Today is a special day, a day where natures claims its place in the calendar. Thereby I propose to talk about nature and the wonderful things it has to offer. Among them there are trees, wonderful building materials and the base for many of the decorative ideas. Today we’ll focus around birch , a tree closely related to the beech or oak . This type of wood has been the subject of many wonderful projects, made by specialists or simply by any of you. You wouldn’t imagine how many possibilities of creating original decorations and useful items that could surround us in every second and in any type of activity, exist.

In the first part of the material we’ll take a look at some wonderful ideas and objects build with or from birch wood, and then in the second part we’re actually going to see step by step how could you do similar projects by yourself.

Birch Tree Decor Ideas.

Being a natural element wood is usually found outside where it needs rain, sunlight and minerals to grow. This makes them ideal for bringing inside our homes a bit of wild nature to animate the ambiance. As we can see here some tall actual trees were put in a corner along with other materials from its natural environment with decorative purposes. Thanks to their nature, birch trees are works of art begging to be brought in and utilized in so many different ways. They add so much personality in the rooms they are used in and there are incredible versatile as well.{found on Pure Style Home, Elle Decor, Wee Decor, Craftzine, Hotel Le Placide}.

Make a coat rack out of a birch branch.

If in the previous case birch trees were used with decorative purposes here’s an example where their functional part is revealed. A wonderful piece of birch branch became with no additional processing a great coat rack. I would say that this is more than a coat rack, it’s a cool and functional object that supports also tiny dresses, plush toys, shoes and so on. It’s just incredible how versatile this simple piece of wood can be.{found on Hobby Vimsa}.

Vase with Carved Initials, Serving Tray and Prints.

Some people love birch trees so much that inspires them to handmade extraordinary objects, you wouldn’t normally think of. For example here is a vase with carved initials, a great anniversary gift if you ask me. For a romantic breakfast in bed you can use a wonderful birch wood Serving Tray. Birch wood has also inspired numerous wall decals, perfect for apartments with tall ceilings.{found on etsy,tray,etsy}.

Birch bark tubes.

Birch bark tubes are used in endless combinations for the same amount of tasks. This particular use focuses on decorative lighting that can be used all year-round. Their incredible texture give a special woodsy vibe in the ambiance, great a thematic environment .Because the bark is thin the light peeking through creates a wonderful effect and a warm glow. If you want an extra festive touch use garlands for a beautiful combination of texture and color.{found on 1. Wig3000, 2-4 Small Stump}.

Glided cardholders.

These superb gilded cardholders represent the juxtaposition of natural, rough bark with a bit of glam. If you wonder where you could use them , or what to do with them here are some representative examples: you can hold your business cards , or on your office these can very well hold your photos, as well as desk calendars, or if you are still using formal way of correspondence such an item would be great for your envelopes. Thanks to their availability in various sizes these items can comply with a wide range of tasks.{found on cabin7}.

Wall made of birch.

One of my favorite uses for birch wood is to really create texture in room. Look at this amazing wall and say that you don’t love the color as much as the texture. What other method to change a monotonous space and to add an incredible interest point do you know, except with this piece of gigantic piece of art. I know I would want to be greeted by this wall every single day I come home. Look at those round pads placed one next to each other in a superb wall symphony.{found on Martha Stewart}.

Like I’ve promised earlier we’re now going to look at some DIY projects , so your inspiration will get a little technical help and “know how” for your own projects.

Birch coffee table.

For all of you birch lovers I am going to present how to make a superb Birch Coffee Table. For this project you will need approximately 34 birch logs each about 3-4 inches in diameter , at least in this project that was the amount of logs , but in your project these numbers may be irrelevant, some wood glue and screws, plywood, grout and clear polyurethane. The first step consists of building the wooden box and table top.

Than place and glue the wooden logs along each side, for extra strength, screw through the wooden box into each log. An important part is to cut 1 inch wooden rounds and aligning them n rows as you glue them to the box top. After they are secured spread the grout over the logs with a grout float filling the gaps between pads.

