There is just something about a good and distressed sign that makes me smile. It’s one of my favorite parts of this whole farmhouse decor trend that is having a moment (and hopefully will last for a very, very long time).

I have been seeing these rustic, distressed signs all over Pinterest and at various other home decor shops and thought, “Hey, I’m going to give that one a try.” For a first time, I’d say it turned out pretty alright. Even Brett gave it a, “Ya, that’s pretty cool,” which is five starts in my book! 🙂

[this post contains affiliate links. this means we may make a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you decide to make a purchase. full disclosure here.]

The Supplies

• White chalk paint (I used DutchBoy Chalk Paint in Antiqued Lace)
• Charcoal chalk paint (I used DecoArt Chalk Paint in Relic)
• Printer Paper
• Printer
• Sandpaper (120 and 80 grit)
• Paint brush
• Plastic gloves
• Old t-shirt or rag
• 1×8 pine wood
• Electric sander (I love our Dewalt)
• Hand sander
• Spray paint polyurethane (I used this one)

The Process

Step one. Cut the 1×8 to your desired length. I used a board that was laying around and it was just over 51 inches.

Step two. Sand the board’s surface until it’s smooth(ish). I used a power sander and 80 grit sand paper. I didn’t want it too smooth because I wanted to leave a little roughness to get a more rustic look. Wipe the board clean.

Step three. Stain the board. I used a combo color of dark walnut and aged gray.

Step four. After the stain dries, paint the board with the white paint. I didn’t cover the whole board completely and didn’t entirely saturate the brush with paint because I wanted some of the stain to show through.

Step five. Design and print out the letters. I used InDesign to create the prints. The font I used is Oswald Regular (free on Google Fonts) and the size ended up being about 550 pixels with a few letters at -90% horizontal scale. You may have to play around with this a bit and print out the letters to decide if you need to go larger or smaller.

Step six. Cut around the letters with a small white boarder around each letter.

Step seven. Decide where the letter will be placed on the board and use a level to trace a pencil line on the bottom so the letters go in a straight line.

Step eight. Place the letters on the board with even spaces between each letter and tape them down. I put about one half inch between each letter.

Step nine. Using a pen, trace the letters on the board and press hard enough to create an indentation of the letter.

Step ten. Using a small brush, trace the outside of each letter with charcoal paint.

Step eleven. Fill in the letters with paint using a slightly larger brush.

Step twelve. Once everything is dried, grab a small hand sander and lightly sand over the entire sign, going with the grain (I used 120 grit paper).

Step thirteen. Wipe clean and apply a clear topcoat. I used a spray paint polyurethane.

Step fourteen. If you’re planning to hang the sign, attach picture having hooks to the back. I placed ours one in from the top, about five inches from each side.

Step fifteen. Hang your beautiful new farmhouse sign and enjoy!

One final note: We completely understand if you’d rather skip the DIY and head right to finished product. Which is why we started an Etsy shop! It’s a little bare right now, but we’ve got this sign as our first listing – we’re making them as they’re ordered. Check it out here and be sure to visit often because we’ll be adding more items soon!

All our best,