15 beautiful examples of decorating with driftwood
I’ve wanted to share my driftwood decor ideas with you guys for a long time.
We use a lot of them in our house because during our walks on the beach we can find driftwoods all the time.
After a good rain, we often find pieces of wood that have been smoothed by the water.
Each of them is unique, and their weathered look is a perfect natural piece to decorate your home with driftwood.
I encourage you to collect some when you walk on the beach, next to a lake, or river and incorporate them into your home decor.
Bigger driftwoods can be sculpted and use for a coffee table base or a DIY shelf; smaller pieces can be glued together and used as wall art or mirror frame… just to name a few driftwood decoration ideas.
There are many beautiful ideas for turning driftwood into home decoration, and I want to show you my favorites.
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How to prepare and sanitize driftwood
No matter where you find the perfect piece of wood, most likely, there are some bugs and other organisms hidden in it. We have no idea how long they have been floating around in the river or ocean, and we don’t know how contaminated the water has been.
Here are the basic steps of how to prepare driftwood for crafts:
1.Clean. Before we start any of our driftwood DIY projects, we make sure to clean it — that way, we avoid any contamination and bad smell in the house later.
2. Rinse. We usually rinse them with high-pressure water outside. BUT! If the wood is too soft, you might want to lower the water pressure.
3. Soak in diluted bleach for a few days. Small driftwood pieces are easy to soak in the bathtub or a big container. Try to do this step outside, if possible, to avoid breathing in chemicals. This step will kill any organisms.
4. Dry. Leave the cleaned driftwood in the sun for a week or until it is completely dry.
5. Seal. Once it is dry, we protect and seal the driftwood with a waterproof wood and lumber sealer. This step is optional. If you like the weathered look and you’ll use your driftwood creations indoors, you might skip the sealant.
Now the fun part. Let’s check out my favorite ideas for driftwood decoration!
Driftwood project for your wall
Easy to make wall arts are the favorite DIY of many. With driftwood, you can make frames, mirror frames, a coastal wall art, or hanging shelves.
Seahorse shaped driftwood on salvaged wood
I found this wall art on a flea market, and as much I like to make my own home decor, I couldn’t leave it.
I thought to hang a large piece like this on my living room wall is a perfect addition to the other driftwood decoration in our home.
If you are looking for driftwood wall art you might want to check out these handmade creations.
Decorating with driftwood wall art
Jane and Sonja from https://sustainmycrafthabit.com displayed medium and small pieces of driftwood and secured them on plywood. Once done, hung it as unique wall art.
Small or thinner pieces are probably a little more challenging to work with, but when you group them on the wall, they sure make a statement.
I love that the girls painted some of the wood with different colors to create coastal-themed home decor.
Driftwood Planks Used as Shelves
Flat medium pieces are perfect for driftwood DIY projects. You can use them as a shelf.
Make sure they are sturdy enough to hold whatever you will display on them.
Drill the holes for the rope and hang them on a boat cleat for a nautical look like Jane and Sonja from sustainmycrafthabit.com did.
Use driftwood branches for a ladder.
Here are another great DIY driftwood projects for your wall.
You can use sturdy wood as a rack or rod for holding clothes or blankets.
Decorating with driftwood branches and copper gives a fantastic statement to your bedroom. Mixing it with a denim blue chalk paint gives a finished look to this blanket ladder. Check out the DIY tutorial here.
Driftwood framed mirror in the livingroom
For this driftwood mirror, you can glue or nail medium-size pieces on the frame, and when the first layer is done, glue smaller thinner driftwood pieces counter-clockwise on it.
Congratulation! You just created a rustic beach decor from an old mirror.
Make Driftwood Racks
You can quickly turn driftwood pieces into functional racks, holders, and organizers. They can be hanged from the ceiling with rope light fixtures for a more dramatic look.
If you carefully drill small holes in a driftwood branch and put some small hooks in it, it becomes a rustic coastal decor key holder or jewelry organizer.
Driftwood Pieces with Candles for a romantic dining table
When you find those ultra-small driftwood pieces, you can glue them to a rectangle base. When I create a table centerpiece, I use a plank of reclaimed wood or an old tray and hot glue.
If you have a driftwood plank, you can drill into it and create a “room” for tea lights. Remember, candles and driftwood can create a fire in a second, so when the romantic dinner is over, make sure to turn off the candles. 😉
Rustic driftwood clock
From one big driftwood piece, you can create clocks, picture holders, or lamp bases.
