Yard Plotted to scale, promise

make it yourself

North Pole Signpost

A 7 ft candy-striped post with four wonky arrows and a glowing globe on top. Cheapest way there is to get a real centerpiece into your yard, and it looks good from every direction. One Saturday afternoon.

  • $38 ish
  • 4 hrs start to finish
  • total beginner
  • 7' tall when done

grab this stuff

What you need

  • 4x4 pressure-treated post, 8 ft $14
  • 1x6 primed board, 6 ft (makes all 4 arrows) $8
  • Exterior white paint, quart $9
  • Exterior red paint, sample pot $5
  • 8× 3 in. exterior screws you have these
  • Solar cap or globe light that fits a 4x4 $2
  • All in $38

Tools, and that is it

  • Circular saw, or a handsaw and some patience
  • Drill
  • Painter's tape
  • Tape measure
  • Post-hole digger, or a 5 gallon bucket

before the saw

How it comes off the sheet

Everything fits on 1x6 primed board, 6 ft. Draw the whole layout before you cut the first piece.

Arrow 120" x 5-1/2"Arrow 218" x 5-1/2"Arrow 317" x 5-1/2"Arrow 416" x 5-1/2"72" wide5-1/2" tall
nesting

All four arrows come off one 6 ft board with about a quarter inch of saw kerf between each. Cut longest first so a measuring slip lands on the short one.

shapes

Stencils

Print these, cut them out, draw around them. Anything bigger than a sheet of paper prints as large as it fits with the scale written on it, so you can enlarge it at a copy store or copy it square by square.

Direction arrow, 20 in. 20" × 5-1/2"
Print the stencils (opens in a new tab)
printer gotcha

Set page scaling to 100 percent or "actual size", never "fit to page". Every sheet has a ruler on it. Measure it before you trust it.

Or buy a reusable one

Mylar stencils survive paint and last for years, which is worth it if you are making more than a couple. These are searches rather than specific listings, because the good sellers rotate.

here we go

How to make it

  1. Cut the post and the arrows

    Cut the 4x4 down to 84 in. Keep the scrap. Cut the 1x6 into four arrows somewhere between 16 and 24 in. long, and make every single one a different length.

    oops-proofing

    Four arrows the same length look like a fence picket. Uneven is the entire look.

  2. Stripe the post

    Paint the whole post white and let it dry all the way. Wrap tape around it in a spiral about every 6 in., paint the bare bands red, and peel the tape off while the red is still a little tacky.

    oops-proofing

    Let the red cure completely before you pull the tape and it comes off in sheets, taking your stripe with it.

  3. Paint and letter the arrows

    White on every face and both edges. Let them dry, then letter them. Keep letters at least 2 in. tall.

    oops-proofing

    Do not skip the backs. Somebody always walks up from the other direction and finds your four bare plywood rectangles.

  4. Screw the arrows on

    Two screws per arrow. Space them 10 to 12 in. apart going up the post and turn each one about a quarter turn from the one below. Start the bottom arrow around 42 in. up.

  5. Set the post

    Dig 18 to 24 in. down and pack gravel in around it. Or drop the post in a bucket of concrete if you want to move it around.

    oops-proofing

    Concrete poured straight into the ground will heave the first time everything freezes and thaws. Gravel drains, concrete-in-a-bucket travels, wet dirt does neither.

  6. Light it up

    Put the globe cap on, run the cord down the back of the post and staple it every 12 in. Outdoor extension cord, GFCI outlet, and leave a drip loop before the plug.

    oops-proofing

    A loose cord in wind will saw through itself against the staples by January.

one more thing

Finished height is 7 ft, which is a door plus a step. Tall enough to anchor the yard, short enough that it is not competing with your house.

where it goes

Layouts this one lives in

Same build, any yard shape. Here is where it lands.

  • → The North Pole on a Wide Shallow, No Porch Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a Narrow Shallow with Porch Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a L-Shaped with Projecting Garage Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a Deep Narrow Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a Corner Lot Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a Split-Level or Raised Ranch Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a Sloped or Terraced Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a Small Urban Postage Stamp Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a Circular Driveway Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → The North Pole on a Long Driveway, Rural Frontage Signposts, candy stripes, toy soldiers and a little workshop situation. This one is a whole place rather than a single motif, so it loves a yard with room to spread out and more than one thing to look at.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Wide Shallow, No Porch Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Narrow Shallow with Porch Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a L-Shaped with Projecting Garage Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Deep Narrow Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Corner Lot Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Split-Level or Raised Ranch Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Sloped or Terraced Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Small Urban Postage Stamp Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Circular Driveway Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.
  • → Nutcrackers on a Long Driveway, Rural Frontage Guards, not decorations. Red and gold, standing to attention, and the whole thing works on symmetry, which makes it the one theme where lining things up is correct rather than a mistake.