In this post, we’re going to unveil 183 chalkboard sign ideas that you can use to make your own chalkboard right now.

I’ve created custom signs in my hometown for the last two years and spoke with countless people — business owners, restaurant managers, wedding planners — who have shared their favorite signs and design perspectives.

But here’s the best part:

All their ideas are compiled here, in one master list, for you to easily navigate to the section that applies to you.

So if you’re looking for new sign ideas, enjoy this list (and free printographic). 🙌

Too Busy to Read?

Farmhouse

• Family Signs

  Greet your guests and welcome them to your home. They usually include your family’s last name or just a simple welcome or blessed message.

• ‘Blended’ Family

  A welcome sign that unites stepfamilies, by including every new family member on one sign.

• Monthly Calendar

  Draw a monthly calendar layout to keep track of important family items — like appointments, practices, birthdays, etc.

• Weekly Calendar

  If you don’t have space for a full monthly calendar then create a simply weekly timeline with each day of the week.

• Stacked Weekly Calendar

  Draw two weekly calendars — in 2 rows on top of each other — instead of a whole month. 🤚

• Weekly, Monthly Blend

  Mix up your timeline view — put a weekly timeline on top and a monthly calendar spread underneath.

• Weekly Meal Planners / Menu Boards

  Plan your weekly menu with meals for each day of the week. Tip: Keep this sign in your kitchen so people can add their suggestions.

• To-Do Lists

  Keep track of upcoming tasks that need to get done.

• Chore Charts

  Similar to to-do lists, but more geared to the kiddos.

• Monthly / Seasonal Goal Lists

  Signs that remind you what you want to accomplish in the coming season e.g. ‘Fall Checklist’.

• Bucket Lists

  Put all your ultimate wishes in one place.

• Project Timeline

  Draw a horizontal timeline dedicated to a single project, with milestones and dates.

• Grocery List

  Create a running list of food needed at the grocery store. Tip: Keep this sign in your kitchen so people can add their suggestions.

• Barn

  If you have a barn, add a vertical sign with chore lists, feeding schedules, to-do’s, etc.

• Mudroom / Utility Room

  Add an inspirational quote or happy message in your mudroom, before your family embarks on their day.

• Garage

  Garages are perfect for Calendar Signs so everyone can know each other’s schedules before they pile in the car.

• Breakfast Nook

  Hang a family motto or a funny message about the importance of the first meal of the day (e.g. ‘Feed Your Mind’).

• Seating Nook

  Put a sign with a reflective or calming quote, to help you relax during your busy day.

• Basement

  This all depends on your basement theme — is it a man cave, a playroom or just storage? Choose a sign message that fits the occasion.

• Master Closet

  Try these closet ideas — list of shoes, dry-cleaning reminders, tailor appointments, clothing needs, etc.

• Rooftop Patio

  Another excellent spot for leisure-themed signs or to simply remind everyone to look up and enjoy the night sky.

• Game Room / Playroom / Bonus Room

  ‘Welcome to the Fun Zone!’ or make a scoreboard for your dart game. You get the idea. 😂

• Laundry Room

  One of the most popular sign locations, laundry rooms embody the ‘home’ and thus are great for positive or personal messages.

• Master Bedroom

  Do you share a favorite song lyric or movie quote? You also can’t go wrong with your anniversary or wedding date.

• Foyer / Entryway

  Signs here are perfect for a welcome message or any comforting words to make your guests feel at home.

• Guest Room

  Rustic farmhouse signs add some much-needed personality to otherwise boring guest rooms.

• Jack and Jill Bathroom

  Create signs for each sibling’s sink or to designate whose side belongs to who. 👨‍👧

• Nursery / Kid’s Room

  Write your kid’s names and add some of their favorite themes — Mickey / Minnie Mouse, princess, barnyard, Sesame Street…

• Bathroom

  Offer friendly reminders to ‘Wash Your Hands’ or point your guests to where they can find essential supplies (e.g. in the cabinet).

• Kitchen

  The kitchen is one of the most popular sign locations — you can display all sorts of signs here, such as grocery lists, meal plans, food quotes… you name it. 🙌

• Bar Area

  Make your own cocktail recipe sign or a simple menu of your bar inventory.

• Home Office / Study

  Remind yourself of your favorite motivational quote to keep you grinding.

• Living Room

  Hang a sign here with a family mantra or your go-to one-liner.

• Back Patio

  It’s time to relax and kick your feet up — hang a sign to encourage a good time, grab a drink or fire up the grill. 🍔

• Front Door Porch

  An ideal spot for welcome messages or Family Signs with your last name.

• Dining Room

  You can go with a food-inspired message or something more general, like ‘Gather’ or ‘Blessed’.

• Outside Mailbox

  Leave a ‘thank you’ to your mailman (or mailwoman)… you can also leave instructions to please leave packages by the front door.

