Small D.C. Home Signs

Dimensions: 9 inches square, roughly ¾-inch thick; Weight, 1 pound. This little wall-hanging features an outline of the District’s borders with the straight NW, NE, and SE sides in red (the featured color of our flag) and the SW side, where the Potomac River curves through, with a message in blue cursive. (Yes, we all know the river water actually is more brown than blue, but it’s the symbolism of the color that counts.) This upcycled item is a nice option, on a small scale, to show your pride in having D.C. as your hometown. Each one has a sawtooth picture-hanging bracket on the back, so all you need to display it is a hammer and a nail—or, heck, a screw and screwdriver. Affordably priced at a mere $30 each. Click here to purchase.

Three have sold at neighborhood art shows, but more are available.

The Story

I don’t quite remember how the idea for these items came to me, but when I sketched out the design, I thought it might be a popular one—and a nice use of small bits of lumber. Because they’re small and relatively simple to make, they can each be completed in just a few total hours of work. I started by using my jigsaw to cut squares (diamonds) out of laminated wood (pine) leftover from other projects; for example, one was a former dresser top. (The District, of course, started out as a 10-mile diamond, but the portion south/west of the Potomac River was given back to Virginia in 1847.) I made sure to have the laminated strips running through the vertical diagonal to help with orientation to the city’s north-south axis. I settled on 9-inch sides simply because that would allow for enough of a border around the city’s three remaining straight sides, given the size of the template for D.C. I had on hand from previous projects. I represent the somewhat squiggly border formed by the Potomac River with the word “home” roughly tracing the river’s general direction. After belt-sanding and hand-sanding the wood, I used my Dremel 4300 to carve out the borders and inscription. I then used a small pointed paintbrush to fill in the colors—Navy Blue and No More Drama red, both in semi-gloss and both from Behr. Finally, to enhance the wood’s natural tone and grain and create a subtle sheen, I brushed on three coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic (with a light sanding before the final coat).

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