HOME DESIGN: Natural Elements: Driftwood

I love bringing nature indoors. My favorite accessories are typically natural objects and driftwood is right at the top.

(image above from House Beautiful.) It's so sculptural and its dull gray finish is coveted by many... Furniture manufacturers work so hard to get the perfect dull-gray/ limewash finish of driftwood on their pieces today. It's not an easy finish to replicate because it comes from exposure to years & years of water & sun & often salt. Today I wanted to share with you a few resources & inspiration pics for driftwood furnishings & accessories. Check out http://www.nautilusdesign.co.uk/index.html for some beautiful & unique driftwood pieces like this mirror below and sculptures, lamps, etc. The creator of Nautilus, David Holmes, writes, "From an early age I have been fascinated with driftwood, combing the beaches of Pembrokeshire and Cornwall in my holidays.This interest has never wavered, I still collect driftwood; I love the fact that each piece has it's own inherent texture, shape and colour. The unique quality of each piece of wood inspires my handmade designs."

I love this piece of driftwood he has just casually leaning in a corner. There are so many beautfiul images on the Nautilus website so check it out if you have a minute.

The items below are by another artist, Carl Woodland Jr., also known as "Sonny" who learned the art from his father while growing up in the Florida Keys as a boy. He now continues the business with his wife and daughter. Their website is http://www.alldriftwoodfurniture.com/ and the prices are REALLY reasonable. I WANT this sunburst mirror: (how gorgeous?!!)

LOVE this too:

They come in all shapes & sizes & they even do custom:

Their tables are so beautiful & they do dining tables, consoles, coffee tables, end tables, you name it. Just cannot get over this dining room table:

They also do lamps in all shapes & sizes & the prices even compare with mass-produced pieces.

Here is Pottery Barn's driftwood lamp (below) for $299 and while I think it's gorgeous, I'd rather have one handmade by an artist who makes his living doing it. (above)

Cote de Texas recently posted this photo below on her beloved linen post. I am gagga for this entire room. Notice the driftwood/ limewash finish on the coffee table. And I can't even handle that lamp.

My dad is a bass fisherman in Illinois (it's his lakehouse we're going to in a week!!) and has lots of fish mounted on driftwood. He always found his own driftwood from the lakes and some of them are HUGE!!! To be honest, I like the driftwood better than the fish.

We've been renovating the lake cottage so right now the entire unfinished basement is like a Grandma's attic: full of junk & treasures. As I was nosing around in there, I came across all of his old mounted fish, collecting serious dust. And I was naughty. hee hee hee hee heee... I'm seriously giggling right now thinking about it. hahahah Well, I ripped off some of the fish & hung the driftwood around the house & used it on tables & window sills. Check out the HUGE piece he found below... I snapped the pic before I even pried off the little thing that holds the fish on. I DOUBT this is still hanging now that I've left, or if it is, there's probably a fish on it.

Here's another little piece I love in the same room:

The only piece I have in my home in Virginia is the one in the shelf below. My dad mounted my first bass on it when I was 4 years old. The poor fish is really beaten up right now (I still have it somewhere) but the driftwood is still in perfect condition and I move it around all the time. Here is in the old basement:

And here it is now (below) in our dining room:

There are lots of websited that sell driftwood if you're not in a spot where you can find your own. Here's one of them: http://www.amazonmoosey.com/ (image below)