Deee, your laundry room sounds beautiful. Do you have photos?

I think words are popular because they're used to "fill space" when nothing inspires the person to wait to find something else.

I may have to get a "toilet" or "W.C" or some other sign for my powder room door (has to stay closed) so that my guests don't open the basement door opposite it -- and fall down the steps!

Making the rounds at Facebook...

Our former house has a (fairly) unobtrusive little sign on the powder room door that says "Necessary Room". The door is dark wood stained and the sign is also dark wood and its not right up there in your face, its in the middle of the 6 panels down by the doorknob. I honestly never liked it much but hubs does and it kind of came in handy for clarification what with the layout of the living room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, family room and sun room. I must say that I don't miss it now that we've moved :)

Aunt Jen - That "Bad Day" sign looks like a font factory exploded. Why is every word in a different (clashing) font???? Looks like something my kids would make if I turned them loose with WordArt.

rgrs, thanks for the compliment. I think I have a picture on an old hard drive and it is not easily accessible. Sometimes I miss photo albums.

We are moving on ....to monograms. All the classy people have giant monograms on the children's walls.

Anyone want my mom's metal art "Flush" sign? She never hung it, and now that dad has moved out of the house, probably not necessary.

I still giggle when I see a phrase/quote on a wall and how a wag once dismissed it as 'The Devil's Graffiti'

Looks like graffiti to me, which some people like and some do not. I have never written on walls myself, but I did find some interesting reading on walls when I was at Rice University. I've also found graffiti at Venice Beach that I liked, but someone painted over it. What I especially do not like is writing on walls that gives instructions or commands or that is insulting or demeaning - the one in the WC above is a good example of that.

Re graffiti - there are some pretty cool Banksy wall decals out there, and if I ever get my craft room I will find a way to use this design. :-)

Word art and quotations run the gamut from cheesy Home Goods pronouncements to one-of-a-kind statements. Again, it's your style and wit that should come first, not a popular trend.

I have a piece of word art hanging in my hallway. It's my DS's verse about our house. He wrote it for a class in middle school and made a collage as a background. It turned out surprisingly classy, unlike most of his school projects. I framed it and it looks just like the kind of art you might find in a gallery.

dyhgarden, I actually did fall down a flight of stairs onto a concrete basement floor in such a situation!

We'd been invited to a another young couple's new home for dinner. The drive was long and when we arrived I asked if I could use the powder room. My friend's DH directed me "down the hall to the left". The hall was dark and when I came to an open door on the left I stepped in. It was the basement entrance which they'd left open to let heat rise from the wood stove they had down there.

I was lucky that I ended up with only a broken left arm. However, I had a 9 month-old baby to carry, dress and diaper for a couple months while wearing a cast from my fingers to my shoulder. At least it wasn't my right arm ;)

And the real kicker - I felt so bad for the wife who had gone through the work of preparing the meal that I stayed and ate and tried not to make a big deal of my fall. Only when we left did I have DH drive me to the ER. We never filed an insurance claim either...

I think while it might not be "in" that if people enjoy it that it is good for them. I consider my own decor pretty on point but also eclectic and if I liked the wall quotes (not my own thing) then I would do it. We live in our homes.

As I dislike the vast amount of how people decorate, this isn't any different. If it ever goes, something equivalent will take its place. Doesn't effect me.

Just made a run to Home Goods (I'm on a quest for two plates to round out a set and am pretty much resigned to giving up) and it's true that wall words/signs are still going strong there. Among the standard Live, Love, Laugh I saw Kitchen Rules, Laundry, Sparkle, Shine, and a number of other mandates that escape me now. This is in the new stuff they've put out post-holiday too.

There was one house I saw that actually had words I liked....it was a Christmas season quote in lovely calligraphy in gold directly on the wall...very festive. The family said for the rest of the year, it hides behind a large picture.

We collect English Arts & Crafts furniture which was often made with *mottoes* carved into a particular piece (although none of the items we have do) and about fifteen years ago I stencilled a Latin motto (ars est celare artem) onto the wall in the hallway of our then home. I also made a wall hanging for behind our bed that had a similar Latin inscription. This was long before the trend for wall words or signs hit the UK, btw.

By the time we sold that house wall words and "keep calm" signs had started to appear and I'm really not a fan, so despite wanting to embellish the walls of our next house (in a completely different part of the country where we knew no-one) with something similar as imho it complements our style of furnishing/decorating, I opted not to for fear our new neighbours/friends would think we were merely jumping on the bandwagon.

