As we restore our crumbling, ancient home I’m continually drawn to natural materials and a muted palette, be it the newly laid wooden floors, the kiln-dried accent logs we’ve stacked high around our wood-burning stove, or the stone fireplaces we’ve sourced from reclamation yards. I recently papered Harry’s room in this beautiful winter Woods wallpaper from Cole & Son, aiming to create the aura of a nighttime forest, with a soft canopy of fairy lights. This week’s project was to create a tree stump bedside table (finished article above) on which toys, storybooks and a glass of water can perch whilst he sleeps.
Image courtesy of Cole & Son
To make the table I ventured down to the log pile at the end of our garden, home to every invertebrate known to man (including – mortifyingly – some which jump…) I’d love to boast that I fearlessly hefted a few likely logs into my wagon and strolled casually back, but in truth I wimped out and rustled up my husband to do the dirty work whilst I mutely pointed at the logs I wanted with a trembling finger, from the safety of the patio.
I chose a couple of level, even logs and let them dry out in the sunshine for a couple of days before chipping off loose bark and sanding until smooth. This latter stage sounds deceptively swift; in reality it’s relentless and dull and likely to cause your arm to go numb and induce temporary deafness. Still, it’s worth it (sort of). Once your log is really smooth, the final stage was to wax it; I mixed up 3 parts natural liquid wax (wood oil will work fine) to 1 part white emulsion, and applied two coats to give it this soft warm glow.
So now my first log project is complete and has pride of place by Harry’s bed, and his room is almost complete. The memory of the spiders, sanding, paint fumes and the sheer weight of the finished table as I dragged it upstairs are rapidly beginning to fade, and I’m already pondering what to attempt next… here are 3 gorgeous projects from elsewhere around the web which caught my eye; hmmm, which to choose?
Log pencil holder from strawberrychic.com
amazing log sofa from dornob.com
Log candles from etsy.com
Thank you for the inspiration, Kate! I live on a farm and have LOADS of wood that I’ve been wanting to use for something. This is perfect.
P.S. We, too, are restoring a crumbling, ancient home! It’s been in my partner’s family since 1815 and nothing has ever been done to it.
We just installed it’s first ever dishwasher.
Talk about a DIY project!
Wow, it sounds like you’ve got a MAJOR renovation job – how exciting (and exhausting, probably in equal measure!). Lovely too to be able to know the history of it as well (we’re piecing ours together bit by bit). Let me know how you get on with your wood…
This looks great! I would attempt the candles next!
thank you! And yes the candles look cool don’t they… I’m thinking you can make the hole for a tealight/larger candle fairly simply using one of those whizzy gadgets you stick on the end of a drill to cut a circular hole (you see my ignorance immediately here..). They’d look gorgeous grouped outside for a Summer evening dinner…
Love it …. after spending many years at beaches picking up drift wood and only finding small but some beautiful pieces , it seems far easier to get that large piece without spending weeks and days looking for it , to make it , well done Kate so many creative ideas …..
I used to re make wooden mirrors by putting a pice on the end of a drill that you take rust off , and you can give a rustic feel to like cutting grains out of wood ( the days I had so much time …. ha ha ha )
also love the pencil holder very cool in an office ……
I have been wanting to do this forever. Lovely! Thanks for sharing!
I love this! I want that table-it looks beautiful! Thanks for the tips, I will surely be attempting this soon! I love that pencil holder and candles too! Can’t wait to see what other goodies you produce!
Congratulations, I’ve just nominated you for the “Mrs. Sparkly Ten Commandments Award” Check out my post about it… http://forhisgloryandpraise.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/two-awards-in-one-mrs-sparklys-ten-commandments-award-36/ !
Thank you so much, I’m honoured!
I have always wanted to re-purpose a log into a stool or side table, just need to find a log (not many of those laying around in Los Angeles)! And I’ve long been a fan of that wallpaper. Have you shared pictures of your son’s room on your blog?
Hi, yes I know – we’re lucky in that we’re surrounded by forests with constant wood chopping and pruning, but I agree, logs are more scarce in the city
I haven’t yet shown pics of Harry’s room but will do soon, I promise
Meant to comments on this ages ago and forgot…the bedside table is beautiful. I love the muted colour of the wood, as though it was driftwood and had been sanded by the elements, rather than your hard graft! Nice styling with the apple – styling a finished project is by far and away the most fun part, I think!
At the risk of sounding daft, could you explain what natural liquid wax and white emulsion are? I’m Canadian and not familiar with these terms. I tried a google search and found a natural carnauba liquid wax but it isn’t just pure wax and meant for cars- not sure if this would work.
Also is the white emulsion, white emulsion paint or white glue emulsion?
I have the log, I would love to recreate this look for a nightside table.