We are so used to having wooden furniture around that somehow they no longer remind us of nature. Use some of these ideas for DIY wood projects and bring the essence of the outdoors into your home.

Whether it’s driftwood or a great looking branch found during your yard work adventures, incorporating natural elements into home décor always brings warmth and rustic appeal to your place. Designers and artisans have gone crazy about repurposing salvaged wood, so why not join the creative party and make some cool things on your own? Here are some fab ideas.

1. Vintage headboard

Got some barn wood and a bedroom that could do with a style makeover? A DIY vintage headboard will instantly flood your love den with romantic, rustic charm. Just cut the boards to random lengths and screwed them to 2 wooden panels attached horizontally to the wall behind your bed. Of course, the options are multiple. Your boards can be of equal lengths and run horizontally. You can also leave spaces between the boards to create a grille effect. If you don’t have any barn junk and it’s hard to get some (now that people realized its decorative potential, the availability of scrap wood has dropped), you may well reclaim boards from shipping pallets.

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2. Birch bark lamp

To make this beautiful pendant lamp you will first of all need an undamaged piece of birch bark – remember to peel it off fallen trees only. Cut it to the right size, use a leather punch to cut holes on each end (you will later stitch the ends together with twine) and cover with clear acrylic medium to prevent drying out and cracking. Now you’ve got two options. You can either hot glue the bark to a neutral lampshade or use nylon fishing line and tie the bark “lampshade” to a pendant wire. If you’re left with pieces of bark, use them to make matching table decorations, e.g. make napkin rings or wrap candle holders.

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3. Branch curtain rod

This could possibly be the cheapest way to dress a window and one that can hardly go unnoticed. Scour your local park for a branch that’s relatively straight and not too flimsy. Remove any remaining bark to prevent it from chipping on your head later, sand the branch properly and treat it with several coats of wood sealant, just in case there are bugs lurking inside. To hang the branch, use any curtain rod brackets you like and make sure your window treatment isn’t too elaborate or modern – it needs to match the rustic feel of a branch rod. A scarf made from landscape burlap seems like a perfect idea.

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 4. Wood slice mirror frame

What an amazing way to give a plain mirror some more luster! People won’t believe you’ve made it yourself and it’s actually quite easy to accomplish. You need a simple, circular mirror (get it in IKEA for $15), a piece of plywood and lots of wood slices from fallen branches (different sized look best). Place the mirror on the plywood and trace the edge. Then add about 4 inches all around to the perimeter of the traced mirror circle and cut out the larger circle with a jigsaw.  After priming and painting the outer margin, you just adhere wood slices with wood glue, and finally set mirror in place. You will find detailed instructions here.

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5. Mason jar organizer

This unique organizer/decoration will bring tons of personality and rustic charm to any space!  And it’s so practical at the same time. It can be used for storing all sorts of crafting accessories, crayons, bathroom essentials, makeup stuff and whatever else comes to mind. It can make an original, wall-mounted flower vase or a fancy herb garden in your kitchen. All you need is several pieces of barn wood or driftwood, a few thrifted Mason jars and pipe clamps to fix the jars. Alternatively, use only one narrow wood plank with 3 or 4 jars and hang it horizontally or vertically, depending on your needs and what your space allows.

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6.  Driftwood lamp base

This decorating strategy is so ridiculously easy that once you try it, you will be tempted to use it all the time – with lamps, votive holders, flower pots and furniture. To make a driftwood lamp base, you simply hot glue driftwood lengths onto an existing wooden base  (it’s best to sand it first) and wrap a piece of string around the twigs so it looks as if they had just been gathered from the beach. If you want a more polished look, jigsaw the bottom edges of the sticks, but it’s not really necessary.  You may well leave them as they are and the effect will be stunning anyway.

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7. “Hall tree”

Ladder shelves and towel racks are no novelty – they’ve been popping up in bathrooms for a long time now, but it’s not the only place where you can use them. A DIY rustic ladder can help you get the upper hand on clutter in your entry hall, too. Not only is it practical and easy to make, but it also looks great and makes it clear right at the door that your place is home to lots of creative spirit.  All you will need is two wooden slats or straight branches (sanded, primed and whitewashed or painted any color you like) and a few sticks to serve as “steps”.

