Red, Rustic & Reclaimed Holiday Decorating Ideas

Using reclaimed wood is a great way to add character to your home! Here are a few ways I use reclaimed wood in my holiday decorating!

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Reclaimed wood has been used for centuries, and today there are many different types of reclaimed wood available. Some people prefer using reclaimed wood because it adds an authentic look to their homes, while others choose it because it’s environmentally friendly.  I like to use it because of its rustic charm!

Look What We Found in the Barn!

Reclaimed Barn Wood

This crib was located on my family’s Illinois farm.  For many years, it had a twin that stood across from it.  When my Mom and Dad moved into the modular home we had built for them, she decided to have it torn down.  I think it was so that she could see what was happening in the farm house!  She had the person tearing down the crib store the pieces in our barn.  If you are interested in the background story of how we came to live in the farmhouse I grew up in, you can read about it here:

Decorating With Reclaimed Wood

Let’s Get to the Decorating!

I would like to share how I decorated this butler’s pantry for Christmas using a combination of things I had including  a piece of reclaimed barn wood.

This piece of furniture has an interesting background.  If you are interested in learning about it, you can read about it here:

The butler’s pantry wasn’t one of the pieces that we had originally planned to bring to Florida.  I had assumed that whoever purchased the farmhouse would want to keep it.  You know what happens when you assume!  The farmhouse didn’t sell as quickly as I had hoped.  When I was back in Illinois during the summer  of 2020 to do some more sorting and packing, I decided that the cabinet would be perfect in Florida.  Imagine the amount of stuff I could store in it!  It is over 7 feet tall and 4 1/2 feet wide.

Getting it to Florida was a bit of a challenge.  If you are interested in reading about it, the details can be found here:

Christmas Display in the Butler’s Pantry “Nook”

Close Ups

Do These Look Familiar?

In order to decorate this area, I gathered together elements that either shared a similar color palette (in this case shades of red) or were rustic in nature.  The redware Merry Christmas plate along with the two cream colored bowls with the pine sprig design were chosen because they met both requirements.  Actually, almost everything in the display met both requirements!

Nestled into the wooden bowl is an electric candle.  I have no idea why I didn’t have my Dad drill one or more holes in the cabinet so that I could hide the cords.  Maybe I will add that to the list of things to do in January.  It won’t be my Dad drilling, of course since he is no longer with us.

Back to the decorating before I start crying.   The two spindles with the jingle bells hanging on them were part of a decorating challenge I participated in.  Originally, I used all three spindles on the piece of barn wood.  When I staged the “nook” in the butler’s pantry, I decided to just use two of the three pieces.  I used the taller spindle with the snowman in a different spot in the house.  It was actually too tall to work in the nook!

Red, Rustic & Reclaimed Holiday Centerpiece

Decorating the Side Board for the Holidays

Coastal Farmhouse Holiday Vignette

For the past couple of years, I have had the sign made out of a turquoise piece of wood with starfish made out of barn tin hanging about the marble top console.

This year, I decided to change it up a bit and hang the red barnwood sign with the barn tin sand dollars above the console and build a display with sand dollars and snowmen.

I have several different snowmen in my collection but Pudge is one of my favorites!

Sometimes you can find him wrapped up in tiny little pizza lights!

Or hanging out with a few of his snowmen friends!

He has even been known to jump into a display of primitive boxes!

With his jaunty red scarf and matching hat, he adds a pop of color to the display!

In addition to Pudge and the barnwood sign,  I added a few sand dollars.  The design on the back of the sand dollar looks like a poinsettia flower.  To learn more about the symbolism of the sand dollar, please see this post:The Legend of the Sand Dollar

How to Wax the Barn Wood

Before

I brought a few pieces of barn wood to Florida.  This particular piece was perfect to use as the base for my project.  It is about 30 inches long.  At first I thought it might be too long, but once I started staging it, it was the perfect size!

I decided to use Annie Sloan Dark Wax.  I had already cleaned the board with a cleaner safe to use on old wood.  I was a bit aghast as to how dirty the board was.  I really should have cleaned it before I brought it to Florida!

Close up before

Technique

Apply a small amount of wax to a clean soft cloth.  Rub onto the wood.  Let dry and then buff a bit more. The wax will help protect the barn wood.

Close Up After

A Final Look at The Butler’s Pantry Nook!

And The Spindles

And Of Course, Pudge!

Pudge decided he wanted to go to a different spot in the house, so I added this sugar mold to this display!

Festive Holiday Sugar Mold Decorating Ideas

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