Do you love the rustic, vintage look? If you’re looking for inexpensive artwork for your kitchen, then this easy DIY project is for you! Learn how to make a Rustic DIY Wooden Kitchen Sign for your kitchen to add some character and style to your space! 

I went through my scrap woodpile in the garage and found few 1×3 boards. Using these boards I attached them together to make the sign. 

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with different wood stain and paint techniques to get a rustic or farmhouse look. I’ve also looked into a method called mechanically aging wood, were you use devices such as nails, screws, old saw blades and chains to distress wood. The best wood for this technique is softwood such as pine or hemlock. Due to their softness, it is easier to mechanically distress wood. 

For this rustic DIY kitchen sign I used an old skill saw blade to make a rough saw cut before attaching the boards together. Then I used a combination of stain and white paint to make the rustic look. The method I used to stain and paint the wood could be applied to any furniture project. I built a shoe rack bench and mirror frame using the same technique. 

Kitchen Sign Text PDF

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This PDF download includes kitchen sign text “The Secret Ingredient is always Love”

Kitchen Sign Text

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Note: Lumber dimensions are listed as nominal size.  See lumber sizes for actual dimensions vs nominal.

Disclosure: Some of the links on this page as well as links in “tools for this project” and “material list” sections are affiliate links.

Dimensions

Cut List

Step 1 – Cut 1×3 Boards for the Kitchen Sign

Take 1×3 lumber and cut the boards to provided dimensions in the cut list. If you need this sign to be larger or smaller you could always adjust it to your needs. 

Step 2 – Sand the Edges of Boards 

Using a random orbital sander, to sand the edges so that they are slightly rounded. Normally 1×3 lumber comes with sharp edges but, I wanted the rounded edges since we’re going for a rustic/farmhouse look.

Step 3 – Create a Rough-Cut Lumber Look

To make the board look like they had a rough cut, I used an old 6 ½” skill saw blade to do the trick. I’m sure there are other fancy ways of doing this, but that’s all I had available at the time. I used a 2” long bolt, nut and a washer to hold the blade in place. Then using a drill on lower RPM I placed the bolt against the board as a guide and moved across the board making the rough cut effect. In certain areas, I had to go through the boards a few times until I got the desired look. After that, I ran through the boards lightly with sandpaper.

Step 4 – Drill Pocket Holes and Attach Together

Flip the boards on the backside and drill pocket holes using a Kreg Jig. Arrange the boards to the desired look and clamp them together. Then attach the boards together using 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

Step 5 – Stain and Paint

I used Espresso Stain for the first layer. For the second layer, dip only the tip of a brush into the white paint. Then dip the brush into the Shop Paper Towel so that the brush reasonably dry. After that, very lightly brush through the boards. Repeat the process until you get the desired look. Let the paint dry before writing text on it. 

Step 6 – Print and Transfer Text to the Board

Download and print the text on 11×17 paper. Place the Graphite Paper over the board and then place the printed text over the Graphite Paper. Trace over the text with a pencil, this will transfer the text on to the board. When tracing the text, make sure to press firmly on the pencil for the graphite to work

Step 7 – Color in the Text on the Sign

Now using a Black Oil Based Sharpie, color in the text. If you don’t have a sharpie, you could use a small brush to paint the text. Also, you could mix the text colors if you want. 

Step 8 – Hang the Sign on the Wall

On the backside of the kitchen sign, screw-in two screws on opposite sides. I used 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws because they have a flat inside head. Make sure that the screws do not go all the way through the board. Then run a thin wire from both screws. Hang it on the wall. You’re done with this DIY Wooden Kitchen Sign!