• Front Yard

  Put a welcome sign, family name or patriotic message on your outdoor sign. Tip: Spray your board so it can withstand the elements.

• Family Room

  A sign in this room is all about a family slogan, proverb or scripture that encompasses your family’s values.

• Pool Area

  Use these signs to remind everyone about the pool rules, if the pool is open or closed, or simply where they can grab a towel.

• Library

  Hang an inspirational message that inspires you to keep learning.

• Storage Room

  Signs here are best suited for ‘supplies you need’ or ‘low on’ lists.

• Workshop / She Sheds

  Start a list of upcoming projects, shopping lists for your local hardware store or even a log of what you accomplished around the house.

• Wine Cellar

  Make a list of your most prized bottles… or which ones need to be replenished after a fun night.

• Tree House

  Who is allowed in? Trespassers will not be tolerated. 🤣🌲

• Pantry

  Put your chalkboard on your pantry door and include a master list of all your usual goodies… then cross each one off when you need a resupply.

• Home Gym

  Create an inspirational sign to put near your toughest workout station. 💪

• Fire Pit

  Go with a relaxed message or song lyric from Bill Joel. 😉

• Media Room / Home Theater

  Make signs with fun entertainment messages, like ‘Enjoy the Show’ or ‘Grab Some Popcorn’. 🍿

• Panic / Secret Room

  Write down emergency numbers, passwords or reminders of what to do next.

Milestone

• First Birthday

  Chalkboard signs that celebrate the first year of life!

• Baby Monthly Signs

  Use these signs to celebrate mini-monthly milestones during your baby’s first year.

• New Baby / Baby Shower

  Also know as ‘It’s a Boy/Girl’ signs, these signs celebrate baby showers and pregnancy parties.

• Anniversary

  Celebrate your annual relationship milestones.

• Dreamcatcher

  Create a sign for your newborn that captures all the dreams you wish for them.

• Champagne Station

  Show your girlfriends and family where they can grab a beverage.

• Gift Drop-Off

  Tell your arriving guests where they can drop off their gifts.

• Gender Reveal

  Create an interactive chalkboard where your guests can guess the gender before it’s revealed at the party.

• Sweet 16

  Celebrate your teenage daughter’s birthday in style.

• Quinceañera

  Create a special welcome sign for the fiesta de quince años.

• Graduation

  Make a congratulation sign for your new graduate’s party.

• Bar Mitzvah / Bat Mitzvah

  Make fun themed chalkboards for this coming of age bash.

• Cancer / Disease Free

  Make a sign that memorializes a hospital release or any special health day.

• Any Birthday

  Every birthday is special, so take the time to make a personalized, heart-felt board.

• New Job

  Send your loved one off in style on their new career journey.

• Retiring

  Create a resume sign with all the memories of past jobs and professional accomplishments.

• Buying a House

  Give your house its own gift with a fancy ‘Welcome to our new home’ farmhouse sign.

• Divorce Party

  Turn the mood in a positive direction and celebrate a fresh start for your friend.

• Funeral

  Use a chalkboard sign to shine some happiness on a sad occasion.

• ‘My First Dish’

  Know a budding chef? Salute their newfound cooking skills.

• Getting Married

  Remind your house guests there is a special date coming up. 😉

• Moving In Together

  If you’re moving in together for the first time, memorialize this special date (it only happens once 😘).

Business

• A-Frame Welcome Signs

  Also known as ‘sandwich’ signs, these greet your guests or entice new customers to walk in off the sidewalk. 🚶‍♀️

• Quote

  Fun signs that motivate your customers and communicate your company values.

• Business Open & Closed

  Usually simple signs you can hang in your doorways or windows, to let everyone know when you’re open for business.

• Special Hours

  Inform your customers about unique store hours, especially around the holidays.

• ‘We are Moving’

  These signs tell your customers you’ve moved to a new address or plan to in the future. They usually include your new address as well.

• Company Milestone

  Celebrate an important company milestone. For example, ‘First gumbo restaurant in New Orleans’ or ‘Family owned & operated since 1950’.

• What You’re Famous For

  Brag about what you’re known for. For example, ‘Home of the 13 layered nacho bucket.’

• Daily Specials

  Running a 24-hour special? Make a sign that highlights your offer.

• Customer Testimonial

  Write a fun customer review for everyone to see.

• Bad Review

  Turn a bad review into an opportunity to add some humor and show off your personality.

• Employee of the Month

  Showcase one of your very best employees — not only will it boost morale, but people we appreciate your solid leadership.

• Brand Awareness

  Create a sign that focuses on your company name and logo.

• Social Media Sign

  Don’t forget to promote your ‘@’ social username or other branded hashtags.

