7 Ways To Use a Letter Board in Your Home Decor
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Have you noticed that letter boards seem to be everywhere right now? I feel like every time I'm scrolling through Instagram, I see a letter board displaying a clever or profound quote in a beautifully decorated space.
Do you know what this means? It means we have a bonafide trend on our hands. And it's Moda Misfit's duty to explore it.
It makes sense that letter boards are having a moment. Putting a letter board in a room gives you so many opportunities to express yourself; whether it be your sense of humor, what motivates you, your taste in music, or literally anything that's on your mind. It's such a simple way to have your space actually say something. Plus, it's so inexpensive! The letter board I bought from Target was only $14.99, and it's one of my favorite things in my apartment, simply because there's so much I can do with it.
If you like the letter board look, but aren't sure what you'd do with it, you're definitely in the right place. I'm going to walk you through some ideas on the types of content that are great for letter boards, and maybe by the end of this post, you'll feel inspired to start your letter board self-expression journey.
1. Song Lyrics
This is my method of choice for my letter board. Since I'm so obsessed with music, my letter board is all about showcasing the song lyrics I love. It's also become a fun Instagram project for me, as I display new song lyrics every week for my Instagram hashtag #lyricsandtheletterboard. I'm not kidding, it's SO much fun finding new songs to feature each week on this thing. It's a way to express my taste in music, spread the love for a band or singer/songwriter I'm passionate about, and connect with other fans.
Let me just geek out real quick here: When I posted my #lyricsandtheletterboard photo below featuring I'm Only Happy When It Rains by Garbage, Garbage reposted that photo on their Instagram account. As a superfan of Garbage, it was extremely exciting that they noticed my photo, let alone reposted it! It got 6,500 likes from fellow Garbage fans, and it really made me feel like I was a part of a fan community.
If you're obsessed with music and have a special appreciation for lyrics, I definitely recommend going the lyric route with your letter board. And once you do get some lyrics on there, feel free to post a photo on Insta and use my #lyricsandtheletterboard hashtag! I'd love to see the lyrics that inspire you!
2. Inspirational Quotes
If some good old motivation is more your speed, inspirational quotes are perfect for letter boards. You can make them as serious or as cheesy as you want them to be - whatever gets you in a good head space. It's all about having little dose of visual inspiration readily available in your space to uplift you when you need it.
To get you started, here are just a few inspirational quotes that I think would be great for letter boards:
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde
"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." - Mae West
"We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already." - J.K. Rowling
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein
Mae West was full of great quotes.
Whether you already have a few favorite inspirational quotes or you need to do a few Google searches for ideas, letter boards are perfect for displaying anything that motivates you!
3. Movie/TV Quotes
My name is Steffi Graffis and I'm a television addict. TV junkies and cinephiles, this one's for you.
I have a very special and borderline obsessive relationship with TV, and I know plenty of people have a similar connection to movies. Whether you're passionate about TV or movies or both, using a letter board to showcase a favorite tv/quote quote in your space is perfect for superfans.
Similarly to using song lyrics on your letter board, displaying TV and movie quotes may lead to discovering a fellow fan. And there really is nothing like finding someone else who geeks out as hard as you about something - swapping theories and trivia and sharing your enthusiasm is what makes podcasters like Jay and Jack thrive in the podcasting world, for example. Starting with the Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack in 2005, Jay and Jack showed the internet and television world the power of community fandom. They tapped into Lost fans' need to talk about and bond over their love of a TV show, and have been doing it with many other shows ever since, from Game of Thrones to Westworld. (I mention Jay and Jack specifically because I've loved them since their Lost podcasting days and they're simply awesome at talking about TV. I highly recommend you check them out if you're a TV junkie like me!)
What podcasters like Jay and Jack prove is that fans crave connection and conversation with fellow fans. You can use a letter board start that kind of conversation with your guests in your home, or by posting a photo of your letter board online and connecting with fellow fans that way. A letter board is simply an eye-catching, stylish way to get that conversation started.
4. Comedy
If you're not following @sarcasticletters on Instagram yet, I highly recommend you do so. It's an account entirely dedicated to funny quips on letter boards, and if I were to go the comedy route with my board, I'd totally be using @sarcasticletters as my inspiration. They're like the letter board equivalent to the mega popular comedic Instagram account @fuckjerry.
