Transform An Old Tree Limb Into A Whimsical Way To Store Coffee Mugs

Coffee and tea mugs can be some of the most cherished objects in any home, whether they are exquisite handmade pottery pieces or funny novelty mugs used for decades. Homeowners want a place to conveniently store their favorite mugs, but they also love making them part of their home décor by displaying them stylishly in the kitchen. While mug trees, shelves, and storage racks can be found at retailers aplenty, DIY projects can be a budget-friendly way to turn ordinary objects into stunning and functional pieces to house your mug collection. An Instagram DIYer cleverly shows how she transformed a large tree limb and some wood segments into an impressive shelving unit and hanging rack for coffee and tea supplies.

This is a great project to use tree branches as home décor, allowing you to bring a bit of the outdoors in. It's an especially good alternative to similar wooden branch racks made by manufacturers and wood artisans that can be much costlier to purchase. This shelf and similar coffee racks made from foraged wood segments, and can be a great addition to a rustic, woodland, or biophilic-designed home. It's a fun way to bring the texture and sculptural quality of wood into any space. Putting your coffee and tea mugs on display in budget-friendly ways can also free up valuable cabinet space. 

For this project, you need a branch or limb that fits the size of your intended rack. The DIYer above creates a taller floor unit, but the project could easily be adjusted and customized for your space. Any wood you bring inside for projects like these should be dried thoroughly and cleaned. One of the best ways to dry out a branch you want to use inside is to allow it to dry somewhere warm and arid, like a basement, garage, or out in the sun over several months before working with it. You may also want to place your branch segments somewhere very cold as the DIYer suggests in the comments, as a freezing trick to get rid of wood boring insects. You can either scrape off the bark with a scraper or retain it. If you remove it, you will need to stain, paint, and seal the wood with polyurethane afterwards to keep it looking good.

The project above creates shelves made from thinner cuts of wood that ascend the wall, attaching them with brackets underneath and cutting apart the tree limb to use as faux risers between them. This gives the effect of the branches growing up through the shelves. You can use screws to attach the branch from underneath to the shelf or drill into each piece and attach everything with wooden pegs. You may also want to add some wood glue to help with stability as you fasten them together. Hang your mugs from the branches and place things like jars, bowls, and teapots on the shelves underneath.

If you want a smaller version of this idea, you can create it on a countertop and add shelves above. Or use a branch attached to a simple wooden base that gives you a spot for hanging mugs on a table or counter. For hanging storage, mount a tree branch segment directly on the wall or around a post or column to save counter space. 

For a fun variation with a similar look, use thicker branches mounted to a base with cup hooks screwed into the sides. If you have a branch but worry that the offshoots will not hold the weight of heavier mugs, you could also drive cup hooks along the length of the thicker portions and use those to hold the mugs securely. In addition to kitchen storage, this format can also work as a place to hang keys and other items in an entryway or as a fun, nature-inspired jewelry rack.