DIY Wood Signs Perfect For Every Occasion

Of all the ways to decorate a space, we find that wood signs are among the purest and simplest expressions of beauty. A wood sign is also fairly easy to make/ decorate so that’s a big plus on its side. Add to that the infinite number of ways to customize it and you got yourself the perfect ornament for any room of the house. Of course, as versatile as they may be, wood signs are not suited for every style of interior design. They usually look great in rustic cabins and homes, in beach houses, barns and in spaces that generally have a warm and cozy decor.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall
Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

When creating a wood sign, you first have to pick a theme. It can be anything, even something as general as a “create theme” which is exactly what inspired this particular project. It starts with a pre-made sign which is then customized using paint, letter stencils, paintbrushes, glue and pencils. Surprisingly, the paintbrushes are actually integrated into the design and serve as ornaments, not as tools.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

A cool idea is to combine various design techniques when customizing your wood sign. For instance, you could make a string art welcome sign. You’ll need a wooden board (one from a reclaimed pallet would do just fine), some dye or paint, a few nails, twine or string, letter stencils and artificial flowers (if you intend to make a vase out of string).

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Speaking of string art, we also have a cool idea for a Valentine’s Day love sign which can be customized using this technique. There are actually several other techniques which you can use when customizing your Valentine’s Day sign so check out all of the examples before you make a final decision.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

There are lots of occasions which you can celebrate with a festive wood sign. For Thanksgiving you could make a cute gobble gobble sign. You’d need two boards, some wood stain and some paint, a stencil, paintbrushes and any festive decoration you’d like to attach, like this cute turkey. The decoration is optional so don’t focus too much on this detail.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

A wood sign can also serve as a support or as a frame for other ornaments and decorations. For example, you can attach a piece of wire and some pins to the bottom of a simple sign and then hang some pictures there. It’s an interesting combo. The picture board idea comes from nikkisplate.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

On inspirationalmomma there’s a really cute wood sign project which you can do with the kids. It’s a “love” sign where the O is a hand print and the V is a pair of foot prints. The project is a bit messy but it’s also very fun for everyone involved. Pick a color that contrasts with the sign, like this light shade of blue for example.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Not all wood signs have to say something. Sometimes symbols can be just as suggestive and sometimes that just fits better into the room’s decor. That being said, think of what you’d like to paint on your wooden signs. Perhaps something simple would look like, like these arrows. We like the fact that each of the three arrows is slightly different from the others. {found on canarystreetcrafts}

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Rustic wood signs can be very charming but what do you do if you don’t have an old piece of wood yet you still want to get that worn look? Well, you can make your wood sign look rustic wood stain, paint and sandpaper. It’s actually pretty easy once you understand the process. Check out the instructions on ribbonsandglue for a better understanding of the whole thing.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Don’t have a specific idea for a theme? How about you start with something simple, like a wood welcome sign. You can make it out of an old pallet board. It can be displayed vertically, horizontally or at an angle and paint the letters in any color you like. We really like the way white looks on a natural wood backdrop in this case. {found on housebyhoff}

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Like we mentioned before, you can put wood signs in any room of your home. For the bedroom you could make one of these lovely wood rope signs which are great not just for Valentine’s Day but in general. Here’s a cool idea: the sign can double as a headboard if you make it big enough. Check out funkyjunkinteriors for details.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

There’s also something cool that you can do for the kitchen. You don’t even need to use paint for this project. The idea is to turn a coffee crate lid into a wall decoration. You can attach some hooks to it so you can also hang kitchen utensils or cups from your new wooden sign. {found on funkyjunkinteriors}

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

A wood sign can also look nice in the laundry room. In fact, there’s a way to also make it functional. The idea comes from funkyjunkinteriors and involves metal pipes and fittings. The sign is in this case also a hanging station which you can pair with an ironing table for maximum efficiency.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

The entryway could use a wood sign too. The sign itself can be purely decorative but you can pair it with some storage shelves or boxes or with a clothes rack to also give this project a practical side. Check out the pallet sign featured on domestically-speaking for some inspiration.

