How to Decorate Your Home or Yard with Driftwood

I have always loved driftwood and have long thought it to be a great addition to indoor and outdoor décor. Incorporating driftwood into your décor is a great way to bring nature into your home or landscaping and is an inexpensive decorating accent.

Decorating with Driftwood: Selecting your Driftwood

The first things to consider when selecting driftwood are cleanliness, its purpose in the ecosystem and the infestation factor. Before you drag that hunk of driftwood off the shore, be sure that it is not providing shelter for local wildlife. For example, on a beach it may be protecting a tide pool or providing a home to small shore animals, or in a lake or stream, it could be acting as a barrier to protect young fish or as shelter for crawdads. Driftwood could also be directing the flow of water, limiting erosion or providing shade for photosensitive flora, so as best you can, make sure you only remove driftwood that will have a minimal impact on the surrounding environment.

Once you have determined that the ecosystem will be safe upon removal of your driftwood, check the wood for cleanliness and possible infestation. This largely depends on how long it has been on the shore. Make sure you will be able to clean it up to suit your standards before you lug it to your car, truck or bike for transport.

Decorating with Driftwood: How to Clean Driftwood

Smaller pieces of driftwood can be cleaned by simply boiling them in a pot on the stove. Place the driftwood in the pot and cover with water, then boil and drain. This process can be repeated if the driftwood isn't quite as clean as you would like it to be after the first boil. Larger pieces of driftwood (and smaller ones as well if you don't feel like using one of your pots to boil them) can be cleaned with a hose or hot water and a scrub brush.

Decorating with Driftwood: Staining and Bleaching

I prefer to use driftwood in its natural state; however, it is possible to stain and varnish the wood in the same manner that you would stain and varnish other unfinished wood projects. If you choose to stain and/or varnish your driftwood, you will need to take special care in making sure that the driftwood is clean and has dried completely before you begin.

Another way of changing the color of your driftwood is to use a bleach and water combination to scrub it. This will clean the wood and lighten the color in most cases. Keep in mind that bleach is a harsh substance and you should use care when bleaching your wood (such as gloves and proper ventilation) and make sure that you remove all of the bleach before you place the driftwood on surfaces that could be effected or in areas where there are children or animals.

Decorating with Driftwood: Home Décor Projects

Using small pieces of driftwood, and magnets and adhesive from your local craft store, create nature-inspired magnets for your refrigerator or filing cabinet. This is a very easy DIY project that simply involves gluing magnets to a relatively flat spot on the back side of the driftwood.

Slightly larger pieces of driftwood can be used to make candleholders that will hold either a single votive or tea light candle, or a row of them. For this project, you will need a piece of driftwood that will balance flat against a tabletop surface. Depending on the length of your wood, use a hole saw attached to a drill to make holes in the driftwood that are large enough to hold a glass votive candle holder then place the candleholders and candles into your finished project. As long as you can use a drill, this is another DIY project that won't take you much time and is very easy to complete. I do not recommend placing candles directly into the hole, as this will increase the risk of fire.

Very large pieces of driftwood can be used both inside and outside as benches or plant holders. If the piece is large enough, well balanced and relatively flat, it can be placed as is to provide extra seating or to display plants. If you have a great piece of driftwood that is large enough, but does not lend itself to balanced bench sitting, you can still use it as a bench by leveling it with natural stone supports (like legs), anchoring it in sand (depending on your landscaping), or adding wooden legs that will compensate for height and balance differences along the piece.

If you are particularly crafty, or know a woodcarver, driftwood can also be carved into sculptures and used as interior décor or in landscaping.