Tips For Using Tree Bark In Interior Design

Upcycling tree bark which has fallen off trees in your back yard, woods, roads or even sidewalk, is an ingenious and no-cost way to create and enjoy the best art work available to man, nature! This costs the environment nothing, as it is recycled and is gathered from already fallen tress. Do not take bark from live trees, as it can affect the health of the living plant.   Here are some tips for using tree bark in interior design.

Where to find good tree bark for interior design:

One way to get good bark for interior decorating is to take advantage of situations in which you have access to a felled tree. Perhaps a neighbor or you have had to cut a tree down for clearing property or making firewood, or even tree work done near your house. Logging extras, areas that have been bull-dozed and made ready for development, roadsides, fences and electric power line strips which have been kept clear by tree service or utility companies-  all of these and many others you may think of provide opportunities to gather bark which is suitable for use in decorating your home or office.

Harvesting tree bark and preparing it for use in home decor:

1. Find your bark source
2. Peel the bark in as big of chunks or sections as you can
3. Flatten the bark when it is moist after a good rain or sprinkling with water hose
4. Place a large, heavy object on the bark to force it flat, keep it flat until dry and stiffened
5. Be creative, find the place where it fits your décor perfectly

Tips For Using Tree Bark In Interior Design: Tree Bark Is Sophisticated, Rustic & Delightfully Easy!

There are many possibilities for using tree bark in home decor and I love that it is a recycled, free and versatile, local product. You may even discover some interior design uses on your own and have fun playing with it!

Pictured here are these ways I have used tree bark in interior design:

Coffee Table Center Piece

Window-seal piece

Welcome Mat

Bathroom décor

Table Top / Place Mat

Planter Tray

More Ideas For Using Bark in Interior Design:

Soap Dish

Picture Frame

Borders

Furniture Cover or Runner

Tree bark in interior design has  endless possibilities, a variety of which are found by collecting the bark of a variety of tree species. Keep in mind, bark varies from paper thin, to thick chucky inch-two – inch thick. Many textures, colors, and patterns can be found and enjoyed in a creative choice of contexts.  Enjoy your eco-friendly home decorating! Get ready, get set, go find your prize piece of tree bark!

Have you ever used tree bark in interior design?  Do you think you will give it a go now?

‘Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches.’  Genesis 30:37

Look at the bark of a redwood, and you see moss. If you peer beneath the bits and pieces of the moss, you’ll see toads, small insects, a whole host of life that prospers in that miniature environment. A lumberman will look at a forest and see so many board feet of lumber. I see a living city.  –Sylvia Earle