I just finished up a nice batch of 12 new mushroom shelves (above)! I had first seen tree fungus (Ganoderma species, usually) used as curio shelves several years ago in John Derian's shop in Manhattan. A glimpse at a price tag ($140-$350 each) confirmed that while those shelves were way beyond my means financially, the possibility of making my own was definitely within my means creatively! It looks like he is still stocking them:
And people of means are buying them. Actress (turned decorator!) Julianne Moore purchased a big one to put in a bedroom she decorated for her stylist (photo by Paul Costello via Domino):
I spent a good bit of time figuring out just how to preserve and mount the hanging hardware on them, and eventually got the formula just right! Bugs love these mushrooms, and if they aren't treated correctly, they are invariably claimed by beatles that reduce them to pith and dust in very little time. A carved wood mushroom shelf is also available through several retailers:
But they are still on the expensive side (around $80 each) and I dont think they look quite as good as natural mushrooms. I've photographed each step that goes into making mushroom shelves, and at some point I will put it all together and post it for you!
