Creating An Unlikely Family Heirloom: A Simple Weekend Project

My grandparents’ home is where so many of my core memories took place. I spent so many of my childhood days there, instead of daycare I was lucky enough to hang out with my grandma all day! After they both passed away, I wanted to salvage this address sign that attached to the lamp post in their front yard. I rarely see this kind of home personalization here in South Florida. Couple that with the emotional selling of the home, I knew that it would be a sweet way to keep a part of their house with me forever. Refinishing this sign required only a few products. The majority of the time was dedicated to letting paint dry, making this a simple DIY weekend project!

This poor sign had been baking away in the sun for about 30 years, so it needed a good scrubbing! I cleaned it up with soap and water, then left it to dry for a day. The only purchase I made for this was black spray paint in a gloss finish. I wanted the black to provide a shiny contrast to the letters that I would be painting white. I have no plans to ever place this outside so I did not stress over weatherproofing this sign. The Rust-Oleum brand spray paint is sold at my local Lowe’s making my product decision pretty simple!

I used an old cardboard box to protect the grass and make it easier to carry the sign back inside to dry. This sign is double sided and each coat needs 24 hours to dry completely. After coating the first side, I brought it inside to dry overnight. One thorough coat did the job!

I have a paintbrush set and a lots of white paint from past projects (take a look at these pumpkins!) meaning there was no need to buy anything else! I chose the pure white acrylic paint because it made the letters pop!

After seeing the finished project, I wish I had done this ages ago to freshen up their home! I recently put a lot of effort into creating a home office which is where this sign lives! I love having such a personal item as decor, I always smile when I see it!