It's pretty easy to bring the outdoors in, but we usually all think of doing that in the same way. Either we always make sure there are fresh flowers or enough greenery in the house to trick ourselves into thinking we're in the jungle.
Birch trees are works of art that are just begging to be brought inside. The trees can be brought in and utilized in so many different ways, the possibilities are seriously endless. You can use the actual trees to create a unique space in the house by standing them up in a corner (as seen in image one) or you can incorporate the branches into actual furniture. Whimsical bed frames or unique end tables that will definitely start conversation.
Of course we've all seen and fallen in love with the birch tree wallpaper that has taken the interior world by storm. It's modern, unexpected and adds some serious personality to any room it's used in. The wallpaper (or even painted birch trees) works in all different rooms, not just nurseries!
Image credit: Pure Style Home, Elle Decor, Wee Decor, Craftzine, Hotel Le Placide
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Four-P...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
Where would one get a big piece of birch tree? I mean, we don't exactly have thickets of them here in Alabama...
Honestly, I see birch tree branches and longs pop up frequently, but I have never seen a source for them. By the way, those branches could just as easily be aspen.
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/Content/quaking-aspen-trees-1000653-sw.jpg
That's an interesting idea for a side table, and I love that wallpaper.
We painted birch trees on one of our living room walls and I love them!
I am kinda in love with all the pictures. I LOVE the look of birch trees. Call me crazy but I can totally picture myself sleeping in that bed waking up feeling like I slept in the woods.
um, Logs...
The birch tree appeal has been going on for about three-four years now, no? I feel like it's one of those things where people can get carried away, ahem, the bedroom above.
Having said that, I do have a pendant drum shade that has a birch tree forrest on the outside of the shade. When the light is on, it glows beautifully. :-D
I am swooning over that bed (love the side table too). But I'm seriously trying to figure out how to build that bed.
We have some birch branches from a tree we had to cut down in our yard - it was damaged by the ice storm. They're in a large vase in the corner of our living room. You do need to be careful bringing them inside when they're tall, though - I almost took out our ceiling fan!
I can handle the wallpaper, but the trees as bedposts??? Not sure about that...
I'm dying to do something like this, but how does one treat the wood?
I'm a total sucker for birch trees...must be my Norwegian heritage (mom says 95% of the trees in Norway are birch). I planted some for my folks 20 years ago on their anniversary. I'm taking two down to use as supports (8" diameter) for an open air loft in my yurt and am planning on creating a similar bed (that one costs only $20,000 btw, last time I checked). The wood is hard and doesn't need treating. Don't know about birch borers, though...maybe they just die off? Those bugs are the plight of most of our birches in the NE.
I love both the wallpaper and the side table. For me, a little goes a long way with bringing the "outdoors in."
A birch branch is one thing, an entire tree another one. My heart is bleeding for the lovely birches that were cut down for the stupid bed in picture 2.
I find that we don't give trees the respect they deserve.
I lived in Alaska for almost two years and used birch logs and twigs (forcing their pretty leaves out from the bud via a vase of water in the middle of March was SO much fun)...I really wanted to bring a bunch back home with me but the shipping would have been ridiculous. Shortly before I left, I was at a friend's house while was cutting wood and trimming his birch trees...I followed him around and picked up my favorite pieces of birch, trying to justify the cost of shipping them. They're just so pretty! I do paint birch a lot - which could be an alternative if you don't live near that type of birch tree. We do have river birch here in the South, but their much bigger and I don't think the trunks are as striking.
CanadianMango.. what is your house made out of? clouds? Or wood...
Source for the wallpaper? Thanks in advance if someone has it!
I brought in a pair of fallen logs a few years ago and propped them in the corner after drying them all winter in the garage. They looked cool. A day or two later I noticed fine "shavings" on the floor and realized something was in there eating away at them. And once it finished the trees I assumed it would move on to my woodwork, so out they went!
love how the birch was used in photo 1, so non-chalant.
Meredith in MD I think its cole and sons wallpaper...
Birches are "weed trees" in the NE in the sense that they grow fast, are fragile, and likely to drop over in an ice storm. Little groves pop up in many abandoned lots, etc. So harvesting them for decor is not an issue, nor is it anti-arborist disrepect for the trees.
That said, I don't have any contacts for access to any to cut down, and I bought three saplings last year for my yard... I'd love some branches. I think you can order them at floral supply places, but I haven't tried. Those would likely be treated (heat??) for the bug problem.
A while ago I wrote a post on my blog about birch in decor with some really good links on how to get the look for less: http://ploefff.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/wallstickers-eller-wallart-jeg-inviterer-skoven-indenfor/
And if you like indoor trees here's an idea that is popping up here in Denmark: http://ploefff.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/stuetraeer/
i like the bed posts, very aesthetic..
love birch, i just picked some up from some tress that lost a bunch of branches. they are currently on my porch... no sure about bringing them although i'd love to. birch are very fragile as one poster mentioned. i'm in upstate ny and we have them naturally and abundantly however they do get sick or topple from storms ice or thunder... still breathtaking though.
I used to work at a garden store and they had a huge petrified branch that they hung from the ceiling across the cash register. they would decorate it with silk flowers to reflect the season. They then sold it to Anthropologie for use in one of their stores...
I used a branch I found on the ground for a curtain rod about 2 yrs ago and didn't treat it....what should have I treated it for?
Update: I just had the double birch tree taken down in my yard to move with me into my new yurt where I'll incorporate them into my design scheme. It cost me $100 for the tree removal and the guys even took them to a friend's barn for storage while they cure. Should be ready for use by the end of October.
I love birch trees too: http://dreamingofjune.com/birch-tree-decor/