Try This: Branching Out: Natural Wood Door and Window Hangings

Enlarge Image Image Gallery This curtain celebrates wood grain, one of nature’s loveliest graphic designs. Susan Wasinger

Blur the boundaries between inside and out with natural wood window and door hangings. Use this project as an excuse to prune your favorite tree, then turn those branches into striking home décor. 

1. Select 6 or 7 branches, each about 3 feet long and a few inches thick. They’re easier to slice when slightly green.

2. Protect your hands with work gloves and use pruning shears, a lopping tool or a saw to slice the branches into ½-inch to ¾-inch-thick pieces, or “beads.” Your final count will vary depending on the height and width of the doorway or window you wish to adorn, but a standard doorway requires 20 to 30 beads.

3. Either in a vise, a pair of adjustable “lockjaw” pliers or very carefully with gloved hands, hold each piece on edge and drill a hole straight through with an 1/8-inch bit.

4. Cut a piece of 60-pound test fishing line to the height of your door or window frame, leaving about 10 inches to spare. Tie a double- or triple-knot at one end, and begin threading wood beads onto the line. We alternated strings with a pattern of 4 beads together and strings with a pattern of 2–1–2, but you can use any pattern that pleases you.

5. Tie a double-knot below each cluster to secure them in place. String beads to your desired length, then knot a loop in the end  of the fishing line to fit over the  curtain rod you will use to hang  your creation.