Use a putty knife and scrape off grout to your desired final look. Then mount feet at the bottom and apply a coat of clear polyurethane over the entire wooden surface. The birch wood coffee table is finished, all it needs now is a great living room to be placed.{found on bottosblog}.

Table lamp from a birch brach.

What about a DIY project involving wood, light and electricity? To make a table lamp like this one you will need to find a birch branch to your imagined size and start working on drilling holes for the sockets , mounting a switch, an connecting it trough a power cord to a power supply. Mount the bulbs and hit the switch. That’s all you need for a quick bold project. The finished product can sit wherever you want and have the same effect. What a nice mixture between these two great powers: nature and electricity.{found on etsy}.

Idea to create a rough console.

The next DIY idea challenges your imagination, because this kind of rough tables can be found only in the wood, near forest footpath and in tourist destination for those hardcore mountain enthusiastic and not in a warm cozy living room. This console table is easy to make from simple rough branches.

The actual process of making it consists of gathering similar tree branches and let them dry, this a very important step, because wood tends to change its shape when it dries and you wouldn’t want your table to change its shape with it. After the wood branches are completely dry cut them to your proper size and build the table top, and then glue and screw everything together, until your DIY adventure materializes in a very good looking, unique table.{found on shelterness}.

Amazing DIY birch Bark lamp.

Using natural materials in our interiors therefore natural furniture brings us a little closer to nature. For a DIY project like this one you will need to create some unusual lamps with simple materials like fishing wire, birch bark some basic tools and the electrical component of the birch bark lampshade: a 60 watts light bulb, 14 gauge electrical wire and sockets or pendant lamp kits. The tricky part of this project is to cut the bark to your own dimensions and stitch the ends together with wire. After that attach the bulb, socket and the their corresponding wires and connect the ensemble to a power supply. Suspend the wonderful lamp in the middle of any room and lower it a little bit for a low light, romantic effect.{found on ruffleblog}.

DIY faux birch log side table.

Here’s another great DIY project where the star is a wonderful birch log side table. To do that you will need a 12’’ diameter Sonotube concrete form, some plywood, wood glue, screws and paint. If you already decided upon how tall the table should be mark a straight line around the Sonotube where you will be cutting.

Cut out circles from the plywood to the exact size as the tube’s interior and fit it inside. The next process is crucial, because you will have to cover the tube with gesso and to replicate exactly the birch’s texture you’ll need to use short horizontal brush strokes. Make sure that you use plenty of gesso and cover all the spots, then let it dry.

Paint the top in a unique way by squirting some white, beige and brown paint onto a plate and then dip the paint brush into the paint without mixing it. By painting a circle on top, the cylindrical item will be as close as possible of a real wooden log. That’s it, you’ve got yourself a marvelous Log Side Table.{found on Katie Steuernagle}.

DIY headboard of a birch branches.

So you can see that birch wood can be used on almost anything we’re going to take a look at a quite challenging project. I said challenging because it’s a little hard to comprehend such a rough looking headboard into a bedroom. To be completely honest it looks more like a western fence or a cattle gate.

But for those who appreciate a good woodwork this could quickly become a must have. So if you decide to build a headboard out of birch branches this is what you’ll need to know. It costs almost nothing and all you have to do is to find different sized branches both for two strong pillars and the elements connecting them. To fix the branched just use simple nails and a hammer. To achieve a great look paint the wall behind the bed in a color that would highlight the new creation and creates a nice focal point in the bed area.{found on shelterness}.

DIY wood coasters.

Another quite simple project to do in a weekend of whenever you have a few minutes is this one. Wooden coasters are something you don’t see every day, especially if they have small artworks painted on them.

For these unique wooden coasters you will obviously need some birch wood slices , acrylic paint, some cool printouts and tracing paper. It is very simple to trace the artwork on the wood, by placing the tracing paper between the paper and wooden coasters. The next step consists of doing the actual paint job and the spray varnish on every one of the coasters, making them original and unique. The nonconformist style is going to be very appreciated and popular among kids thanks to their playful note.{found on happy}.

This is about it. I hope you liked the ideas shown here today. See you next time with another great material.