Monday, March 9, 2009

Decorating with branches

West Elm

I don't know if it's spring fever or a lack of exposure to nature or what, but I've been battling the urge to drag tree branches home and make something with them. This is where my midwestern roots and urban aesthetic come in conflict. Back home, the only reason one brought a tree branch into the house was to chop it up and poke it into the fireplace.

The consequence of this upbringing is that I can't bring myself to 'buy' a stick of wood when God makes it grow free all over the place. At the same time. I live in Brooklyn, and a distant faint warning stops me from picking up the rare branch that falls on a sidewalk or on the outside of a park fence. It's the same warning you'd hear as a kid when you're all sprawled on the lawn and one of your friends would pluck a blade of grass and stick it in his mouth and all the other kids would yell, "Ewww! What if . . .?"

Indeed, what if a dog peed on it? Around here, the statistical chances have kept my hands jammed in my pockets.

Himalayan birch poles, Nettle Hollow

Pure Style

Cole & Son Woods wallpaper

Farmers Market

Mitsumata chandelier, Nettle Hollow

Ghislaine Vinas

Brad Ford

Todd Merrill Antiques


  1. I had no idea I was so stylish! I have a nine foot tall driftwood tree trunk leaning against a doorway in my dining room, a driftwood pine tree (complete with most of its branches and roots... no bark) with decorations on it, and various other interesting branches hanging from my window and door frames. They're all from Lake Erie, which I can walk to (a dubious pleasure). I should take some photos... Thank you for making me feel less weird!

  2. Did a quick run through of your archives to see if I remembered seeing a photo where you had a little bit of outdoor space where you could dry off a branch. Came to the conclusion that there are trees or branches in 900% of the photos in your posts. I say this is good enough reason for you to start collecting branches, as you are clearly starved for them.

    If a dog peed on it, well... throw it in the shower and give it a good rinse. No different than rain, I'm thinking. It'll dry out. Especially if you set it outside your pretty glass door for a bit

  3. OK, you've blown away both of my inhibitions:
    1. People from Ohio do not decorate with branches.
    2. Dog pee.
    . . . And have given me a good tip - stick the branches on the deck to 'cure'.
    I will be scouting branches at lunch.
    (p.s. I'm jealous of the driftwood.)

  4. haha, I am from Columbus, Ohio and have actually googled ''decorating with branches'' as I have plenty from my backyard! ... I feel less weird after reading this too.