House name sign template

House name sign template

This template prints Rose Cottage as classic outline letters with 7.5 cm capitals, one letter to a piece across three A4 sheets, to trace onto a wooden board, a gate or a slate and paint. Lower case letters keep the font's proportions, and the whole name is about 78 cm wide.

Last reviewed 3 October 2026

About this version

A painted house name on a wooden board, a gate or a piece of slate gives a house its character, and painting it yourself costs a fraction of a carved sign. This preset prints Rose Cottage in the classic style, with capitals 7.5 cm tall and the lower case letters in proportion, so the o, s and e are a little under 6 cm and the g drops below the line. The 11 letters print as outlines, two to a row, across three portrait A4 sheets. Each piece has a baseline and a cap line exactly 7.5 cm apart and a dashed centre line, and set as the lettering spaces it, with a normal gap between the two words, the name is about 78 cm wide.

Type your own house name, up to 14 characters including spaces. Measure the board first: a name about 80 cm wide suits a board of about 90 to 100 cm. For a smaller board or a longer name, choose 5 cm capitals, which makes the same name about 52 cm wide. The classic style suits most houses; the rounded style looks more relaxed on a beach hut, a cabin or a garden studio.

Prepare the board before you trace: sand it smooth, then paint or stain the background and let it dry. Draw a pencil baseline along the board, lay the letters on it in order, using the dashed centre lines to space them by eye, and tape them down. Leave a gap about the width of a lower case o between the two words. Trace round each letter with graphite transfer paper, or by rubbing soft pencil on the back of the paper.

Paint the letters with a fine round brush and exterior enamel or sign-writing paint, working from the top of each letter down. On slate, use an acrylic paint and seal it with an exterior varnish. Fix the finished sign with stainless steel screws so it does not leave rust streaks, and check for cables before drilling into a house wall.