16 Easy Reclaimed Wood Projects

Looking for ways to reuse old scraps of wood that are laying around? There are so many ways you can bring a piece of wood back to life with a new purpose. Over the years, I’ve tried out different ways to use reclaimed wood to decorate my home or for the holidays, and it always feels so great to make something without needing to buy new!

Creative Reclaimed Wood Project Ideas

In this post, you’ll find 16 of my favorite reclaimed wood projects. Some of the tutorials are linked while others no longer have a full post dedicated to them. Of course, if you have any questions about how a project was completed, please feel free to reach out!

Antique Insulator Centerpiece

This centerpiece made from antique glass insulators and a piece of weathered dock wood. It can be used to hold small flowers or candles in a unique way. I used a hole saw to drill a large hole through the wood that each glass insulator sits in.

Beadboard Address Sign

Using leftover beadboard from my bathroom ceiling project, I made this address sign. I used a thin piece of wood that spanned across the back and then glued each board to it and attached it with pin nails.

Hand Painted Sign

I love reusing scrap pieces of wood leftover from other projects to make signs and other small home decor items. I used this piece of oak to make a hand painted sign using my favorite trick for painting perfect letters.

Outdoor Swimsuit and Towel Rack

This piece of reclaimed wood was quite special. It is a piece from the back of a bench my dad built by the lake at our little cottage in Wisconsin. Because the lakeshore is owned by the association and not individual property owners, it eventually had to be taken down. My dad saved the back of the bench that he had carved this heart into and I reused it as a swimsuit and towel drying rack that hangs outside by the back door.

I lightly whitewashed the wood and then used a clear exterior topcoat so it would stand up to the elements outside. Simple hat hooks spray painted blue are just screwed into the wood.

Birch Log Candle Holder

I love the look of birch which is why I chose to use this piece of wood for this easy tealight candleholder. I spilt the log in half and then used a 1.5″ spade bit to drill holes just deep enough for a candle to sit in. For awhile, I had a hard time finding where to buy birch logs to use for home decor projects, but then I realized most local nurseries will have paper birch logs in stock year round.

Wood Centerpiece with Vintage Apothecary Bottles

There were hundreds of these glass jars from an old barber shop at an estate sale I went to. I only ended up buying three and was unsure at the time what I was going to do with them, but then I reused some vintage scrap wood to make this wood and glass centerpiece.

Vintage Faucet Handle Towel Rack

I love this old piece of barnwood I found (who knows where!) so much that I didn’t even changed the original color of it. It’s slightly red and worn to perfection! For this project, I attached vintage faucet knobs to this piece of wood using bolts and pieces of copper pipe. You can see the full tutorial on how to attach faucet handles to wood to make a coat rack here.

DIY Wood Sign with Lettering

Use up leftover plywood or wide wood planks to make this DIY wood sign. Cut the plywood down to size and prime and paint it. Then add lettering using a stencil or this easy method for transferring letters to paint.

To attach the frame, use 1×2 boards or furring strips cut down to fit the plywood. You can do straight cuts as shown in the image or mitered cuts at a 45 degree angle as well. Use a pin nailer and wood glue to attach the frame pieces to one another and to the piece of plywood.

Decorative Knob Coat Rack

Love all the different knobs at Hobby Lobby but unsure what to do with them? This is the perfect project! I reused the decorative top section of a small dresser as a coat rack for my daughter’s room. This post will give you how to attach those pretty decorative knobs to a piece of wood.

Wooden Cross with Vase

I made this project over seven years ago and it still has a place in my home. It’s easy to switch out faux flowers for different seasons, or even use real flowers with a little bit of water. Here’s the full tutorial on how to make a wooden cross.

Wood Slice Chalkboard Banner

An old log or leftover birch wood from Christmas decor can be reused to make a customizable chalkboard banner.

Fall Wood Sign with Arrows

I reused some old bed slats to make this wood sign for fall. I have the printable file and directions for applying letters to paint in the full tutorial here: DIY Fall Sign for Front Porch

DIY Wood Pumpkins

This DIY wood pumpkins couldn’t be any more simple! I cut boards of similar widths into lengths that made a stairstep progression to form a pumpkin shape. Then, I used wood glue to attach it all together. The stems were made with dowel rods cut at a slight angle (so they don’t stand straight up) and wrapped with twine. But I actually now prefer to use real pumpkin stems that I take off my mini pumpkins the previous year and dry out to use on craft projects like this one!

Reclaimed Wood Sign for Fall

Using old shiplap is an easy way to make reclaimed wood signs because the tongue and groove help it to attach together. Then, just add two wood boards to the back and glue and nail them in place to hold everything together. This sign was made using a stencil I made, but you could easily use the hand lettering technique for signs as well.

Scrap Wood Christmas Trees

Can you tell I really wanted to use up that leftover beadboard from my bathroom ceiling project? These scrap wood Christmas trees are SO easy to make and give a unique, rustic look to Christmas decorations. I painted mine in alternating white and green colors in milk paint, but you could obviously leave them as is with the beauty of the raw wood.

Christmas Houses from Scrap Wood

Leftover 2x4s were used to make this DIY wood Christmas “village”. I drilled holes through the wood and popped small lights through each hole. I wish I had more artistic ability, because I probably could have made some pretty neat designs on the houses if I did!

Christmas Song Lyric Birch Pillars

Saving my best worst projects for last. I honestly look at these pictures and laugh. I have no idea what I was thinking when I did this project. (Actually, I was part of a challenge group that had to use a wood burning tool. Needless to say, I don’t think I ever used it again because clearly I don’t know what I’m doing.)

I used them as firewood the next year when I opened up the Christmas bin. You can’t win them all. This was definitely one of my loser projects.

I hope these reclaimed wood projects inspired you in some way to reuse some old wood to repurpose as home decorations!