Large D.C. Home Signs

Dimensions: Width, 45 inches; Height, 14.75 inches; Thickness, ¾ inch; Weight, 7 pounds. If you like upcycling, have a good deal of free wall space, and want to show your D.C. spirit, these somewhat rustic items might appeal to you. They combine distressed wood, stain, and paint—plus the outline of the District’s boundaries—to convey the message, on a big scale, that you call D.C. home. Each has a set of D-rings attached to the back, so all you need is a hammer and a couple of nails to hang it in your home, office, or commercial establishment. $100 each. Click here to purchase.

1. Gray and Blue Large D.C. Home Sign. This one features Weathered Gray stain by Varathane and Dark Navy semi-gloss paint by Behr.

2. Brown and Tan Large D.C. Home Sign. This one features Provincial stain by Minwax and Cork eggshell paint by Behr.

The Story

On TV, I’ve noticed various state outlines used within or in place of letters on products such as hats and shirts. They inspired my design for these D.C.-themed signs. I recognized that the shape of D.C. could work inside a capitol O. But I wanted the outline of D.C. to be fairly big, so it would be recognizable and make a big statement. In fact, I wanted to use the same stencil of D.C. that I created and have used in several other D.C.-themed items. This called for a pretty big O. So, I bought a set of 12-inch-high letter stencils from Michaels online and they turned out to be perfect, especially the running-track shape of the O. Laying out the word “home” helped me figure out how big a piece of wood would be needed. And it turned out I had the perfect piece—the top of an Ikea dining table that I found in the bulk trash area of an apartment building in my Glover Park neighborhood of D.C. Using my circular saw, I split it lengthwise down the middle and trimmed off just a couple of inches from one end so that the margins would be consistent. (I recognized the final product would be pretty big and didn’t want it to be any bigger than necessary.) I used my belt sander to round off the new square edges to match the original edges and to remove the light layer of poly on the top surface, cleaning it up and getting down to bare wood. Then it occurred to me that the wood was a bit too perfect, lacking the rustic character that I often get from upcycling old wood. So, I intentionally distressed the surface by randomly hammering, gouging and scraping it with seven hand tools. Then I hand-sanded the whole thing to knock down any burrs. This achieved exactly the appearance I was looking for. Next, I selected and applied the stain, knowing it would show as darker in the scratches and dents. I traced the four letters and the D.C. outline onto the stained boards with a pencil. I chose leftover paint colors that would complement the two stains and hand-painted the letters with a very small brush, skipping over most of the dents and scrapes to maintain the rustic look—a process that took at least 2.5 hours for each sign—at that was just for the first coat. After it dried, I applied a second coat to achieve more consistent coverage, but perfection was not the goal. Because D.C. isn’t shiny and perfect either, but it is home.

Related Items: Small D.C. Home Signs; D.C. Flags in Steel Rings; Large and Small D.C. Flags.