DIY Driftwood Wall Art “Lake House” Sign
Turn collected driftwood pieces into a one of a kind DIY driftwood wall art signs following these simple steps.
Here on the West Coast, driftwood is readily available on the beaches. By definition, driftwood is simply “wood floating on or washed ashore by the sea or other body of water“, according to dictionary.com. There is an abundance of it around here, so obviously, it is nice to incorporate it into our homes as decor.
One of the ways to create driftwood wall art is to turn a piece of it into a sign with a custom saying. It might be a way to take home a “piece” of your holiday memories if you don’t live by the ocean, or if driftwood is readily available where you live, too, it can be a budget way of creating custom wall art!
How to Make Driftwood Wall Art Signs
- Choose driftwood pieces that are smooth and flat on both sides and relatively lightweight.
This time, I laid all the driftwood pieces out on the table first to decide what I would do with each of them. I tried to envision what each driftwood sign one would say and what colors to paint them in. I then measured each one and marked the details on a post-it note. I found this process was much more efficient than the “one at a time” method.
2. Clean and disinfect the driftwood by following this great how to clean driftwood article.
3. Paint the driftwood by base coating it the color you’d like, transfer the letters on using transfer paper and painting the letters with acrylic paint or a sharpie marker. You can find all those steps in detail on this post about decorative painting on wood signs.
Today’s driftwood wall art is one of the larger ones I’ve done. I can envision it perhaps above a doorway…or nestled in a bookcase…
Presenting… “The Lake House” done in my new favourite font, aptly named “Pottery Barn”.
More Driftwood Decor and Wall Art ideas:
- Driftwood decor inspired by Pottery Barn
- Driftwood welcome sign
- Driftwood sand dollar sign
- See driftwood decor displayed in a bookcase
- More driftwood decor ideas
I really like the Lake House sign.
Kylie x
Beautiful! Thanks so much for linking up to Thrifty Thursday.
Hi I like your signs. You may be interested in my blog at saltandwood@wordpress.com
Items crafted from driftwood and street found timber around Sydney (Australia). Also a category for sail boats crafted from flotsam on the beach.
🙂
OK, maybe I’ve missed it, but I’ve looked at several of your posts about your handmade signs, which are gorgeous by the way. And I’ve not seen anywhere HOW to do the hand lettering. i know you have to hand paint the letters, but how do you get them on the wood? Do you ‘free hand’ write them on in pencil? I don’t think so, as you mentions a certain font or fonts. How do you transfer the fonts/letters to the wood? Carbon paper? (I’m the one who emailed you from England.)
Debbie, did you ever find an answer to this? I just came across this and have the same questions 🙂
Hi, your site is wonderful. Do you have any of The Lake House signs for sale as pictured? Thank you. 🙂
She shows you how to do the lettering with graphite paper in the following video. I had to go looking for it too! Hope this helps. 🙂 https://www.harbourbreezehome.com/2012/11/how-to-paint-rustic-signs-with-step-by-step-video-tutorials/
What kind of white paint do you use on the driftwood?
thanks, linda