Use your end table to hold vases, books or even as a stool.
Apply an eco-friendly sealant and allow to dry for specified amount of time.
By Michelle Kaufmann
More than 30 million tons of yard trimmings end up in our landfills each year. Unfortunately, not only do these trimmings just take up more space in our already over-stuffed landfills, but they also do so needlessly.
You can turn waste into yard treasures. Leaves and grass can be a valuable addition to your compost pile, and woodier trimmings can be chipped and used as mulch. And large tree limbs and the trunks of fallen or dead trees can be made into unique and gorgeous pieces of indoor furniture, such as these simple side tables, that are unbelievably easy to create.
These organic end tables preserve the beauty of your tree. They are also a wonderful way to bring a bit of nature inside your home.
The most involved part of the project will be cutting the wood, but here you have a lot of options. If you’re dealing with a dead or fallen tree then you’ll probably have an arborist who can cut the trunk into segments of equal length. If not, you can hire someone to cut them or do it yourself if you have or can rent a chainsaw.
VIDEO: See how to make this beautiful organic table >>
What to do:
1. You may choose to keep the bark on or chip it off, depending on the look you want. You can chip it off with a chisel, but, to be safe, wear gloves and chip away from your body on a sturdy work surface.
2. Next you need to seal the wood. You can either paint on a wood sealant (we recommend an eco-friendly, soy-based sealant like Soy Guard) or, if you have a really textured or delicate bark you’re trying to preserve, use a spray-on sealant.
3. Once the sealant is dry, prop three tree pieces together upright, shifting them around until you find a good fit.
4. Use some really good rope and tie the three pieces together around the middle, just temporarily to hold them in place.
5. With some attractive leather rope or leather straps, secure the piece around the top and bottom to permanently hold them in place and you’re finished. Make as many as you want until you run out of wood.
In the end, these stunning, rustic end tables look like something you might have paid a fortune for at a high-end furniture store, but you can tell people you found them right in your own backyard.
Provided by Michelle Kaufmann - http://www.michellekaufmann.com
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