How to Decorate Your Home with Pine Cones

Incorporating pine cones into your décor is a great way to bring nature into your home and an inexpensive decorating option. Depending on where you live, you can collect your own pine cones at no cost, or alternatively, you can purchase them inexpensively at a craft store.

If you choose to collect the pine cones on your own, be sure to take only those pine cones that are on the ground and that no longer have pine nuts intact inside them. Pine nuts are an important food source for squirrels and other woodland creatures and we do not want to disrupt the ecosystem in the name of natural décor. Bring a reusable shopping bag with you on your walk or hike and take only the number of pine cones that you plan to use in your home or for gifts.

One of my favorite ways to incorporate pine cones into my décor is to display cinnamon scented pine cones in a bowl on a table or shelf. Not only are they a beautiful, natural addition to any room, they also provide a homey cinnamon fragrance that beats chemical air fresheners any day.

Cinnamon scented pine cones are available at craft stores and in the home section of some department stores; however, you can easily make your own scented pine cones using cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices. There is more than one method to accomplish this and recipe options can be found online, but here is the method I have used to scent pine cones with cinnamon. Fill a large pot with enough water to cover your pine cones and bring to a boil. Add cinnamon sticks and allow to boil for at least five minutes. Then, add your pine cones and continue boiling until they are completely saturated. Drain the pot and spread the pine cones out on a rack or an old towel and allow to dry completely.

This is a great activity that you can do with children and allows a lesson in nature, getting some exercise and fresh air and culminating in a fun crafts project. You can make an afternoon project out of it by taking your children with you to collect pine cones while teaching them about checking for pine nuts and how pine cones are part of the ecosystem and a food source for local wildlife. Then, upon returning home, they can assist you in turning them into cinnamon scented décor, arranging them for display or painting them with eco-friendly paints.

I haven't tried this one myself, but I know of other folks who make their own scented pine cones and then put them in their wood burning fireplaces to allow the fragrance to waft throughout their home as they burn. Placing them in a traditional metal firewood carrier or a basket on the hearth is a great way to display the pine cones you plan to use in your fireplace. If you choose to burn pine cones in your fireplace, make sure that you make your own using only natural, non-toxic cinnamon and spices. If you purchase scented pine cones, read the label to make sure they are safe to burn.

For color and scent, pine cones can also be dipped in melted natural candle wax, like soy or beeswax, and used for display or as fire starters.

Other ways to incorporate unscented pine cones into your home are to arrange them in a bowl or tall, clear vase on a table, shelf or windowsill, or to place them individually on a bookshelf. Larger pine cones can be used as bookends or in between stacks of books for a more decorative feel.

Pine cones are also great additions to wreaths that can adorn walls or doors, or hang above a fireplace, and garlands for decorating mantles, stair rails, archways or doorways. For holiday décor, you might incorporate them into wreaths and garlands using evergreen boughs and cinnamon sticks, or for year round use they work well with wreaths made from grape vines.

However you choose to incorporate pine cones into your décor, they are a great way to bring nature indoors and an inexpensive decorating accent.