How to Make Twig Furniture From Natural Wood

Blend the natural grace of the growing tree with the personality of the builder.

By Daniel Mack
Published on January 1, 1987
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Flickr/ Steve Johnson

You can make rustic furniture from scavenged wood when you learn how to make twig furniture, from sourcing to finishing.

“I capture the power of saplings. . . and want some chairs to dance.” “I’ll tolerate anything in my chairs that’s not a hazard to my body.”

As the tree grows, so the chair goes. That’s the almost magical transformation that accounts, at least in part, for the increasing popularity of rustic furniture-chairs, sofas, even beds made from full saplings or branches, often with the bark left on. For the city dweller, such furniture carries with it a touch of nature. For those in the country, it’s yet another gift from the nearby forest. And for those who like handwork, making these functional sculptures can turn into a challenging and rewarding craft.

I make my living designing and building rustic twig furniture. Occasionally I teach others to do so and have yet to find a student who can’t create a satisfying object. It is a truly democratic craft, both primitive and immediate. As such, it doesn’t really have as much to do with sticks and twigs as it does with the people who put twig furniture together.

The main roots of rustic furniture making in America reach to the so-called Romantic Movement that flourished in the nineteenth century and was marked by the attitude that contact with nature had a soothing, spiritually healing effect. Summering in the mountains was seen as the clear antidote for the debilitating, relentless, confusing stress of urban industrial living. As a result, the “Great Camps” of the Adirondacks and the various resorts and retreats in the Smokies, Appalachians, and Catskills sprang up. Their architecture and furnishings reflected the romantic notion of intimacy with nature. More practically, however, the use of native building materials kept building costs down while also employing local craftspeople. Finally, both builders and users found something immensely pleasing in this crude but beautiful furniture.

How to Make Twig Furniture

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