Rustic Christmas Decor: Bring the Outdoors In Safely

The short answer: rustic Christmas decor is mostly real stuff from outdoors, and each material needs one check before it comes in. Pinecones and found branches go in a low oven, about 150 to 170°F for 45 to 60 minutes, or a freezer for a week, to kill insects. Firewood stays outside except for a couple of days' supply. Greens from public land need a permit, usually a few dollars. Old painted barnwood may carry lead paint, so it isn't sanded or cut indoors. And anything dry stays 12 inches from a candle and away from the fireplace.

The appeal of rustic decor is that it's made of real things: cones picked up on a walk, a log basket by the hearth, a mantel of old boards, garland cut from the woods. That's also where the problems come from. Real materials bring in insects, can carry old paint, and burn well when dry. None of it needs to put you off. It needs about ten minutes of preparation per material, and that's what this guide covers.

Every Rustic Material, and the One Check It Needs

Pinecones and Found Wood: Heat or Cold

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Cones and twigs from outside usually carry passengers: spiders, small beetles, sometimes larvae deep in the wood. Brought into a warm house, they wake up. University of Kentucky entomologists publish a method for killing insects in small wooden objects such as carvings and baskets. It suits cones and short branches too.

Heat, for cones and small twigs:

1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Pine sap drips as it warms.
2. Set the oven to its lowest setting. Kentucky says in most ovens that's "about 150 - 170 degrees F." An oven thermometer confirms it, and you may need to prop the door open a little to keep it from getting hotter.
3. Heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Thicker pieces need longer.
4. Turn the oven off and leave them inside for another hour, or until cool enough to handle.
5. Watch them the whole time. Cones are full of resin and must not overheat. Kentucky says microwaving isn't recommended because there's no way to know how long reaches a lethal temperature.

Cold, for anything that won't go in the oven: seal the item in a plastic bag and freeze it at minus 4°F (minus 20°C) for seven days. Many home freezers reach that. Afterward, leave the item sealed until it is back at room temperature, which Kentucky says can take up to 24 hours for larger pieces. That way condensation forms on the outside of the bag rather than on the item.

Kentucky warns that heat isn't recommended for "fabrics, glued items, or oil paintings." Treat the cones before you glue, paint or add glitter, not after. A bonus of the oven: cones usually open fully as they dry, which is the shape most people want.

Firewood: A Couple of Days at a Time

A basket of split logs by the hearth is the most rustic thing in the room. It's also the most likely to hatch something in January. Purdue University's entomology extension, in its guide to insects in firewood, is plain about it:

• "Bring firewood indoors only as needed, at most a couple of days supply at a time." Storing firewood in the house for long periods speeds up insect development in the wood, "which allows them to emerge inside the home."
• Don't stack firewood against the house or garage. Purdue says to keep at least 3 feet between the pile and the building, off the ground if possible.
• Don't spray firewood with insecticide to make it safe indoors. The fumes when it burns can be harmful.

For a log basket that stays full all season as decoration, use logs that have been properly treated, or buy clean decorative birch rounds rather than raw logs from the woodpile.

Where the wood comes from matters too

Firewood moves invasive insects and diseases from one area to another. The nonprofit Don't Move Firewood's FAQ gives the rule of thumb: "50 miles is too far, and 10 miles or less is best." It also explains the labels. Packaged firewood "with a USDA APHIS heat treatment seal, or a state based ... heat treatment seal is considered safe to move." By contrast, wood "labeled 'kiln-dried' is quite different, and should not be considered safe to move." Those decorative log bundles sold in home stores often come from far away, so look for the heat-treatment seal.

Cutting Greens and Trees: Get the Permit

Cutting your own tree or garland is the most rustic Christmas there is, and on public land it's cheap and simple if you do it properly. Many national forests sell Christmas tree permits. As an example, the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont sells them through Recreation.gov:

Every forest sets its own rules, areas and species, so check the permit page for the forest nearest you. Clearing snow from around the stump before you measure is part of the Green Mountain rules. On private land, ask the owner. For greenery from your own garden, cut from the back and underside of shrubs, where it won't show.

When you get home, give the greens a long drink before they come inside. Our centerpiece guide has the conditioning steps and the order in which common evergreens dry out.

Barnwood and Old Painted Pieces

Reclaimed boards, old ladders, painted crates, a weathered door: these make a rustic room. Bare, silver-gray weathered wood is usually just wood. Painted old wood is different, because of lead.

The EPA's page on sources of lead sets out the facts:

• "In 1978, the federal government banned the sale of lead-based paint for use in homes." Paint on anything older may contain lead.
• About three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint. Barns and outbuildings are no different.
• "If the lead-based paint is in good shape, it is usually not a problem." The hazard is chips and dust, especially from surfaces that rub.