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Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

A wood sign doesn’t have to be overly decorated to look beautiful. The simple fact that it’s a sign made of wood is enough to make it special. Of course, you should personalize it and for that you can use paint and stencils as well as felt ornaments like banners for example. In any case, we love the idea of using pallet boards to make a sign. {found on colorsandcraft}

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Still searching for ideas? How about an inspirational message or a quote? That could look nice on a burnt pallet sign. We got this idea from momslifeboat. A cool advice that we found here was the fact that it’s useless to search for a perfect pallet. The damaged ones are actually better because they’re unique and they have a lot of character.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Pallets aren’t the only things you can repurpose, especially if you’re trying to make a wood sign. Look around for anything that could work. For instance, you could use an old soil sifter in combination with some old fence boards to make a magnetic wall sign, organizer. Display it on one of the entryway walls or in your home office. {found on funkyjunkinteriors}

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

One of the easiest ways to customize a wood sign is by using stencils. There’s much to know about stenciling but anyone could use some tips at first so be sure to check out funkyjunkinteriors where you’ll find a quick tutorial with useful tips and ideas. You might even find some inspiring design ideas here as well.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Driftwood signs are perfect for beach houses or lakeside homes. They just fit right in thanks to their simplicity and pure, natural charm. The trick is to not complicate the design. To make a driftwood sign like the ones featured on craftsbyamanda, you only need a flat piece of sun-washed driftwood, some black craft paint, a small paintbrush, small cup hooks and some twine.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Welcome a new season with a quirky wood sign. For a fall sign you could use some leaf-shaped stickers or, even better, actual fallen leaves and branches. Hang the sign with twine or rope and give it a nice glow using wood stain or craft paint. For a worn look, use sandpaper after you’re done painting the sign. {found on momhomeguide}

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Not all signs are as simple as some of the ones we showed you today. In fact, you can give yours any shape you want. A cool idea can be to make a cabin-shaped wood sign for the mantel. It can be a very fun and cute project and you can be really creative when it comes to the design details and the colors and finishes involved. {found on funkyjunkinteriors}

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Welcome a new season with a lovely sign. On cappersfarmer you can find a tutorial with instructions and a detailed list of materials required for making a wooden welcome sign. The design is simple and definitely customizable. Since this is a fall sign, orange suits it well but that can differ based on the theme you choose for your own welcome sign.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

A wooden sign can serve a multitude of purposes. For instance, it can be a decorative element which highlights the purpose of a space. To illustrate this idea, we’ve selected a project featured on homemadebycarmona which shows you how to make a two-piece wooden sign for your lounge space or even for the entryway.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

The welcome sign featured on designdreamsbyanne is pretty special and that’s because it’s decorated with old doorknob plates. It’s a pretty unusual idea and that’s what makes it so special and intriguing in the first place. We also like the scrabble tiles used to write “welcome” a the bottom of the sign. If you’re not a fan of doorknob plates, perhaps you’d prefer to use old keys instead.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

A beach sign would be a perfect DIY decoration idea for a beach house and if you like the combo suggested on diypassion you can pair with a city sign that’s just as lovely. Both are made of wood and decorated with cute cut-outs and letter stencils. Given the theme, using driftwood is a perfect idea and you might even be able to find some on the beach.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Every wood sign starts out as nothing but a plain and simple board. It’s how you transform it that matters and that often translates into choosing the right stencil and the right paint color. If you’d like your sign to make your home feel extra cozy and welcoming, think of a general theme, inspired by the ambiance you’re trying to create. {found on artsychicksrule}

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Another interesting design possibility when it comes to wooden signs is to use several boards instead of just one. You can use this design to structure a quote or a message on several lines. Each board can have a different color, size and shape. The idea comes from jhousetawk. As you can see here, building the sign is very easy and customizing it can be a lot of fun.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

The arrival of winter can be a pretty exciting time, especially if you like show. Welcome the new season with a stylish wood sign decorated with painted snowflakes and twine. Actually, it’s the “let it snow” stencil that makes the sign stand out so get one of those if you enjoy the design featured on livelaughrowe.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

The dimensional letter holiday sign featured on suburbansimplicity is surprisingly easy to make. You need a prefabricated wood sign (or you can build your own from scratch), letters to spell out “joy”, scrapbook paper to decorate the letters with, wood glue and of course the decorations you might want to add like some pinecones, perhaps a small wreath or a few festive ornaments.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

It’s rustic, romantic and easy to make. This rustic wood sign could be a wonderful Valentine’s Day gift but also a cute decoration for your home. To make it, you first need to find an old key, preferably one as ornate and as beautiful as the one featured on lovegrowswild. The painted heart is optional but without it the design and the message just wouldn’t be the same,

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

A wood sign can also be functional in addition to looking nice up on a wall. For example, it can display the check out time at the entrance into a hotel or guest room. If you like the idea, check out polishedhabitat for all the important details and instructions on how to build such a sign.

Rustic Sign to Welcome Fall

Another cool way of making the most out of a wooden sign is to turn into a directional sign. There’s a very inspiring tutorial on this particular subject which you can check out on justaliitlecreativity. You can adapt the design to suit your own needs and your own style.