Foolish, I know and now we've moved again I'm thinking, what the heck - if it suits our stuff, then go for it!

amck that's really a cringe worthy story. I'm sure your hosts felt awful about it, too.

amck -- wow! I think I'll get a sign!

I have a rustic twig and birch bark sign, that I bought from a woodworker in the Adirondacks, in my cubicle at work. It says: Go Away. Doesn't work. ;-) I suspect signs telling us to be Happy don't work either but if it makes the owner feel better so be it.

Dh particularly dislikes chit chat at work. When he was in the Marine Corps his office was "supposed" to have two visitors' chairs. He moved them out to the hall because having no place to sit really kept people from chatting with him.. Periodically the chairs would get moved back in and he would move them right back out.

I have jokingly said that his current office should have a sign outside that says, "no one gets in to see the wizard."

Auntjen, if those signs have proliferated at Home Goods and similar places that is a sure sign they are out and the stock still hasn't run out, lol.

The first time I stepped into a hobby lobby (summer 2015) I could not have counted the amount of junk with either the word "princess" or "family" emblazoned across it. By Christmas those items were far less evident.

crl, my boss had a similar sign for awhile (till I came along?),

Please do not disturb

This means YOU

I don't get the snarky signs in the workplace. Of all places where you need to be approachable and a team player, I would think you wouldn't want to give the impression of not liking other people. But I do understand that all work environments are not the same, and I'm simply speaking from my own office experience where positive human interaction is how we get things accomplished.

I was very put off at the main post office branch in a large city nearby when I saw the cutesy little sign at the window of one of the workers who interfaces with the public. In curlicue script it read, "Don't EVEN Start With Me!" Wow. Passive aggressive much? She probably thought it was funny and might even serve as a "warning" to her customers. I saw it as unprofessional and I would not let one of my employees display something like that.

These ones I like! My BF has some letters from the 1920s or '30s that spell out SUPER. (Used to be part of a larger sign we think, but aren't sure.) He loves old stuff and has some ads and signs from the '20s through '40s, and some MCM lights and furnishings. This pic mostly shows an original Eames chair he bought and cleaned up, but you can see the SUPER letters in the back. His place is so cool and very different than my suburban house.

By and large, I seriously dislike them. Actually, some of them look good in the garage. (If it's your kid's arts and crafts project, totally different!)

I am considering buying a metal sign for my planned chicken house -- it has a photo of a rooster crossing the road and it says, "I dream of a world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned." But that would be the chicken house, not in my home proper!

I think the main reason I dislike them is after having a co worker who decorated our shared space with "inspirational" slogan after slogan after slogan -- complete with fluffy clouds and all. It failed to have the desired effect on either myself -- or her.

I am not a huge fan of them, especially painted or vinyl's on the wall. However, I do have a sign on my screened porch that goes with the theme of my décor. I imagine I will keep it a while longer.

Sorry. I went outside to take a photo and the sun is in the way. It says...

The Voice of the Sea Speaks to my Soul.

And my porch

Auntjen, I am of a social bent and when I worked I did my share of chatting, I mean relationship building.

But when dh had the office where he moved chairs out, he was the Ex-O (executive officer or second in charge) for an enormous company--I think it was 1500 Marines. Dh had to sign all kinds of somewhat trivial/routine paperwork for all of them (leave, reimbursements for moving costs, etc, etc). He figured out, based on the amount of paperwork walking in and out of his office, that if he spent ten minutes per transaction doing the "hi how are you did you have a good weekend" stuff, he would have to work ten hour days bare minimum assuming nothing serious actually came up and assuming he did not do his pt (work out) etc. He did not work with the vast majority of these people in any other capacity so there was no real need to build relationships. So he felt no hesitation in getting rid of the chairs to minimize the chit chat so he could actually leave work at some point.

I teased him about it a lot, but it made perfect sense to me given the nature of his job at the time. He did not put up snarky signs--that's just me joking. But I do feel more sympathy for people in those kinds of roles now.

They can be fun as random picture sized decor, but need to be tasteful AND not super large. The bad day thing above and the decal above the bed and above the toilet are all horrible not sure who would want to look at that every day. The deer thing was funny for like 2 seconds.

Decorate your house how you want it. I have seen signs with good taste used and it looked fine to me. Things about family, or quirky small signs about their dog or something of that sort. They should be something small that you happen to notice not something that should stand out.

