This is hands down my most favorite project in my house.
Maybe ever.
It wasn’t hard, nor expensive and it provides not only organization for me but fun for my kids. And it’s most certainly a “conversation” piece.
Last summer I built this giant chalkboard for my wall between my dining room and kitchen, across from my butler’s pantry. I had to hold off showing it on this blog thanks to the interest of a lovely magazine scout, but since our house will likely sell before we could fit in a photoshoot {sniff sniff}, today I am revealing it in all its glory!
I think the hardest thing about this project is finding a large empty wall to use.
This space wasn’t large enough for any shelving so putting up a giant chalkboard was the next logical choice, right?
{Maybe not if you had asked my husband!?}
Obviously there are easier ways to do this project then the route I went. If you are lucky enough to have flat walls, you could tape, prime and paint chalkboard paint on the walls and then just trim the space out. I had to go the extra step and prime, paint and tack up a smooth chalkboard-painted piece of wood, we have ultra-textured walls which there really wouldn’t be a way you could write on. It’s also good in that I can pull it down in case the next owners of my house don’t want a giant, huge chalkboard. I don’t really know why they wouldn’t though? 🙂
So, I used a very thin, lightweight plywood board {cut to size at Home Depot}, primed with spray primer then covered it using a foam roller with multiple coats of chalkboard paint {I used Rust-Oleum’s chalkboard paint; available here}.
There was one obvious issue with the space I had in mind. The lovely thermostat right in the middle of the wall.
I used a jigsaw to cut the hole in the board, I measured several times to make sure everything would line up correctly. School was out, so I had a great helper.
I then primed and cut to size some lightweight molding to trim around it. If you are intimidated by a power saw I can tell you that I used a miter box to cut the trim. Its a bit of an arm workout, but anyone can do this, no power tools (or gym trips that day) necessary.
My plan was to cut trim to build a frame around the thermostat, but in an effort to save myself anymore sawing, I decided to search my attic for a frame that might fit instead. Luckily, I had one that worked perfectly–it fit like a glove, it’s not even glued on–and it probably looks more polished than one I would have built.
We make great use of this space: for coloring, for lists of things to do, or inspirational quotes. I am refining my “chalk art” skills and while, of course, I aspire to have lovely works of pinterest-inspired chalk art on it, in actuality, it’s a great space for the kids to color and receive gentle reminders for them from me.
It also provides hours of entertainment for a certain special preschooler!
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