Jane and Sonja created a beautiful rustic clock. It is such an excellent addition to a mantel or coffee table.
Decorating with driftwood for Fall
How about a cute driftwood pumpkin? I know it usually calls for Fall decor, but I can imagine this driftwood decor anytime in our living room.
Little rock shaped driftwoods are perfect for this project and glue them on a Styrofoam ball or ornament.
Decorating with driftwood for Christmas
Isn’t this Christmas ornament cute?
Vineta from thehandymansdaughter.com wanted to incorporate her favorite driftwood finds from her vacation into her Christmas decorations.
Using colorful beads and seastar, her Christmas tree got a rustic coastal feeling.
Driftwood Roots base for a Sculptural Coffee Table
Hopefully, you are up to the challenge and have crafting skills. If you do, you can combine several pieces of driftwood to make this sculpture.
With a glass top, it becomes a functional rustic coffee table, a real statement of your livingroom.
Industrial pipe lamp with driftwood base
Mixing iron and wood together creates a simple natural vibe in your home. Mix and match black iron pipes together to make this cool industrial pipe lamp with a driftwood base.
Sculptural trunk driftwood furniture ideas
We created this shelf in our living room for entertainment systems and rustic lights.
On the left, you see a 9 feet tall driftwood, which we combined with 2 long driftwood slice to create the shelf.
On the right, you see a big driftwood branch with a hidden light in. This driftwood piece came with a hole on the top already, and a little light bulb fits in there perfectly.
Building furniture out of driftwood is fun, but it requires power tools and basic DIY skills. It is just like you are making a cabinet.
Driftwood ideas for garden
There are so many things to do with driftwood in your backyard.
Bigger long pieces can be a raised garden bed or part of your landscaping in a rock garden.
Driftwood can be an excellent container for planting cacti and succulents.
Garden signs, house numbers, and rain chains are easy driftwood crafts ideas, and you’ll enjoy making them.
More advanced DIY-ers can create driftwood furniture too.
Driftwood garden bench
As you can see, we find a lot of driftwood in many different shapes and sizes.
This rustic outdoor bench is a perfect addition to our garden, where we like to sit and enjoy a cup of wine at sunset.
Luckily we found an old lounge chair base, and we used it to create a piece of unique garden furniture.
Driftwood Hanging Planters With Succulents
My favorite driftwood decor in the garden. Succulents are very forgiving plants. They survive everywhere, and you don’t have to give them a lot of attention.
We live close to the rainforest, and I saw many succulents and orchids hanging on to driftwoods in their natural habitat. So they gave me the idea to use cool shaped driftwood as a natural planter.
Driftwood is as cheap as it gets when you are on the lookout for creative succulent planters.
Hollow driftwood as an orchid pot
I can’t imagine a better rustic planter for an orchid than its natural habitat. (Not all orchids behave like a succulent, so you have to make sure you chose the right one for this project).
I filled up the hollow driftwood with rocks, moss, and orchid food, and this plant can not be any happier.
Rock and driftwood garden
During Hurricane Maria, we last our garden. So I decided to rebuild a front yard with rocks, driftwood, and bromeliads (yes, plants were flying too) we collected after the storm.
It was a very budget-friendly landscape project.
Bromeliads and succulents are great survivors in a storm, and even if you don’t water them frequently so, they are the perfect addition to any backyard and garden.
Decorating with driftwood final tips
I hope these beautiful DIY driftwood projects and crafts inspired you, and off you go create your new home decor today.
Before you go here are some final tips:
- Make sure you keep your eyes open when you walk on the beach or next to rivers and lakes.
- Collect driftwood in different shapes and sizes, even though you don’t know yet what kind of home decoration you’ll make. Don’t worry; inspiration will come.
- Clean and sanitize each driftwood piece.
- Use glue, nail, drill, etc. to create mirror frames, centerpieces, sculptures, or even big driftwood furniture.
don’t forget to PIN this post for later so you can come back for inspiration. 🙂
Do you like budget-friendly DIY decor ideas? Check out my other posts using upcycled materials and repurposed furniture.
- Old sweater DIY home decor projects
- Frugal home decor ideas
- Backyard and garden on a budget
- Bean Bag chair tutorial
Do you have driftwood projects you want to share with us?
Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to share on social media so others can get creative too.
Fabulous post, love all of your designs and what great tips. Thank you
Thank you, Lyn! The cool thing about these creative designs that most of them can be made from upcycled materials.