Making a Fixer Upper Oversized Farmhouse Wall Clock

Are a fan of the oversized wall clock that is actually a clock face in the Fixer Upper home of Chip and Joanna Gaines? I am. I love it and came up with a way to make my own large farmhouse wall clock to resemble it.

If you have followed me for a while, then you know one of my favorite things to decorate my home with are white faced clocks with black Roman numerals. Something about them just makes me happy.  I have a kitchen wall clock, a sideboard clock, alarm clock, watches, art work, free printables of clock faces and more all around my house. I will never have enough.

I have always wanted an oversized one for the wall in my living room. I looked into mass-merchandised clocks and handmade oversize farmhouse clocks on Etsy, but they were all too small or didn’t have the appeal I sought.  About two years ago, I bought a cut-out metal Roman numeral clock at Kirkland’s. I liked it and you have seen it in many posts of my living room, but I never loved it since it didn’t have a classic face.

How to Make a Large Fixer Upper Style Wall Clock

Back in the summer, when I was paging through an issue of The Magnolia Journal, I came across this image of a room in Chip and Joanna’s home.

Seeing a photo of the large clock that I had previously only glimpsed on the TV show Fixer Upper made my creative brain go into overdrive.  I finally got an idea that I knew would work since the photo of the clock was taken straight on.

From my days of working in retail display where we had to make enticing store displays using only what was available in the store’s prop room, I knew I could use an inexpensive overhead projector to create my own oversized farmhouse clock just like Chip and Joanna have, using the image from the magazine.

This simple tracing projector allowed me to trace and draw the exact image onto a 48″ diameter circle that I cut out of plywood.

Here is my result!!!  I LOVE it!

It may not be perfect, but that is OK since it is supposed to resemble an antique farmhouse oversized clock that may have a few dings, dents and rough spots.  All last night I sat in a chair across from the clock and just enjoyed it and the fact that I was able to make it myself.

Placing items in our homes that bring us joy is what successful decorating is all about. Sometimes it is not about getting the right color scheme or staying on trend, but simply adding items that make you smile is the best way to decorate a home.

How to Make a Large Fixer Upper Inspired Wall Clock

If you have the tools and the woodworking skills, you could make a clock bigger that 48″ by joining wood together. I don’t have either, but I do have jigsaw skills, so I opted to use the largest piece of plywood available at the home improvement store to make my clock. I also didn’t want the clock to be heavy and thick.

I wanted it to be thin to resemble Chip and Joanna’s metal clock face. So I used 1/4″ plywood. Making it lightweight also made it easier to handle and hang.

After I cut the plywood into a circle, the finished diameter of my clock is 48″.

For the clock hands, I took them from the previous clock I had on the wall. The minute hand is 17. 75″ long. The hour hand is 10″ long. I have a resource in the supply list to buy these.

supplies needed:

• Download the free printable clock face:  Fixer Upper Clock Face or  another option: Classic Clock Face
• 1 half sheet of 1/4″ thick plywood – make sure it has one good side with no knots in the wood.
• 1″ x 4″ – cut into 4 – 28″ long pieces
• Liquid Nails
• String, twine or thin craft wire
• Pencil
• Sharpie Markers – Medium tip
• Thumb tack or push-pin
• Scissors
• Jigsaw and blade
• White chalk paint
• Black chalk paint
• Paint roller
• Small tipped fine art paint brushes
• Sandpaper and sanding block
• See through straightedge ruler
• Measuring tape
• 1/4″ drill bit and drill
• Clock mechanism and 15″ long minute hand for a smaller clock or  17.75 long minute hand for 48″ diameter clock
• Small Art Projector 

How to Cut The Plywood Board into a Circle

1. Find and mark the center of plywood. Place a push pin into the mark.
2. Tie a piece of string or wire around push pin and bring string/wire out to the end of the plywood.  Tie end of string/wire around pencil  secure with tape.
3. Hold the pencil straight up and down and pull string/wire taut. Slowly draw a circle around the plywood. Note: Pencil must stay straight up and down, don’t angle it as that may make your circle bigger or smaller on one side.
4. Trace pencil line with marker.

5. Use a jigsaw with a Smooth blade to cut the plywood.

6. After plywood is cut, sand all the cut edges smooth with 100 grit sandpaper, followed by 220 grit.

How to Paint Cut Circle

1. I set up a table in my foyer to paint the plywood circle and add wood support behind it.  I rolled on three light coats of chalk paint, but you can use any paint you like. Let dry.

2. Attach 4 wood supports to the back using Liquid Nails. Let dry.  My wood supports were 32″, but they can be made smaller. They are needed so the thin plywood will not warp over time.

3. Mark the top board “TOP” and drill a hole in the center of it. This will be where the nail will go to hang the clock.

How to Enlarge and Trace Clock Face Numbers

1. Print out free printable of clock face in supply list. Print to 4″ x 4″.  Cut out image from paper and tape to the opening on the underside of the projector.

2. Hang the clock on the wall using a wood screw into the wall. Place the hole you made in the back over the screw. Make sure the clock is hanging right, adjust if needed.

3. Turn out lights in room and place projector at a distance so the image fills the circle. Make sure the minute notches come right to the edge all around.

The projector has a focus ring, play around with it to get the sharpest image.

I used a table, stool and a few books to get the projector to the height I needed it.

4. Once you have the image centered on the plywood circle, use a pencil to trace the numbers and minute notches. (If using the Fixer Upper clock image, you will see lots of rust spots since their clock face is metal. Just ignore these unless you want to paint rust spots on your clock.

If you look closely, you will see the pencil lines.

Remove clock from wall.

How to Paint Numbers and Other Markings on Oversized Wall Clock

1. Place clock on work surface to paint the numbers and minute marks. I used my kitchen table.
2. Use a see-through ruler and a Sharpie pointed marker to outline the pencil lines.  (You can see I penciled in the rust marks, but decided I didn’t want to add them once I saw how much I liked the clock without them. I erased them with a magic eraser and some water and baking soda.)

3. Use a fine-tipped artist’s paint brush to fill in the outer section of each number and minute mark. Use a 1/2″ wide flat artist brush to fill the inner areas.

4. When painting the minute marks, don’t stop at the edge of the circle, bring the mark over the edge. It looks more finished this way.

5.  Touch up if needed after first coat is dry. Let paint dry overnight.

6. Apply a thin layer of clear paste wax evenly over the entire surface using a lint-free soft cloth.

Do not use Briwax, it will remove the paint. I like to use clear wax made by Annie Sloan, Fiddes and Sons, or Magnolia Home.  Then with another clean lint-free soft cloth, buff the surface using smooth circular motions until the cloth slips right over the surface and you start to see a subtle sheen. You may have to give it some elbow grease to get the sheen.

7. Turn clock over and place the clock mechanism on. Use hot glue or a little bit of Liquid Nails to attach it. Make sure it is parallel with the TOP wood support.

8. It will look like this.

9. Turn clock over and place the clock hands on. They will fit into grooves on the screw section that comes out to the front of the clock.

10 Hang the clock back on the wall.

I started making the clock back in the fall and worked on it a step at a time as I was busy doing other things, but it could be made in a few days. Letting the paint dry is what takes the longest.

It was worth the effort since I now have exactly the type of oversized wall clock I have wanted for so long. :-)

I tried to write this tutorial with as much detail as possible, but if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section.

Now that the clock is done, I started another project using the inexpensive art projector where no wood working is required. I can’t wait to show you… it is coming soon, so stayed tuned.