Driftwood Sculpture Table Top Stand DIY
This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read my Disclosure Policy.
How to make your own version of modern art using a piece of reclaimed wood. Capture the organic beauty of nature and mount it to make a driftwood sculpture table top stand or petrified wood slab or slice. When mounted on a stand it will blend seamlessly with any modern or traditional space.
Over the weekend, I made something new for my foyer. Even though my house is small, there is a large 2-story foyer that needs big items that will fit the scale of the space.
I am always looking for ways to decorate it using more minimal decor that will make a decorative impact.
I find that I am being drawn to natural and organic decor like the wood sculptures on stands I have been seeing in decorating books and magazines similar to the ones in the above image.
I decided that was just what the sideboard in my foyer needed – a piece of modern art… but without the price tag or any wood carving skills. More to the cost of free!
What Type of Wood Can Be Used To Make a Wood Table Top Modern Art Stand?
Wood sculptures on stands like these can be made with reclaimed wood, petrified wood, driftwood, or any interesting piece of wood you may come upon when you are out in nature or even your yard.
I have an endless supply of interesting looking driftwood that washes up from the lake to my yard, so I have been keeping watch for a big piece.
When out kayaking a week ago, I came upon a floating section of a tree trunk that had the shape I was looking for. It was way too big, but I knew I, or shall I say, Ed could cut it to the size I envisioned with a chain saw.
So we went home, got a rope, went back out on the lake to find the section of floating tree trunk again. We tied it up to a kayak and paddled home with it in tow. It kind of looks like an alligator, but no gators in the lake. :-)
I had to let it dry out for a week, and then got to work to create what I imagined in my head.
Here is what I made with a section of the large piece of driftwood I found.
I love it! The driftwood now looks like a sculpture and gives a modern touch to the foyer. Just the look I was after.
One fun thing that happened when we went to cut a section of the log. On one end it looked like a fish, so we went with it and used that end of the log to make the a decorative piece for the foyer. :-)
The other end, we cut in the overall shape of the fish face side to keep the piece of wood somewhat symmetrical.
The only item I had to buy to make the project was a dowel.
How to Make a Driftwood Sculpture Table Top Stand
You can make a wood stand sculpture any size you want, large or small. For this how-to tutorial, I list the sizes of the wood and dowels I used so you have a point of reference.
supplies needed:
- Piece of driftwood or any interesting looking piece of wood. My piece measures: 36″ long x 9″ high.
- 1 – 4 x 4 post or section of a wood pallet or a piece of wood cut to 24″ long x 2″ wide x 2-1/2″ tall.
- 2 – 5/8″ diameter dowels. Each cut to approx. 7-1/2″ in length.
- Black satin paint
- Saw
- Drill and 5/8” drill bit or to fit size of dowel
- Chalk
- Measuring tape
- Wood glue
- Cut the wood to the size needed using a chain saw. The size of the section I used is: 36″ long x 9″ high. We will use the rest of the wood for our lakeside fire pit.
2. The bottom piece of the wood for the stand is a piece from a wood pallet that I found in the trash at Home Depot. It was the perfect size and shape. I asked if I could have it and they said yes. With wood prices so high, I was very excited to have come across it.
3. Lay out the driftwood, dowels and wood for the stand on floor or work table to envision where you want the dowels to go.
3. Paint stand wood and dowels using black satin craft paint or any color you want. Let dry.
4. Mark the center part of the driftwood and stand wood to align with each other. Then mark on each were the dowel holes should be drilled.
5. Using a 5/8″ drill bit, drill two holes in the driftwood and stand wood. Drill down about an inch for each.
6. Drill two holes where your chalk marks are on the driftwood. Go about an inch deep.
7. Brush a coat of wood glue on the end of the dowels and then place in the stand. Touch up with paint if needed.
8. Repeat glue step for attaching the driftwood to the top of the dowels.
9. Place on sideboard or console.
Here it is on the sideboard with nothing in front of it.
And with a white tray of candles in front of it.
I like having options as I don’t have too many surfaces around my house to display my favorite decorative accessories.
Since the driftwood looks like a fish, I will have to name him or her. :-) Do you have any good name ideas?
I just love this as sculptural art!!! And I love the story behind it as well. I mean who drags a piece of wood out of the water and makes it a gorgeous work of art? You!
Thanks for sharing the process:)
Diane, what a clever and creative project. You come up with the best ideas.
I would have to name my fish “Drift”. 😊
Now, I would like to see more of that window that you made.