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8. Arch lamp

You want a hanging light above the table but there’s no wiring directly above it? No worries. All you need to do is find a branch that’s long and crooked enough to serve as a support arm and nail it into the wall. If the table is not going to be placed next to a wall, attach the branch to one of the legs. Now wrap a pendant fixture around the branch and voila! A DIY arch lamp with an organic twist is ready.

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9. Driftwood frames

Nautical décor may not be among the hottest decorating trends at the moment, but a few marine accents are always a good idea. If you want to add a beach house feel to your place and conjure a heart-melting memory of the summer, hot glue pieces of driftwood to ordinary wooden frames and fill them with pictures of your seaside vacation.

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10. Wood slice wall mosaic

No matter where you live, you can create the ambiance of a mountain hut with really simple means.  A graphic mosaic made of birch slices will look like a pile of timber ready to be shoved into the fireplace. You can buy birch slices at a garden center, do the cutting yourself or have poles cut into disks at a lumberyard. Before you proceed to gluing the disks to the wall, make sure they are dry so the adhesive holds well. You can glue the birch slices directly to the wall or to plywood panels. If you want your wall to be as practical as it is decorative, make some of the pieces longer and use the projecting disks as hooks.

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11. Salvaged wood wall

Salvaged wood walls are one of the hottest trends now, and it’s not just in country cottages and rustic style homes. No wonder. The texture and dimensionality of such walls make a huge impact in an interior, regardless of the overall design scheme. You can have your wall completely uniform in terms of board size and color, or go all the way and have a mix of raw, stained and painted pieces, be it barn wood, siding, paneling or remnants of a gym floor. Lay out the pieces on the floor to work out a desired composition and cut the necessary lengths with a saw. Then starting from the bottom, fix the boards to the wall using a nail gun.

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12. Canopy bed

Kids just love canopy beds with fabrics draped to resemble a tent. To adults it may seem an ordinary piece of cloth, but for kids it’s a secret hideout, a cherished private space and a huge playground that provides opportunity to play even when it’s bed time. Set your child’s imagination aflame with a DIY canopy hung from a salvaged branch – the natural element will make it even more exciting! Suspend the branch on two chains hung from a couple of hooks drilled into ceiling, and add a simple curtain. Tie top curtains are best as they can be easily taken down for washing. Above all, make sure the hooks are really well fixed and one tug on the curtain will not send the branch hurling towards your kid’s head.

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13. Wood slice wreath

There’s nothing like a stunning DIY decoration that doesn’t drain your pocket, can last forever and takes just minutes to complete. To make this cool fall wreath, slice thin pieces of wood from a dried log (or purchase some at a gardening center) and attach them in a single layer to a wooden wreath form. Then add a second layer. Finish off the wreath with a chunky bow made from wide burlap ribbon,  dried flowers, sticks, pine cones, acorns, feathers or anything else that connotes fall to you.

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 14. Cupcake stand

Hand decorated cupcakes prepared for special events can be little works of art, but the way you present them is not without importance, too. Rustic themes parties, including weddings, are all the rage at the moment, and you can be sure a DIY cupcake stand like this one will be a smash hit among your guests. Beautiful wooden cupcake stands can be bought on Etsy with custom engraving available, but it doesn’t take long to realize that making one is a piece of … cupcake.  The most difficult part will probably be getting the wood slices. Then it’s just a few dabs of wood glue and your cupcake stand is ready.

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15. Twig chandelier

Have you seen those amazing chandeliers that project a 360° shadow of trees and roots onto the walls? You can easily spend a fortune on a handmade chandelier like this but there’s really no need to drain your savings. You can bring the essence of nature inside your home with a super easy DIY project  that requires nothing more than a few salvaged branches, spray paint, a roll of ribbon and hanging tea light holders. Creating an electric chandelier might be a little more challenging  but this one is really simple and still gorgeous. A beautiful addition to put over a bar or a dining table.

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