Remember when you were a little kid playing outside in the crisp autumn air, marching around in the fallen leaves of the woods perhaps, and your mom would call you in for dinner as evening was just settling in? You’d reach the front door with that one solid, brilliant piece of nature you’d found on your after school adventures—a fallen piece of tree. Behold the mighty stick you used for ascending remarkable heights of the mountains as an explorer, the cane you limped and prodded with as the old hag in Snow White and the Seven  Dwarfs, the sword you fought with while fending off evildoers, the paddle to the raft for your stealth getaway down the river, the bat for hitting “monkey brains” (fruits of the Osage Orange Tree) as stand-in baseballs or bullies’ heads. . . And your mom made you leave it in the yard where it belonged.

Well, this post is about carrying that forbidden tree branch across the threshold of a mother’s intolerance and into your home. Maybe you won’t have such a fond attachment to the one you bring indoors today, but you’ll probably love it for another reason or two. Here are several ways people have mixed natural elements into their own spaces. We’ve gathered a few images for inspiration.

Autumn in a vase

(Pictured above: John Paul Urizar via Re-nest.com)

(Pictured above: Trevor Tondro from DesiretoInspire.net)

We adore Brooklyn photographer Trevor Tondro’s use of branches in his home. Here, the sticks look modern intertwined in clear glass.

Hanging as sculptural art

(Pictured above: HSW via Re-nest.com)

(Pictured above: Yvestown via Re-nest.com)

Mounted to the wall

(Pictured above: Landscape Architect Rick Eckersley’s Melbourne Cottage Kitchen & Dining Room from Living Etc)

Go big or go home with larger pieces of tree

(Top two pictured above: Trevor Tondro from DesiretoInspire.net)

(Pictured above: Emmas Designblogg via Re-nest.com)

You can also find some very fun ideas for decorating with tree branches through these photos on Rdekko.com. We love the branch stretching across the bookcase shelf. No drilling, hanging, or mounting necessary. So simple! And that table made up of layers of bound logs and smaller branches with glass on top is pretty awe-inspiring.

There are many ways to decorate seasonally that go beyond tree branches, and perhaps we’ll explore some other organic elements for fall and winter decorating. But for now, if you’re not destroying nature by directly severing the branches from living trees, this is an easy, eco-friendly way to decorate this season! That down-to-earth, yet elegant piece could be right outside your door right now. And if you’re thinking of sprucing up your walls, you can also consider the help of wallpaper, decals, or stencils instead of freehanding those tenuous lines of a tree branch with a paintbrush. Stay tuned for our next post on more “unnatural” tree branches—the painted/wallpapered versions.

Posted by Nicole Bruce