Imagine having guests over, and getting a few laughs just by having something funny on your letter board. You're basically entertaining without even having to try. I say this as someone who deals with social anxiety and feels a ton of pressure when I have people over. What if everyone's bored while they're here? What if I suck as a hostess? And I know this is what pretty much everyone feels whenever they host a social gathering at their home.
So why not use your decor to help lighten things up? A funny letter board is such a simple, straightforward way to accomplish this. To get your comedy juices flowing, here are a few favorites of mine from @sarcasticletters' grid:
"My brain said crunches but my stomach auto-corrected it to cupcakes."
"I need an app that shows me photos of everyone that's at a party before I decide to go or not."
"Dance like no one is watching. Because they're not. They're checking their phones."
"One day you're not old and the next day you have a favorite grocery store."
"Took some grease off my pizza with a napkin, so if see me looking skinny tomorrow don't be alarmed."
Also, pretty much anything on Anna Kendrick's twitter feed is basically perfect content for a funny letter board.
Anna Kendrick's Twitter feed is comedy gold.
5. Family Quotes
We all have inside jokes and oft-repeated quotes within our families. Words of wisdom, cheesy dad jokes, or values your family lives by would make great content for a letter board if you want it be feel an emblematic of your family bond.
For example, a quote my dad has repeated throughout my whole life is, "Life's a shit sandwich. Eat it or starve." He's said it so many times that it's become a quote I'll always associate with him as words of wisdom (or just a funny quote) to live by.
My grandma, according to my mom, always used to say "fiddlesticks". If I were to go the family-oriented route with my letter board, I think displaying the word "fiddlesticks" would be something cute and meaningful, albeit simple, to my family.
"You Are My Sunshine" would be another good idea for my family-themed letter board, as my mom always used to sing it to me throughout my childhood.
What I'm getting at with these personal examples is that you can use a letter board to display things that are meaningful to you and your family. Whether sentimental or silly, it's a visual way to showcase some small aspect of your relationship with your loved ones, which is a sure-fire way to add meaning to your interior decor.
6. Poetry
Poetry and letter boards were born to be together. I mean, imagine displaying something like "If music be the food of love play on" (the opening line of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night) or "Just like moons and like suns / With the certainty of tides, / Just like hopes springing high, / Still I'll rise" (Still I Rise by Maya Angelou). Not only would it be a celebration of the beauty of poetry, but it would definitely give your letter board a more sophisticated vibe that would surely impress your friends. (It also runs the risk of giving your letter board a more pretentious vibe, but whatevs. You do you.)
Twelfth Night (Act 1, Scene 1)
The only real challenge with this one is the simple fact that you have a limited amount of space on a letter board. So chances are, you'd need to stick to one or two lines from a poem, which can be tricky to choose if you really love a full poem.
One thing you can do here is go through a poem one line at a time on your letter board, week by week. This is where posting on Instagram can be fun, as it can be a visual throughline your followers can expect on a weekly basis. (this is my approach with #lyricsandtheletterboard.)
Actually, damn, that's a pretty good idea. I'd love to see someone recite pieces of a poem week by week using a letter board. If someone's already doing this, please let me know in the comments!
7. Single Words
I'm going to finish out this list with a short and sweet one: single words. Very simple, but a single word can pack a lot of impact. Think of some words that are meaningful to you and list them out. These should be words that drive you, amuse you, or define you. Off the top of my head, some of these words for me would be "creativity", "passion", or "love". This approach is almost ridiculously simple, but single words alone can make a nice visual impact as long as they mean something to you.
Or they can even just be words you simply like, that don't necessarily have an apparent deeper meaning to them. For example, for whatever reason, I've always been partial to the word "moonbeam". (When I was a little girl I wanted to change my name to Moonbeam, so there's that.) But aside from my silly history with the word moonbeam, I do think it's a beautiful word and would look nice on a letter board if I wanted to display something a bit more simple and abstract.
Also, as a diehard fan of the show Firefly (Browncoat for life), I think the word "shiny" is pretty great for this too.
Again, it's all about simplicity with this one, which can sometimes make even more of an impact than a full-on quote.
Letter boards are clearly a trend right now for good reason: they are all about self-expression and connection. Next time you have guests over, your letter board can act as a perfect conversation starter or way to bond over a shared passion. Maybe you'll discover a fellow fan of a certain band or TV show, or realize a you have a similar sense of humor as someone you might not know as well.
Letter boards really embody what Moda Misfit is all about: using style to shout out your passions and interests without you having to speak. If you have trouble getting conversations started, let your letter board start one for you. Then you can take it from there.