Pretty sure this violates everyone's sensibilities.

But it ds loves it so it will be staying. ;-). May even update it--we are missing a World Series and nothing about Bumgartner . . . .

As a company that manufactures items in this product line...I have to say I hope not. However, as other commentators have said "Words have their place" and if they are not your thing then that is OK. Our typography plaques are our among our biggest sellers, and the trend keeps continuing.

wow, you guys help me a lot. As a graphic designer, I’m actually doing with the signs. But I’m designing more quotes than instructional words, like “Do what you love” “Don’t quit your daydream” or Nail Young’s lyrics etc. I’m not sure if “inspirational” words are “instructional”, they do make people feel intense and not easily get relaxed. Despite this though, the typography can be tasteful and go well with different interior style. The following are home sets done by me using quote prints (far from perfect :D)

This one is just about color. I also love the words "Music is the strongest way of magic" which are Marilyn Manson quotes.

artemis_ma, I have many "inspirational" prints, haha

Though I think "inspirational" make sense, it also make people feel intensive. So I'm doing more with natural things now, like animals, plants, fruit etc. I'm not concerned about what kind of decor are "in style", I'm just doing what I love and trying to think together with surroundings.

Milk Cow Print Animal Poster Wilderness Print Colorful Cow Photo Animal head pri · More Info

I think the antique weathered signs with the helvetica font look incongruous. Or maybe irony is the point?

Casey

There is one hanging sign that's been in our barn workshop ever since before I was born which someone gave to my FIL. I still like it. "Why be disagreeable when, with a little effort, you can be a real stinker." That so suited him!

Once in awhile, I like it.

(FLW)

By the way, the use of word art/calligraphy as decor goes back centuries in some cultures.

Tokonoma in a traditional Japanese home:

There's a notion that calligraphy is considered a Zen activity in Japanese culture.

From this article, Teahouse Alcove (Tokonoma):

"A calligraphy scroll with a poetic or Zen phrase to begin the dialog between host and guests".

Although I don't have any in my house (that I can think of) I think some of them are quaint and cute.

My newlywed daughter and her dh just bought their first home.

she has them everywhere and loves them. Her house is a reflection of her and that makes me happy. I wouldn't think of telling her that her pieces are "out".

You gotta admit, pretty cute ;-) Especially with her Sam's Club sofa.

I guess I am in the "word" camp. But I am only an offender in our personal spaces, not the general more public areas. :)

For example, I have this one that I am getting ready to hang in my mudroom....

It looks great on my Rainwashed walls and I think it is a good thing for the kids to see and remember.

And I am considering this from Etsy for my dd's bedroom...

Additionally, in our old house, a faux painter had the phrase, "You don't have to brush all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep!" on the wall of the kids' bathroom. I never really tired of it--it was so cute!

I don't think people read signs. I used to put one on my inbox when it was overflowing reading "inbox is closed". My salespeople I secretaried for would read it, say "that's funny, bpath" and plonk 3 more inches of paperwork on top.

Sombreuil, the weathered sign with Helvetia also references texting at table, so all bets are off.

I hadn't thought about needlework samplers in a long time, but I suppose they were a form of "wall words." My mother and grandmother made and displayed them, and I still think they're precious.

Of course, these days "subversive cross stitch" is actually a thing.

Mom2sulu -- I love that toothbrushing sentiment! May have to make a little sign for the bathroom for my kids. :-)

Jen, I don't get it...what does that 'subversive' cross stitch mean? Does if reference something specific? And it looks odd to me with the sideways flowers!

I didn't know it was called "subversive cross-stitch", but I think they're funny.

gramarows:

Party Up

You can usually see quite a few of them on Etsy but browse at your own risk as they can be quite naughty.

Auntjen, I have a Victorian (I think?) set of prints and one of them says "Bless this home" even though I don't like the idea of God singling anyone or anything out to bless. I love that type of needlework sampler you posted!

Not an instructional sign, but I have this up in my kitchen from my funny great Aunt Alice. My 6 y.o. must have just noticed it the other day because she read it, and then asked, "Mom, are you a half-fast cook?" I told her I was!

lana_roma, calligraphy is still popular in China, too. It's also a good choice for gift and art collection. But the young generation are not that into it, maybe original illustration would be the next big, I hope so :D

Thought of this thread when I saw this:

Gramarows, I recognized the cross-stitched words as lyrics to a pop/R&B song but didn't know the artist. DMX is the artist.