot on (splinters and loose paint chips).

I'd rather have furniture that's weathered and roughed-up than floors and walls--much more manageable, less committment.

My neighbor's house looked similar to this as the result of a fire.

I love this! It's kind of quietly creepy, and undone.

Small doses.

I think these images appeal for the same reason that images of abandoned hospitals and buildings appeal: it's not about their livability, but the mystery of how they came to be that way, and what their history is.

These photos are overdone as living space, and need at least a good dust and mop, but they're still fascinating.

Reminds me of Deborah Turbeville photographs, circa 1978. Took a while, distressed interiors have finally become fashion.

I like it, to a certain point...everyone is trying to over do it
:/

It looks like a great place for mold and lead paint poisoning.

honestly, i don't see what all the fuss is about. I think this style is very charming and full of character. when i was house hunting for my first home, i looked at so many old rowhomes here in philadelphia that had brand new drywall walls and absolutely no character. when i found the house i bought i peeled off an average of 9 layers of wallpaper and found that the original unpainted plaster walls had a sort of ancient villa feeling to them. i liked it so much that i've been living with them and experimenting with a watered down paint mixture and some light sanding to replicate the old distressed level. i think these houses look really cool although i do think that the second photo is a little over the top. i think to each his own.. but clean freshly done drywall walls are very boring and common. i like this style of decorating especially in a really old house. but honestly, if it's done right i think it looks great!

Trust me, I have been inside abandoned buildings, and no you do not want to live in it like that, unless perhaps you like crumbling plaster in your cereal.

I've always wanted to live in the Fight Club home. Get first allergies, then scabies, pneumonia and die.
Living there would feel like this, without the relief of dying.

Am I the only person that started feeling itchy after seeing these pictures?

@Schnitzle
Still laughing. Love the movie.

My heart skips a beat whenever I see these "distressed" pictures... I don't care what anyone says, I love them, even though I know that the mold, dust, paint chips and splinters are not good to live with.

I agree with others who have stated lovely in a photo, not great for day to day living. Lived in a place like this and while there was a certain stunning quality about the high ceilings, distressed floors and "character" on the walls, it made me crazy trying to keep it clean and we ended up moving. It made a gorgeous photograph but felt grimy and dirty all the time and smelled musty and weird.

My friend Mark lived in a place where several layers of wallpaper had been stripped and the walls sanded down revealing layers of tourquoise and cream and rust colored paint - and some other colors. It was so beautiful and it looked like a design team spent hours on it. He had seen it mid-renovation and asked the landlord to leave it. His house always looked gorgeous. These interiors look horrible to me! Like others have said, it just looks like mold and decay.

that first picture should be textbook "How NOT to hang frames for a gallery effect." I'd be itching to get a level out and rearrange.

I like the distressed look, but in small, cleanable, doses.

The Royal Tennenbaum's house is about as distressed as I like.

I love it when it's done right. Old, weathered things can be so beautiful. Or they can be nasty. It really depends on the individual home or item.

Its a very difficult style to pull off this look of divine distress. Where my house has a turn of the century/end of the world feel, without the large pine board flooring and more original features it just looks sad. I only wish I had the element of grandeur amidst my crumbling walls, and peeling floors. I wish I could though.

What's next, dirt floors? This is pretty extreme.

looks like a perfect habitat for silverfish!

What's next, dirt floors?

Coming up: Hoarder Chic, complete with rotting food!

#1 looks like an anselm kiefer painting and I LOVE it. #2 is creepy, #3 is just poorly done.

it's creepy...
like a ghost or a vampire would be there every time i'd turn around

ha ha ha! i can't believe i'm in the minority! :-) i clicked on this survey because of the first photo w/ framed art constellation. terrific!