Driftwood can be overdone, and perhaps a bit too seaside-cliche in certain applications, but when used simply in a way that highlights its soothing textures and color variations, it's one of nature's most beautiful art forms. Let's take a look at a few creative uses:
• As you may remember from their house call, Kara and Tim have an impressive amount of DIY design spirit. Their guestroom redo is one of my favorite projects to date, and this little driftwood frame is part of the awesome mix. They recently created a new blog, Kara Paslay Designs, which you should check out for a regular dose of inspiring DIY projects.
• I also love Homelife's idea of turning multiple pieces into a sculptural wall accent using wire or twine to bind them together.
• We've featured Tim Neve's simple driftwood lamp before, but you can check out the full instructions on his blog.
• And perhaps one of the easiest driftwood creations of them all, Sunset's driftwood coat rack— sculpture and function in one!
Images: Kara Paslay, 2: Homelife, 3: Time Neve, 4: Sunset
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thanks for the great ideas! do you happen to know the paint color/maker of the steely gray in the first slide?
I have a fabulous coffee table made from cypress driftwood that my grandfather pulled from a south Louisiana river, dried out for a year and made into three coffee tables.
As any trendy product, driftwood can be overdone. But living in Atlanta, we are city that loves our mountain cottages and therefore are definite purchasers of driftwood and cabin lighting and accessories. We sell driftwood pendants and lamps in several sizes and styles. See an example below of a driftwood chandelier.
The Designer Insider
http://bit.ly/bte74O
I hate to be one of those irritating people who point out that driftwood (and other items that wash up on the beach) cannot be removed legally from the beach......oops, I guess I just became one of those irritating people.
And yes, at least at my beach in California, I have indeed seen people "busted" by the fuzz. And there also is a reason for this, because on some beaches, what seems like craft fodder is actually habitat to unseen critters.
Just something to think about when writing articles like this.
Sorry, my irritating caution should have included the phrase "sometimes cannot be removed." It does depend on your state/county laws.
I consider myself lucky to live on a large inland lake where we find oodles of driftwood after storms. Especially after winter, the beaches are covered. Many folks heap it into piles and light them on the 4th of July. Even the state parks rake the smaller bits into piles and just leave it there, not having the funding or manpower to remove the piles. I consider myself lucky to have this great resource. Of course, we don't get the huge pieces seen on even bigger lakes.