Step Aside, Custom Matchbooks — This Is the New Personalized DIY Trend

If there’s one trend that’s dominated home design in recent years, it’s personalization. Thanks to sheltering in place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, renters and homeowners alike continue to crave functionality, comfort, and individuality. So far, that’s included little touches like decorative stove knobs, pet-inspired decor, and custom matchbooks. Now, as proof that this movement isn’t going away anytime soon, there’s a new personalized DIY project recently taking over TikTok — and it’s so easy to replicate.

You’ve probably seen pre-made “house rules” signs at home goods stores, but social media users have started making their own unique (and often slightly cheeky) iterations with just a few craft supplies. Content creator Elena Lohse of @thishouse5000, for example, wrote out five unique requirements in the video below — from “Hug a cat” to “No jeans on the bed” — using a blank white canvas and brown paint. She then framed the finished product and propped it on a kitchen shelf.

For an even more budget-friendly version, TikToker Rose Adele (@rosadelee) painted her house rules sign on a piece of recycled white cardboard in blue writing. This design, which she hung above her bar nook in a white frame, reads, “Be you,” “Share ideas,” “OK to make mistakes,” and “Emotions OK” in numerical order. She even sells a print version of the original painting on her website, but she also encourages users to DIY unique-to-them signs in the caption of a separate video.

That’s what I love most about this particular trend: It allows anyone to leverage their own creative adaptations, whether it’s general platitudes like “Love yourself” and “Shoes off” or more specific sentiments tied to your home or apartment. You can get inspired coordinating ideas with roommates or partners as well. Plus, it’s easy to tailor the art to your room’s interior palette, using any paint color and frame pairing you’d like (and don’t feel limited to just a white background, either).

Best of all, the entire inexpensive project will likely only set you back a few dollars — depending on which supplies you already have — but you essentially only need a blank canvas or cardboard, acrylic paint, a paint brush (or paint pen), and an (optional) frame. Make this as big or small as you want, too, whether it’s an 18×18-inch print or poster-sized art. However you DIY the sign, don’t forget rule #1: Have fun with it.