It's amazing that anyone has to do much searching for wood stumps. Here in New Jersey, they're all over the place since Sandy swept through. You can find them at the side of the road- precut- in any size your heart desires. They're free. Right now, people will PAY you to take them away. If you don't live in this state, rent a UHaul, load the sucker up and cart them back to your home where you can sell them to unsuspecting pretentious stylistas with more cash than gray matter. Tell them it is from the finest hardwood in the Princeton borough. It has a pedigree.
Smart DIYers do not spend money on free wood.

are you stumped? :-)

If you are looking for stumps in the SF Bay Area, I recently came across a wealth of them - people drop off cut up trees at the corner of Hearst Ave and the Frontage Rd in Berkeley and they are free to take (I snagged 4 of them!). And there are even typically men around looking to be picked up for construction type work that will help you put them in your car.

KH, I am really curious where you live that tree stumps are so readily available. I live minutes from Seaside in a relatively wooded area and have not seen a single tree stump or useable piece of tree trunk on the side of the road for the taking since Sandy passed through.

I don't know where in the world I would put it in my overcrowded with furniture house, but now I want a matte silver stump!!!

I have a stump from a Maple we had taken down in our yard several years ago, with 9 coats of gloss poly, and large locking casters - it's my cocktail table and I love it. Indestructable, put your feet on it, a wet drink glass, whatever. If rustic fits with the rest of your decor - you cant beat it.

I like the metallic ones in your photos, too!

I have a feeling that finding a proper stump for your decor is harder than it looks. Doesn't the stump have to be kiln dried first?

We have the silver version of the first stump coffee table (from The Phillips Collection) and we love it. It's not painted wood, but a resin cast of a tree stump, and it's surprisingly light.

Before we bought the table, we first tried to take a large actual tree stump, but we abandoned the attempt after thinking of the logistics of loading and unloading the heavy lump from the car and then getting it into our apartment building - I'm in good shape and i'm all for DIY, but I have my limits. We then saw the coffee table later that week and bought it - it was meant to be.

I thought that last one was "Stumps with Hats"

enishmarati: I live in Central New Jersey just north of Princeton. We have a bajillion stumps and cut logs all over the place. No exaggeration. Take Great Road from Hillsborough to Princeton and you will see more than enough wood to satisfy anyone who ever wanted a stump table, bench, farmhouse table. Any project you can dream of for which you need large pieces of circular wood, we've got it, in spades. The tree trucks are still taking down trees. Many trees, and I'm talking BIG trees, are down and waiting to be chopped or have been chopped and are waiting for seasoning or for someone to take them away.

I often wondered at the 'you can get a stump anywhere' people until I kept my eyes open and then ASKED. Visit suburban communities that have OLD trees. BIG trees. When the tree cutting crews come in, ask them if you can have a stump or two (or three or four). I received 3 large stumps this way. They tossed them in my car, I rolled them out, and I solicited help to get them inside.

They do not have to be kiln dried but it is recommended that you strip the bark off and let them sit in a garage for a year. Any parasites will leave and the stump will stop 'shedding'. In addition, I've been told to use a couple of old belts or ratcheting tie downs to prevent them from splitting as they dry.

@rose123 I totally did too! I thought, ok maybe for kids? The stripes and the angle make it look a bit funny. Maybe if they weren't outdoors and it didn't look like they were supposed to be drinking the cocktail...

I too thought the last photo looked like stumps with hats.
Having a picnic.

Gold stumps in #1 FTW!

Hi Decogirl. Actually finding a stump is easy if you know where to look. Local conservation areas where they regularly cut trees is a good place to look. Side of the road ... same thing. But if you just want to get one immediately without hunting just look up firewood suppliers in your area. They'll sell you a stump and cut it to whatever size you want for cheap. And they don't need to be kiln dried at all. Just leave them outside or inside to dry for a month or two depending on how old/wet the wood is. An easy way to tell when it's dry is to weigh it at the beginning of its drying process and weigh it every week after. When it stops dropping in weight ... it's dry enough to finish. ~ karen (the art of doing stuff ... stump # 8)

Great DIY projects for stumps. I have been getting a little tired of stumps (which I have loved for a few years now) but with these updates, they look fresh again!

Hey! Thanks for the great info! I didn't think about them having to dry out. There's a farm nearby that has a bunch of stumps from an old tree. I might just have to stop by now and find a spot in the house.

Like!

Oh, you're probably right, decogirl, but since when does AT care about doing something in a long-lasting or thorough way? If it looks good for the photo shoot, that's all that matters.

enishmarati - I think it definitely depends on where in NJ you are. I visited LBI a few weeks ago to help friends demo their house, and no trees down (well, probably not many trees in the first place!)

Where I live in Morris County, there are trees EVERYWHERE. A large tree fell on my car, totalling it, and another fell on our garage. A third fell and took out the utility lines to our house. My husband and I saved a few of the stumps from the tree that destroyed my car - they are in the attic drying out and hopefully in a year or so, we can use them for DIY. That way, we'll always have our "Sandy" stumps...

I had a stump in my back patio that was alive with strange vegetation, critters and other unknown (to me) creepy-crawlies. Blech, I am still itching thinking about it and I sold that house years ago. I know you are talking about a completely different type of stump but I still wouldn't have one in my home.

IMO: The painted ones are fuly...the naturals ones or the ones that have been coated with a protective sealant are pretty.

I like #5 the best.

Proximity of dog to stump in the photo amuses me. I've known a couple of dogs who would have thought it was sweet of me to put the toilet indoors...

I bet the Giving Tree never thought his next re-incarnation would be spray painted gold. Poor stump.

I'm not digging the painted stumps. There's nothing design clever about it. Stumps should look natural and contrast all the man made goodies floating around. @Chartreuse- I love your comment.

Well, the one with the Siamese cat is the best.

@3dogma LOL My boy Angus--who usually has the best house manners--lifted his leg on a friend's birch bark-covered umbrella stand. I shudder to think of a stump in the house for that reason.

I love me a good stump. Go natural colored with clear poly, I think!

Going to try this with several smaller logs strapped together.. Lov'n it!

This post and the comments tickle me. My husband has built log cabins from old log cabins and barns since 1973 and we ALWAYS have stumps around! We have notches cut off from logs he has recut and kitty playhouses made from hollowed logs. Too bad we are not near a metro area so we could sell log pieces!

This post and the comments tickle me. My husband has built log cabins from old log cabins and barns since 1973 and we ALWAYS have stumps around! We have notches cut off from logs he has recut and kitty playhouses made from hollowed logs. Too bad we are not near a metro area so we could sell log pieces!

This post and the comments tickle me. My husband has built log cabins from old log cabins and barns since 1973 and we ALWAYS have stumps around! We have notches cut off from logs he has recut and kitty playhouses made from hollowed logs. Too bad we are not near a metro area so we could sell log pieces!

anyone know of stump sources in los angeles?