Hi Marsha –
Thanks. Drift sounds pretty cool! :-) You wanted to know more about the mirror I made using old window frames. I have never posted about it, but wrote a post today about it today. I just published it so you can find out exactly how I made the mirror in my foyer that you saw in the photos of the driftwood sculpture I made.
Are you familiar with the director “Ed Wood” (a real person)? Just saying.
Hi Becky – :-) I have heard of Ed Wood. So many good names. It is going to be hard to decide.
Walter like in “On Golden Pond” is what I’d name this guy!
Hi Kim – Thanks for the name idea – it is a good one. I remember seeing the movie, but forgot all about the big trout. :-)
Such a BRILLIANT upcycle from scraps!
I’d love for you to join us over at the Creative Crafts Linky Party every Wednesday through Sunday
https://creativelybeth.com/creative-crafts-linky-party-45/
Followed and Pinned! 🙂
Creatively, Beth
Hi Beth – Thanks – I just placed the link party in my schedule and will link tomorrow. :-)
That is what we at Home Depot call a sticker. When a bundle is strapped to a pallet the strapping goes in that Grove so the strapping doesn’t cut into whatever material is being palletized. Great use for it. I love how your driftwood resembles a fish. So appropriate for a home on a lake.
Hi Susan – Thanks for taking the time to tell me what the piece of wood is named. I knew it had to do something with a pallet. So cool that it has an actual name and a function. I like the shape. I got two, so you may see me come up with another project using one. :-)
You do have a very good eye for the possibilities of so many found items!Your project turned out beautifully!
Thanks Sue
Looks like you have a new career blooming. As for a name how bout “Gone Fishing”?
Hi Margo – I really enjoy making decor using stuff that gets discarded and for free. :-) Thanks for the fish name idea – I have been receiving so many good name ideas. It is going to be hard to choose just one.
I LOVE this! Your creativity always amazes me. Several years ago I was in Hilton Head with my parents and my dad and I found a beautiful piece of driftwood. It was a tall as me but my dad HAD to have it. It was a perfect addition to their beachy casual family room!
Hi Christine – I love hearing this. Using the driftwood in a decorative way is the best kind of decor as it has a story behind it and I am sure brings back fond memories of your vacation.
This is amazing! Great DIY!
I think it look like a Barry the Barracuda. :)
Hi Lisa – The fish is definitely a guy so the name would fit. The other day, Ed put a pair of sunglasses on him so he would be one cool fish. :-)
Great job. Love it! I see him (yes him) as “Drift the Fish” or just “Drifter”.
Hi Stephanie – I like it, Drifter. I am going to have a hard time choosing a name from all the fun name ideas readers have been suggesting. :-)
Beautiful, looks high end! How about naming it Wanda. I can imagine from a distance it could have looked like a low key Nessie following Ed on the lake. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Michelle – I like that… a Fish named Wanda, just like the movie :-) Nessie is fun too as the currents on the water sometimes look like Nessie coming to the surface.
Beautiful! I really thought you had done something with iron and welding!
Thanks – and for the compliment. :-) I have no welding skills at all. Happy to hear that I made the stand look like it was done with metal.
Me too! I thought the base was iron and thought “I could never make that”. Now I can!
That is very cool!
Woodrow!
Hi Karen – Cute name. When I first met Ed, he had a dog named Woody and when he was acting up, which he rarely ever did, we would call him Woodrow. It would be a good family name. :-)
It looks great!
The driftwood piece is really nice. What a great idea. I do enjoy your posts.
Thanks Judy :-)
Very creative and frugal! Looks great in your foyer!
Oh my goodness! I couldn’t appreciate this more being that driftwood came straight from our lake. He did a fabulous job on cutting it and your simple stand is fabulous! I bet y’all were a sight to see pulling that big old piece with your kayaks. I would have enjoyed that! Now I’m going to have to make one of these. Hubs isn’t going to be happy because our projects are piling up around here. In fact we’ve been so busy prepping for a family 4th of July party we’ve had very little time to get on the lake. Well I think the name of your fishwood should be very easy to name, looks just like a Murray to me!
Hi Mary – Murray would be very fitting. :-) Ed had a hard time towing the section of the tree home since it was curved. It kept pulling to one side, but he did it. :-) We try to get out on the lake every week kayaking. We did get out on the boat last week when a friend came to visit. When it is just Ed and I, we tend, like you to work too much around the house and not get out every week. The 4th will be here before we know it. I hope your party is a lot of fun. Enjoy!
Absolutely amazing!
