Concept to Reality: The Estate Sign

The Greywood Manor estate sign, pictured below, was one of the main projects I took on for the 2010 season. Although Greywood Manor was the name of the haunt starting all the way back in late 2008, there really was no prominent sign that told the audience they were visiting the house of the Greywood family.

Greywood Manor Estate Sign - 2010, in action!

This, however, was an idea that has it's roots all the way back, three years earlier, in 2008. Through the concept images I'm about to display, you'll get an idea of how an project grows from concept to reality.

In early 2008, one of the concept pieces I drew of the exterior of the mansion shows a Gracy Manor estate sign. Notice the design, as it is just a simple plywood board attached to a stake. "Gracy Manor" was also the name I was throwing around before I decided upon the name "Greywood." The name "Gracy" is of course a tribute to the Haunted Mansion. Master Gracey (with an "e") is the supposed owner of Disney's haunt.

This rendering is the first time that my estate sign was visualized on paper.

Estate Sign Concept: Early 2008

So the idea sat, and didn't progress at all that year. Then, in 2009, I thought it was about time to start construction on this project. I refined the look of the sign, and drew up a dimensional sketch for reference while constructing the piece. Unfortunately, I ran out of time in 2009 to actually finish. The idea did not die, however, as I just delayed construction until 2010.

Estate Sign Dimensions, 2009

Construction then began in 2010. To finalize what I wanted the piece to look like, I drew one more concept - an image of what I wanted the completed project to look like.

Estate Sign Concept, 2010

Construction then began with me choosing between some stain colors. I created test patches on a few wooden shims, and then began to stain, and paint my pieces. Note that the hanging sign portion of the prop is stained, while the letters are painted a metallic gold, and outlined with a flat black paint to create the illusion of depth on the flat surface.

So many choices...

Finally, I needed an ornate, iron piece to display on the top, horizontal bar of the sign. I went online, and found this neat door topper piece from Heavy Hitter Ind. Inc. I used one of the side pieces, painted it the same metallic gold as the letters on the sign, and finally finished this project.

Just a bit of paint, and it's perfect!

For 2011, am I going to improve upon this estate sign? Possibly. I'm throwing the idea around for adding some LED lights into the mix so the sign will light up at night, but so far, that's still Blue Sky. If not this year, possibly just the next.