How to Transform a Clearance Porch Sign into Something That Is More Your Style

Time: 1 Hour

Cost:$8

Skill: Easy

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I went to Michaels with the intention of buying supplies to create a wooden Fall porch sign. As I was gathering everything I needed I spotted the clearance section. There were a ton of out-of-season “Welcome” porch signs…for 80% off!!

So I found one that was the size I was looking for, and decided that it would be more cost effective to give it a makeover, than it would be to build one!

I snagged it for only $6.00!!!! Add in the $2.00 worth of paint, and this sign only cost me $8.00 and an hour or so of my time.

Don’t worry though, I did buy some stuff so I could make a Halloween porch sign, and I will be sure to walk you all through that process when the time comes.

For now, I’ll show you how I transformed this patriotic “Welcome” porch sign into something much more my style. Now it is perfect for my Fall and Winter porch.

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How to Transform an Out-of-Season Wooden Porch Sign

Materials

• Porch Sign
• Paint
• Paint Brush

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Step One: Paint a Base Coat on your Porch Sign

Well…here is the wooden “Welcome” porch sign that I found at Michaels. Patriotic is not exactly my style 😬

Since this porch sign was multicolored and had a star pattern, I knew that it may need some extra coverage to prevent the bold colors and patterns from shining through. So I went over it ALL with the color paint I chose for the board.

I went with just some basic white and black paint from Michaels. These are FolkArt “Wrought Iron” and “Ivory White”. They are the perfect rustic farmhouse colors. Plus, FolkArt paint usually costs about $1.00.

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If your material is smooth, you could lightly sand it to help the paint stick. I didn’t have any sand paper laying around so I didn’t bother doing this. The paint adhered just fine, despite it being a very smooth wood.

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Step Two: Apply a Second Coat to the Board

After allowing your base coat to dry, which if it is outside will probably be only be a little bit, apply a second coat to just the board. I stepped away for about 30 minutes, and the FolkArt paint was dry enough to do the second coat.

Another option for you to consider is spray painting. As I was painting a second coat I was thinking that spray paint may have taken less time and allowed for quicker/better coverage. So next time I may try this to compare the two! Either way, painting a few coats took minimal time.

Don’t worry about making it perfect or getting paint on the letters, you will go over them a couple times to get good coverage, and any messiness just adds to the rustic farmhouse vibe.

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Step Three: Paint the Letters on your Porch Sign

Going over the Stars and Stripes on the original “Welcome” porch sign with black paint really helped me to achieve good coverage. So when I went over it with the white paint, it had something to adhere to and covered the pattern underneath.

I went down the row of letters, getting a thin coat on each. By the time I got to the bottom, the top was dry and ready for another coat. I did three total coats to get the white looking smooth, but honestly, it probably would have been fine with two.

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Step Four: Make any Touchups to your Wooden Porch Sign

As you can see my white paint went a little rouge on the first few letters. I just took my black paint and went around touching up the spots where I hit the black backing.

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Enjoy your New Wooden Porch Sign

This DIY project can easily be adapted to create any kind of porch sign with endless color and word options! Use this same process to create something that fits your individual style.

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Are you looking for more home or craft inspiration? Check out how I built this adorable Wooden Toy & Book Bin for my nephew, or how I transformed this old window into a Wedding Seating Chart!