Hi Alison – Thanks. I have gotten a few natural goodies from the lake to use as decor. I am still on the hunt for a big hunk of a tree stump to use in the front flower bed. There are a few around the edges of the Picnic Islands, but most are still attached under the water. One of these days one will break free and end up on the shoreline for me to find.
Your driftwood fish is very cool. I thought I was the only one who created with lake trash. I live on Lake Norman and have gotten some beautiful driftwood from the lake. I made a very nice towel rack for my pool bath to hang wet towels on. I later found one in a catalog for over $350. Needless to say, that is one craft that I’m keeping for myself. I also have had the solar lights around my dock for about 10 years now. We must think alike.
Hi Nancy – We pass Lake Norman every time we head up to see our daughters in Virginia. When we we lake house hunting 5 years ago, Lake Norman was one of the lakes we looked at homes. Your towel rack sounds perfect – personally made to fill a need, plus a fun story behind it. I recently got a few solar uplights to use around the exterior of the house. I haven’t put them up yet, but it is on my list. I hope the light they emit looks nice.
Brilliant! I live by a beach that gets driftwood washed up in storms. Please, where you cut off the extra wood did it look a different color? Like raw wood? Did you have to add a bit of stain to blend with the rest of the piece?
Thanks Dianne – To answer your question about the color of the cut side of the driftwood. It is the color of the wood. I didn’t do anything to it to change the color. Once thing that could cause a color change could be that the chain saw may have gotten held up in the cut when cutting and caused the darkening. Not sure though.
That is so cool….now to find some driftwood! ;)
Hi Donnamae – Thanks. You may not be able to find lake driftwood, but you never know what you will find even in your yard to use. :-)
This turned out beautiful. You have inspired me again Diane. You are very gifted in the DIY department. I love the work on your home.
Thanks so much Katie. DIYing is just how my brain is wired. My mind is constantly turning over ideas. The other side of my brain – the analytical side – doesn’t work well at all. :-)
Love it!!
Perfection! And at a great price, too.
What a cool piece of art!!! I would name her/him after your lake 🌊. Seems perfect for your fish 🐟.
We have a large piece of driftwood that we found while camping on the OR coast many years ago. It lives in our front yard as a sculptural piece along our dry river bed. It’s one of my favorite memories!!
Hi Lynn – Thanks for the name idea. :-) I will add it to the options. I love hearing that your found piece of driftwood in your front yard, not only adds interest to your home’s facade, but brings back fond memories. That is the best kind of decor to have. I would love to find a big piece of a driftwood or remnants of a tree to add to the flower bed in my front yard. It needs a sculptural piece to add some interest to all the lines of the house. I will keep searching for it.
You have quite a fish story to tell – nice work!
Hi Chris – :-) Thanks
AWESOME!
Diane, I love it! You and Ed did a great job. I like it all by itself on the chest- I think it gives it the presence it deserves. It really fits your white and woodsy theme too. I think a good name might be The Incredible Mr. Limpet!
Hi Bettsi – I love that movie and the name… Limpet… I will have to get the fish a pair of eyeglasses. :-)
What a great idea! It looks so good in your foyer!
This looks so great – how about naming it Abe Vigoda.. you know, after that old tv show and he was called Fish if I remember correctly. I’m always doing this goofy naming thing [I’m so weird]. I have a crane sculpture I call, of course, Frasier Crane and I had helped to rescue a baby hawk a couple years ago I named Alan Alda, naturally [Hawkeye Pierce for those too young to remember]. So I couldn’t resist suggesting this name for your sculpture, haha. Is it any wonder I’m always getting the eye-rolls from my kids ;]. I love your posts and am always inspired by your creativity.
Love your naming creativity! Not too many people have this gift!
😂😂😂
Hi Pj – I had forgotten all about the show. Thanks for sharing the name idea. I love that you have a theme going for what you name your items. Not weird at all… it’s fun and gives our objects – personality.
I love it!! It is so stylish, trendy, and beautiful! Certainly looks far more expensive than *free*!!
As for his name……how about Woody Lakefish? 🤦♀️🤔
Hi Delanie, thanks. Woody is a good name. We used to have a dog named Woody, so it would be fitting. :-)
What a great idea, Diane, and almost free! I saw a fish, too, before I read your comment.
Hi Terry – It wasn’t until the wood had dried out over a week and we went to cut it that we noticed the one end looked like a fish. I didn’t choose the log for that reason when I first saw it. A nice bonus.
Looks fantastic!!!