New Furnishings with a Vintage Look

New houses aren't usually brimming with character. Which is why so many of us love old places, with their patina of history and architectural detail, their drafty rooms, balky furnaces, groaning floorboards, leaky roofs, cracking plaster... Getting the picture?

Face it: The charm wears off when the lock rusts over or molding finally cracks beyond repair. But fortunately, manufacturers are making it easy to opt for the new and still end up with the best of the old. Witness an expanding array of products manipulated to simulate years of use. A sampling we've gathered spans cabinets whipped with coat hangers, prealligatored wall covering, and objects covered in moss or rust that's usually the result of years of neglect—now handily applied at the factory.

1. Pine cabinet with hand-applied pegs and worm-hole imperfections. About 140; QCC

2. Faux-aged cabinet with rubbed paint finish. About $183; QCC

3. Terra-cotta urn. About $29; Smith & Hawken

4. Terra-cotta dove. About $12; Smith & Hawken

5. Cast-iron window lock, comes pre-rusted. About $12; House of Antique Hardware

6. Wall covering, precrackled on a specially treated backing. About $44 per yard; MDC Wall