Driftwood Decor

Driftwood Mantle Piece & Photo Hanger

Back before Christmas the ladies of Lake Wedowee Life (Leisel, Kelly and I) took a day trip to Scott’s Antique Market south of Atlanta where we met Dann Quinn from Chattanooga (see photo below) selling his one of a kind driftwood décor pieces. We talked to him for a good while about his pieces and told him a little about who we were and what we did. He then showed us how to make these mantle pieces we all liked. 

Beau and I collected driftwood all over Lake Wedowee. From Ketchepedrakee Creek all the way down to Fox Creek. Anywhere we saw a good collection along the lake bed we would pull over, slide on our rain boots, and gather pieces that were unique. We now have a huge collection on the front porch that I have no clue how to use.

Although my creation is nothing like Mr. Quinn’s (pictured below) it still looks pretty impressive in my entryway. For both crafts pictured I let the driftwood dry out, then I brushed it off with a broom or a small hand brush.  I tossed around different ways I could make the driftwood from Lake Wedowee look a little less muddy, and in the end I used some grey paint watered down to give a white washed look. 

For the hanging photo holder pictured on the right I drilled holes through each piece and ran twine in the holes. 

For the mantle piece I selected the most interesting pieces I could find from our pile and started putting them together like a puzzle. I used a scrap piece of wood from another project for the base.

Using a jigsaw, I flattened the end of each piece, then used a drill to get a hole started through the base and the driftwood. Then I secured it with a screw. I painted the edges of the base with white to give it a finished look. Get creative with yours and send us some photos if you make one!

To see handmade driftwood pieces by Dan Quinn please click here.