Larger pieces of reclaimed wood with wow factor, was something I had been thinking about for some time but was not entirely sure how this would work. I wanted something that had presence in a room and could really make a statement, but at the same time I wanted my work be versatile enough to suit individual spaces.
I began this experiment with my own house. I live in an old cottage with small rooms and low ceilings so if I could make a statement piece for my home then I could make one for anyone else’s home.
I was in the middle of re-decorating my bedroom when I decided to use this as a starting point. I had purchased an old chest of drawers and some bedside units which I had chalk painted and distressed in antique white. The whole room was decorated in off white with a natural wooden bed and wardrobe. The room is very small so there is no room to add any more furniture. Three of the walls were taken up with windows, a wardrobe, door and a chest of drawers and I still needed a full length mirror. The room needed an injection of colour and I wanted to make something that would fit well, be a real feature yet still give the feeling of space.
It quickly became apparent that the only space I really had to work with was an area above the bed, but I still wanted to achieve the wow factor and keep a light airy feel to the room. What I definitely did not want was to cram something in for the sake of it.
This got me thinking that not everything has to be large in both directions, I needed something that was long and slim but with enough height to paint on. My initial concern was would it be too boring. Could I create enough interest in this long slim space?
I went on a search for long lengths of wood which had interest and differences in them. To my absolute joy I found ‘wayney wood,’ long slithers of wood cut length ways from a whole tree. This gave me a whole piece to work with as one complete unit, and also meant that I neither had to think about joining pieces of wood together, nor have the problems of the individual pieces moving and warping. These pieces had a beautiful uneven edge to them that twisted and turned the whole length of the wood. Some had knots sticking out and the edges moved in and out to draw your eye from one end to the other, it was perfect. This also meant that each piece was different and had its own unique character and look.
Excitedly I chose a piece the right size for my bedroom and set about sanding. I removed the bark as it will eventually fall off anyway unless I varnish it which I didn’t want to do. I chose a light grey for the back ground and started to paint using a variety of different cow parsley flowers for decoration. I wanted lots of interest and detail so I put a lot of flowers on it and decided to incorporate four different designs and vary the sizes, as this way your eye follows the images right the way along the wood. Where ever you look you can focus in on small areas of detail as it changes along the piece. I finished it off with a soft wax to protect the painting and bring out the richness of the wood.
I then used the grey background as my accent colour throughout the rest of the bedroom matching it with a throw and some lanterns.
I am really pleased with the results. I now have a large piece of art work that sits spaciously in a small room where nothing else would fit. The flowers have lifted the whole room giving a light and delicate feel.
Please see the range of colours and sizes to suit your needs in my shop.
I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.