Hello friends! Have you noticed those gorgeous wooden farmhouse signs are everywhere lately?! Pinterest and Instagram are full of beautiful shots of farmhouse décor with beautiful wooden signs. Some say farmhouse, others say bakery or bless our home. I want a farmhouse wooden sign, but I am picky about how tall and how wide I want it to be. So… I will make my own! Join me today as I show you a simple way to spice up your farmhouse décor with a spectacular sign! Let’s learn how to make a farmhouse wooden sign!
Looking for more farmhouse décor ideas? Scroll past the project details for great tips on styling a modern farmhouse!
Supplies You will Need to Make a Farmhouse Wooden Sign
This project is simple and easy, and most of the supplies you might already have on hand! To complete this project, I used the following:
- Board (any size and type you choose)
- Stencil (I made my own using my Cricut Explore Air)
- Vinyl (if you are making your own stencil)
- Sand paper
- Paint brush
- Paint
- Old towel, to collect drips
- Wood stain
- Old sock or towel to apply the stain
Step One to Make a Farmhouse Wooden Sign
The first step in making a farmhouse wooden sign is to pick your piece of wood. I went to Home Depot and found the perfect piece of Poplar wood! It measures 4.5 feet x 1 foot. It is lightweight- easy to carry and move around. Here is the piece arriving home, and I think it has found its home! It will be the perfect addition to this little corner of our room.
Step Two to Make a Farmhouse Wooden Sign
I have selected my beautiful piece of wood and now I am going to sand it! Personally, I like to sand my project outside because the mess inside my home would make me INSANE! Seriously, friends, I have an issue- just the thought of the sawdust in my home makes me crazy! Sanding outside, always, thank goodness I live in Florida where outdoor projects can happen nearly year round!
I lightly sand the sides and each surface area. By roughing up the board a bit, it gives it a more rustic look. Plus, it allows the paint to adhere to the surface better!
Just look at this pretty board!
Step Three to Make a Farmhouse Wooden Sign
Our board is well on its way to becoming a farmhouse beauty masterpiece! For the next step, I am going to stain the board. I am using Dark Walnut by Minwax.
Friends, I will apologize now for not having pictures of this step. I can share that I used an old sock to apply the stain, and I did it super quick- like in five minutes. I made sure to apply the stain to the sides. And then something tragic happened! As I was finishing my last swipe of stain, I attempted to step left. My foot moved and my flip flop did not, and in a rush to catch myself from falling, I spilled the can on Minwax on our patio!! Omg, it was a good size spill, so I absorbed what I could with a towel and then grabbed the nearby hose. The spot was still there! Scrubbed it with a sponge- still there. Sprayed some Kaboom with Oxiclean on it, scrubbed it with the sponge, and it faded to almost nothing. Crisis averted! Life can resume!
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Step Four to Make a Farmhouse Wooden Sign
For the next step, I need to apply the stencil for my letters. I would like my sign to say Home Sweet Home, with the letters in Home going vertical and Sweet, horizontal. I used my Cricut Explore Air to make the letter for me. If you do not have a Cricut Explore Air, you can purchase stencil letters or draw your own onto the board.
Time to get out my awesome Cricut Explore Air! I love, love, love this machine. And I think it is important to share that I purchased this machine myself, last summer, through Home Shopping Network. It is true that I am now an affiliate for Cricut, but that is only after I fell in love with product as a consumer!
I bought my first Cricut in 2010 to make things to decorate my classroom. I bought it used, off eBay, and used the heck out of it and it still works! Love these machines.
I used the font ITC Tarafon. I had to play around with the sizing of the letters a bit to get it just the way I want it! One thing I love about making my own signs is that I can make the letters any size and any style I want! Here is a picture of the board with the vinyl letters on it:
Step Five to Make a Farmhouse Wooden Sign
This step is my favorite! I get to paint the letters! For this sign, I want to give the edges a wispy look, so you can still see the Dark Walnut stain underneath. I used an old can of Glidden Pure White paint to do the job!
Before applying the paint, I do one more firm press down on the stencil, ensuring the edges of each letter are snug on the board. This will prevent the paint from bleeding into the areas of each letter! I like crisp lines on my letters.
I take time to fully cover each letter with two coats of paint. Again, pay close attention to the edges of each letter. To ensure crisp lines, I make sure I have solid white paint butting up to each letter!
Here you can see the first Home completely covered! Notice how I do not take the white paint all the way to the edge of the board. These are the wispy edges I mentioned earlier! … Oh, and that Starbucks coffee cup- did I have that on the supply list?! It is a must have! 🙂
Step Six to Make a Farmhouse Wooden Sign
For the sixth and final step, I get to peel off the vinyl lettering and enjoy my new sign! When peeling off the lettering, I am careful to not get any wet paint in the areas within the letters that do not have paint.
Introducing the finished product!
A close-up shot of the sign!
The dark wood stain on this sign ties together the rest of the décor nicely!
Review of the Six Steps to Make a Farmhouse Wooden Sign
This super easy project boils down to six simple steps. Let’s review, shall we?
- Select your board
- Sand your board
- Stain your beautiful board
- Lay your letters on the board (this step may include cutting the letters if you are making your own)
- Paint over the letters
- Peel back the letters and enjoy your new sign!
What is Farmhouse Style?
Once upon a time, living in a farmhouse meant you lived on acreage and you worked from sun up until sun down caring for and raising animals. The interior of the homes were styled using farm elements, like rustic pals and weathered wood. Farmhouses had large sinks, an original necessity for bathing small children and farmers often has lots of them! Farmhouse style today is still representative of the rustic and wood accents, married with painted pieces of white and muted greens and blues! “Chippy”, worn elements reflect the original farmhouse feel.
How Can You Incorporate Farmhouse Style in Your Home?
If rustic metal and wood everywhere is too farmhouse-y for you, you can simply add some solid black, white, or silver pieces of décor to balance the look. That is something that personally I love about farmhouse style- you can add a little or a lot and it will be your own slice of fabulous!
Farmhouse style can range from full blown, all white and chippy, to soft, subtle touches sprinkled through other décor styles. It all works! Upcycling, recycling, and renovating are all big farmhouse style statements. Another super great feature of farmhouse style is incorporating practical elements, like pitchers, cutting boards, baskets, and chalkboards. Adding soft touches of silver can give your farmhouse look a bit of glam- something that looks timeless and classic!
For details on my farmhouse foyer makeover, click here!
Painting stripes on the dresser pictured above was super fun. Click here to see how to do this easy project!
Farmhouse Style Basics
Farmhouse style is all about mixing white with distressed woods, wrought iron, and galvanized metal. You can add in a lot of these pieces or simple, small touches- you decide what you like best! The color palettes of most farmhouse style centers on white, gray, soft creams, blues, and greens. And just to keep things a tad more glam and classic in my home, I mix in pieces of silver and black!
Can we also talk about big, white, bulky pillows?! These are wonderful additions to farmhouse touches! Pillows add to the inviting, warm feeling of a room. Changing the color or design of your pillows allows you to easily change the look of an entire room from season to season!
Open shelving, styled with necessities, heirloom pieces, and pictures are also popular farmhouse style elements. And for those that love to upcycle and recycle furniture- like me- you can easily incorporate your finished products in your farmhouse décor!
Stenciling furniture is FUN! To see how I stenciled a dresser, click here.
What do you love about farmhouse décor?
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