this is exactly what i wanted.  perfectly distressed. my only complaint is that two of the pre-drilled holes used in assembly were not drilled correctly. one was too shallow (which is an easy fix) and the other was a little bit stripped so when i screwed the shelf in it's slightly uneven. other than those small defects, it's super easy to assemble and looks great.

Pros: light weight, easy assembly
Cons: minor flaws in pre assembled drill holes