For decorating, that becomes three rules:

1. Don't sand, scrape, cut or drill old painted wood indoors. That's how chips and dust get made. If a board needs cutting to fit the mantel, do it outside and wipe up any dust with a damp cloth rather than sweeping it.
2. Keep chipping painted pieces away from small children, who are the most at risk. A flaking crate isn't a toy box.
3. Test if in doubt, the right way. The EPA recommends a certified inspector or risk assessor to test paint. The EPA-recognized test kits are recognized "only for use by Lead-Safe Certified renovators." The alternative is to send a paint chip to a lab accredited under the EPA's National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program.

When buying salvaged wood from a dealer, ask whether painted stock has been tested or stripped. Good dealers will know.

Galvanized metal

Galvanized buckets and tubs are a rustic staple, and they're fine for greenery, cones, and bottles on ice. What they shouldn't hold directly is acidic food such as cider punch, citrus or tomato dishes, because the zinc coating can react with acids. Put a glass or ceramic bowl inside if you want to serve from one.

Fire: Dry Materials Burn

Rustic decor is, almost by definition, made of flammable things. The National Park Service's holiday fire safety article, citing NFPA figures, puts holiday decorations other than trees at about 790 home fires a year in the U.S., causing 1 death, 26 injuries and $13 million in direct property damage. Its advice:

• Keep burning candles at least 12 inches from burnable materials and never leave them unattended.
• Place the tree away from fireplaces or heat vents.
• Don't burn the tree in a fireplace or wood stove when it comes down.

For rustic decor specifically:

• Burlap, jute, raffia and dried grasses are loose fibers that catch almost instantly. Use them on the tree, the table and the door, never draped below a mantel over a working fire.
• Dry greenery near a flame is a no. University of Illinois Extension warns that greens "can dry out quickly indoors without a water source, so never put them near an open flame like a candle."
• Lanterns with LED candles give the rustic look without an open flame among the cones and twigs. Keep real flames for places where people are sitting and watching.
• A cone-and-twig garland over a lit fireplace belongs on top of the shelf, not hanging below the edge. Our Christmas mantel guide covers mantels over a working fire in detail.

Putting It Together

Rustic works best when the materials look like they came from one place. A few principles:

• Pick one wood tone and stick to it. Gray weathered wood and warm honey pine side by side look accidental.
• One pattern. Buffalo check or tartan, not both, and repeated in two or three places: a throw, a stocking, a ribbon on the tree.
• Natural colors first, then one accent. Green, brown, cream and the gray of galvanized metal, with red as the single accent color.
• Scale up, not out. Three big things (a full garland, a log basket, a big wreath) beat thirty small wooden signs.
• Leave some bare wood. A mantel covered end to end loses the grain that made it rustic.

For the tree, wooden bead garland, dried orange slices and treated cones go well with plaid ribbon. Our Christmas tree guide has the numbers for lights and ornaments by tree height. If your rustic leans toward old things, our guide to vintage Christmas decorations explains how to date and check what you find at flea markets. For the front door, see our guide to DIY holiday wreaths.

Rustic Christmas by Style

• Cottage: painted furniture (tested or in good condition), gingham, jugs of garden holly, a paper-chain garland and cones in a trug.
• Timeless: unpainted oak or walnut, fresh fir garland, cream wool, brass candlesticks and one plaid throw.
• Coastal: bleached driftwood (heat-treated first), rope, pale linen, white lights and a galvanized tub of white birch rounds.
• Mediterranean: olive wood, terracotta, bundles of dried herbs, pomegranates and a rough plaster wall with one simple wreath.
• Vintage-modern: a slab of reclaimed wood as a mantel, mid-century ceramics, a sculptural branch and warm, low lamplight.

To see which one you lean toward, the decorating style quiz names a main style and a runner-up.

The Short Version

• Cones and twigs: lowest oven setting, about 150–170°F, for 45–60 minutes on foil, or a sealed bag in the freezer at −4°F for 7 days. Do it before gluing.
• Firewood: a couple of days' supply indoors at a time. The pile stays outside, 3 feet from the house. No insecticide on firewood.
• Buy firewood locally: 10 miles or less is best, 50 is too far. Look for a heat-treatment seal. "Kiln-dried" alone isn't the same.
• Public-land greens need a permit. On the Green Mountain NF, that's $5 a tree plus a $2.50 fee.
• Old painted wood: assume possible lead paint before 1978. No sanding or cutting indoors. Test through a certified inspector or accredited lab.
• Galvanized is for decoration, not acidic food.
• Candles 12 inches from anything that burns. Tree away from the fireplace and vents. Nothing dry below a working mantel.