DIY Wood Signs Part 1

We purchased our first house this summer and my plan was to take one room at a time and just enjoy the decorating process. The guest room was the last on my list. I hated going in there. Everything was creamy colored. It just didn't have any life to it. I also didn't want to spend any money on it, for now, so I had to look around my house and see what I had or could make to give the room some color. The bed doesn't have a frame or headboard so I thought that would be a good place to start to give the room a focal point. I saw really cool ideas on Pinterest for shutter headboards, or an old door, but those would cost money and time looking at antique stores, which I love to do by the way, but did I mention I have 19 month old twins? I think that explains enough. :) I remembered there were wood boards in our garage when we moved in, so I got to thinking how I could use those. I LOVE old signs so I decided to make my own to go over the bed as somewhat of headboard. It was super easy and a really quick project that took less then an hour! Oh an cheap. I'm all about doing projects as cheaply as possible!

So here is a step by step on how to make your own antique inspired sign


1. Find an old board somewhere or even purchase one if you have to. (These were in our garage)

 2. Wash the board if it was really dirty like mine was. Then sand it down a bit to give it a distressed look. My board was already painted as you can see.

 3. Decide what you want your sign to say. I decided on "welcome". I thought that was fitting for a guest room. Pencil it in on the board so you can make changes before you start painting. Then just paint over the pencil! I already had this paint from a different project, but Lowes has these little sample cans that already come in colors that are in style right now that are like $2 ish. FYI

 

 4. Let it dry and then hang it on the wall! I have to get my husband to do this part for me.
(our TV has since been moved to the family room. As you can see it was quite an eye sore with all those cords)

 5. The finished product! I added an old quilt I had sitting in a closet to the white duvet and the throw pillows I already had to give the bed some color. I would love to add some curtains when I'm ready to spend a little money on the room. But for now, I accomplished what I set out to do...give the guest room some life on a zero dollar budget!

Let me know if you make a sign yourself! I would love to see how it turned out!!!