• Welcome Lobby

  Place a branded sign near your entrance to help customers find you.

• Waiting Room

  Let your customers know they are welcome to enjoy a magazine, drink or free snack while they or wait.

• Parking Navigation

  Show your customers where they can safely park.

• Featured Product

  Highlight a featured product you want to fly off the shelves.

• Featured Sale

  Or highlight a sale or offer and include the discounted products, prices, and sale expiration dates.

• Sales Campaign

  Advertise your new marketing campaign or promotional period. For example, ‘Fall 2020 Sale’.

• Giveaway

  Tell your customers about fun giveaways and how they can enter to win.

• Services / Products Menu

  Create a list of your very best offerings, along with their prices.

• Aisle Display Signs

  Display a sign in your retail aisles or end displays with a special price.

• Happy Holidays

  Build some customer love and send holiday wishes from your company.

• Thank You / Come Again

  Place signs near your exit to send your customers off with a message of gratitude.

• Exit

  Offer a unique way to indicate where the nearest exits are.

• Dressing Room

  Make dressing rooms even more fun, with fun signs telling people where to ‘strip down’.

• Cashier Open & Closed

  Don’t just have generic cashier signs. Add some personality, especially if a station is closed.

• Other Compliance Signs

  Transform all your boring compliance notices, like cleanliness, smoking, etc.

• Clock Lunch Hour

  Design a clock sign that tells customers when you’ll be back from your lunch break.

• Charity / Community

  Share what charities you support or what portion of your proceeds go to good causes.

• Line Starts Here

  Tell your customers where the line begins and where to stand.

• Social Distancing

  A friendly reminder to follow social distancing practices.

• Don’t Steal

  These are often funny signs used to warn potential shoplifters about the consequences of their actions.

• Customer Service

  Helpful signs to navigate shoppers to your customer service desk.

Restaurant & Bar

• Dog-Friendly

  Small signs to let visitors know you welcome pets, usually with a water bowl or bucket of treats nearby. 🦴

• Handwashing

  Friendly signs that remind your guests & employees to wash their hands before they return to the dining room.

• Drink Station

  Guide your guests to the drink station and describe what drink options are available.

• Review & Rating

  Before they go, politely ask your guests to go online and review your restaurant.

• ‘Treat Yourself’

  Also known as ‘Take One’ Signs, these tell your patrons to take a free food sample or any other complimentary goodie.

• Wait Time

  Place a sign outside or near your entrance to set wait-time expectations.

• Hostess Stand

  If you have a busy (or loud) entrance area, it can be very helpful to tell guests where they need to check-in.

• Restroom

  Create fun girl’s and boy’s bathroom signs, that you can even hang on the doors.

• Condiments

  If you have a specific station or bar, inform people what free condiments and extras they can choose from.

• Restaurant Welcome

  Greet your new patrons at your restaurant entrance.

• Standard Menu

  These signs showcase your top-selling menu items and are usually placed behind the counter or on a wall.

• Happy Hour

  Advertise popular drink specials and beer & wine lists.

• Specials / Daily Deal

  Inform hungry people about seasonal discounts and special offers, like lunch specials.

• Chef’s Special

  Is the chef feeling creative? Reserve a chalkboard for these spur-of-the-moments.

• Brunch Menu

  Create a menu specific to brunch. These signs do especially well as A-Frames outside.

• Recipe

  Be helpful and teach your customers how to make a quick dish, like soup or salad.

• Manager On Duty

  Tell your patrons who is managing the dining room in case they have any concerns.

• Butcher Diagram / Meat Chart

  Show your love for your ingredients, while teaching your guests where their food comes from on the animal.

• Wine List

  Sell some wine, by category, by region, by-the-glass promotions, etc.

• Beer List

  What’s on tap? Let the beer start flowing. 🍻

• Seasonal / ‘Fresh’ List

  List ingredients that you have in-house, that are super fresh and rare (don’t forget a shout-out to your local farm).

• Valet Parking

  Try an outdoor A-Frame to direct drivers where they can drive up for valet services.

• Reserved Table

  Place custom, small chalkboard signs on VIP tables for a super nice touch.

• ’86’ Sign

  List all the dishes that you’re currently sold out of.

• Dessert Board

  Hmmm, sweets! List them on a dedicated sign. 🍰

• Kid’s Only Menu

  Create a concise menu for the kiddos (and don’t forget to mark the age range it applies to).

• Take-Out / To-Go

  Show your guests where they need to grab their to-go orders.

• Catering Promotion

  Advertise any catering services you offer.

• Buffet / Taco Bar

  Have a buffet or self-serve line? A sign will start the conversation.

• Coffee Bar

  List all the coffees you have available.

• Patio Directional

  Point your guests to the party on the patio (or just show them where the patio is).

