Decorating Guides

The way to construct a Decorative Outdoor Handrail With Tree Branches

Don’t disrupt nature with a cut lumber or steel handrail flanking the steps in your garden or to your cabin in the forest; instead, search for the perfect sturdy branch to finish a pastoral stair. Wood in its unfinished form retains all its quirks, charm and character; it’ll age gracefully with the surroundings, so the handrail blends into the environment. Recycle tree branches or large shrub trimmings into usable found artwork for your landscaping.

Shabby Chic-Style Bark

Don’t relegate the culled birch trees to the fireplace. Save the straightest, sturdiest division or slender back for that awkward stone stair that leads down into the lawn. Cut the white birch long enough to stretch up to a foot beyond the top and bottom of two or three steps made of pavers or big flat stones which separate the garden in the top terrace. The longer, slanted handrail offers something to grasp to guarantee secure footing when using the stairs. Secure the division with bolts to iron stakes driven deep into the ground or anchored below the surface in concrete bases. White birch is mild and decorative, the perfect complement to a magical garden with a wishing pond, birdbath, roses trellises along with a little summer folly.

Staircase to Heaven

Naturally, you want the handrail for your treehouse stairs to harmonize with the tree — so use a big trimmed branch, right or curving — to make the ascent and descent safer. Take your layout direction from the shape of the division. No creative Ray perch is bound by earthly design concerns. If the division zigs and zags, let the treads follow. If you are fortunate enough to have a sinuous division, spiral which access stairs around the lower back of this tree. Peel the bark in the division for a smooth handrail or put it on for greater grip. Utilize more divisions for the railing to enclose any balconies attached to a more ambitious treehouse.

Twisted Shrub Rail

Woody mountain laurel and rhododendron shrubs develop divisions as thick as the ones of trees and may be educated and worked into braids or twists which make fairy-tale rustic handrails for outside steps. The branches are extremely dense and will bear a great deal of weight, and both shrubs weather to a silvery gray color like cedar and cedar do when left untreated outside. Tightly braided or twisted divisions form a good handrail, and personal twisting branches could possibly be worked into a pattern of vertical spindles to enclose the stairs and add decorative detail. Check local building codes for the space connection between twisted divisions to make sure your handrail is secure enough for small children to work with.

Durable Grass Handrail

Bamboo is a grass, but a sizable dried culm produces a smooth, decorative and rock-hard outdoor handrail. Create steps up to a garden meditation hut or a open stage having a stream or pond in the backyard, with slate or hardwood treads along with a sturdy bamboo-on-bamboo handrail. The supportive bamboo spindles have to be larger than the railing — drill holes in every single spindle so the sole rail slips into the holes and is cradled snugly there. A screw or bolt in the top and bottom of the rail, on the underside so that it can’t be viewed, keeps the handrail from sliding. If your railing is exposed to extreme weather, then a clear coat of polyurethane will help to preserve the bamboo longer.

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