• Capacity

  Update your current amount of guests, along with the maximum capacity allowed.

• Party In Progress

  Share with everyone if you’re also hosting a party, so they’ll understand if service is a little slower than usual. 👋

• Trivia / Game Night

  Offer a game night? Share that for sure!

• Tasting Menus

  Advertise tastings for drinks or promote any tasting classes you host.

Wedding

• Wedding Welcome

  It’s your big day — greet people at your ceremony or reception.

• Schedule of Events

  Tell people the plan for the day. Think itinerary.

• Bar Menu

  If you have an open bar, this is a useful sign to tell your guests what’s pouring.

• Cocktail Menu

  A concise menu of the available liquor options.

• Signature Drink

  Sometimes the bride & groom have a signature drink, and this is the time to share their story.

• Seating Chart

  A beautiful sign, to let people know what table they’re assigned to at the reception.

• Food Stations

  These are great theme signs usually with artwork (think a picture of an ice cream cone for the ice cream station).

• Buffet Menu

  Tell your guests what’s for dinner. You’ll usually find these signs where the line starts.

• Table Number Signs

  Make small table signs that correspond with the numbers in the seating chart.

• Place Cards

  Get real fancy with small, personalized chalkboard place cards at your reception tables.

• Reserved Tables

  Instead of table numbers, make more generic ‘reserved’ signs that everyone can understand.

• ‘Sweetheart’ Table

  A reservation sign dedicated to just the bride and groom’s table.

• Guest Board

  Turn your guest book into an interactive board your guests will have fun filling out.

• Unplugged

  Make this modern ceremony sign that tells people to silence their cell phones.

• Navigational

  Use these signs to point your guests in the right direction — to the reception, ceremony, etc.

• Junior Wedding Party

  These are for the kids who walk down the aisle, like flower girls and ring bearers.

• Wedding Social Share

  Remind your guests to share the love and to hashtag their wedding photos, so you can easily find them later.

• ‘Take One’ Sign

  Tell your guests it’s ok to grab an available freebie: treats, party favors, ceremony programs, cookies, etc.

• ‘Shoes Here’

  Perfect for beach weddings, these signs tell people where they can leave their shoes.

• Romantic Quote

  A sweet saying from the bride and groom, for example, ‘We met in high school and decided on forever’.

• Guest Call To Action

  Inspire your guests to take action. For example, ‘take a shot’ or ‘if my grandma is on the dance floor, you better be too’.

• Picture Booth

  Indicate where the photo booth is and also include some simple picture instructions (if you have costumes, you can also make sign labels for each costume style or category).

• Cake

  A sign by the cake that describes its flavor and also what time the cutting ceremony is scheduled for.

• Band / Entertainment

  Showcase the name of the band, it’s individual members, and expected showtimes.

• After Party

  Going to party all night? Tell everyone where the party rages on outside the wedding venue, like a nearby bar or home.

• Send-Off

  Navigate your guests to the send-off location — where the bride and groom are sent on their way once the wedding ends (also include any instructions, like ‘grab a sparkler’).

• Wedding Parking

  Especially if you’re wedding is on a farm or large swath of land, fun parking signs go a long way. Tip: You can even name the parking areas after the bride & groom. 🤣

Fun & Extras

• Spinner Signs

  Spinner Signs are interactive signs with a built-in plastic spinner that rotates 360 degrees. Spinners come in red, yellow, white, and black. They are great for giveaways, tradeshows, festivals or games.

• Flexboards

  These are smaller interchangeable signs that you stick onto your existing chalkboards. Use them for rotating promotional offers.

• Game Night

  Keep a running tally (and bragging rights) for all your family game night participants.

• ‘Shoes Off’

  Remind your dirty family members to take their shoes off before they tromp through house.

• Garage Sale

  Put up an A-Frame in your front yard with all the details of your big sale! 🛋

• Indoor Garden

  Label your indoor plants, flowers, and herbs. Tip: Avoid using chalkboards on your outdoor garden so your writing doesn’t wash away. 💦

• Medicine Cabinet / Closet

  Use small chalkboards to label sections of your medicine cabinet — cold meds, first aid, emergency supplies.

• Recycle

  Having trouble getting the family to recycle? They won’t miss a custom chalkboard, so try it out.

• Pet Bath Tracker

  Make a pet bath schedule so you keep your stinky furry friends clean!

• Dog / Pet Food Bowls

  Give your pets a little extra direction. 😂

• Dog / Pet Watering Stations

  ‘Thirsty Paws Here’ 🐶

• Rain Station

  Add this sign by the door, where you put rain jackets and umbrellas.

• Delivery Man Drop-Off

  A fun sign you place on your front patio to tell the delivery guy where you want your package (also say thank you).

• Open House

  If you’re a realtor, make an impression with a welcome chalkboard at your open houses.