Monday, February 17, 2014

Chalkboard Wall Tutorial

Ever since we began the search for our home, I had envisioned having a chalkboard wall somewhere in the house. So, this has been a long-time-coming project for us. Nicholas finally made my dreams come true a few weeks ago when, on a whim, we went to our local Home Depot and picked up all of the necessary items to create this masterpiece on the blank wall in our kitchen.
  

What you'll need:

- Rust-Oleum Specialty 30-oz. Flat Black Chalkboard Paint
**make sure to have the associates at the paint center shake your paint can before purchasing**
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Specialty-30-oz-Flat-Black-Chalkboard-Paint-206540/100141287
(they also have the kind that you can have tinted to be whatever color your heart desires!)

- Enough trim to frame your chalkboard (if you're going to frame it). We used this kind:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Woodgrain-Millwork-WM-390-11-16-in-x-2-5-8-in-x-96-in-Primed-Finger-Jointed-Chair-Rail-Moulding-102060/203209387
(you can trim the molding down to whatever length you need, free of charge, right in the aisle at Home Depot.)

- 2 inch finishing nails to mount your trim/frame
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Grip-Rite-13-x-2-in-6D-Bright-Steel-Finish-Nails-1-lb-Pack-6F1/100027781

- A regular high-density paint roller, painter's tape, tray, etc.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Linzer-9-in-x-1-4-in-High-Density-Polyester-Roller-Cover-RC-142/100635266
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Linzer-3-Piece-Roller-Tray-Set-RS3938/100560959
*you do NOT need this kind of roller, which is what the associates at HD told us to purchase and it didn't work well at all. You could see the spiral lines in the paint once it applied, and it did not roll out the paint well - it was as if you were just pushing the paint on with a sponge*

 - hammer, level, willing assistants, moral support, etc.

That's it!


Now, let's get started:

1- Have a spot picked out for your chalkboard and clean the walls with a damp cloth before applying anything. To be honest, we didn't clean our walls first but I feel that you probably should.

2- Measure your space // frame out your board-to-be with painter's tape:
**be sure to use your level!**

3- Pour a little of the paint into your tray and get started!
Also known as: grab & drink watch your stud-of-a-fiancé get to work ;)
**Keep pouring more paint into the tray, as necessary. You don't want to dump more than you need in there so as you don't waste any of it.**

4- Allow paint to dry.
It dries to the touch within 30 mins. (aka: enough to start framing) and dries completely within 24 hours (I think).

4- Watch as your dog and your daughter fall asleep on the kitchen floor while your worker-man realizes that, because our walls are plaster they are also uneven and therefore make framing this board a pain in the a**.


5- Here is where the moral support comes in:
Your worker man works late into the night, cursing up a storm, trying to get this frame to work.
Finally, he gives up for the evening and goes to bed (after ruining the trim because our first mistake with this was thinking that we need screws to attach the trim to the wall. No, no, no - finishing nails are the way to go!)

6- Wake up the next day with a fresh outlook on the project. Go purchase another set of trim and finishing nails and a protractor to cut those tricky angles/corners in the trim. Complete said project in no time at all.

7- Caulk any gaps in the corners you might have and then paint over them & the nail heads with extra white paint you may have laying around the house.

8- Voila! You are finished.



^^pay no mind to our messy laundry room^^

There are still a few items that I have yet to purchase in order to complete this project:

- We still need a pail to hold all of our chalk so that it is more easily accessible.
I'm thinking something along the lines of this:

- A few chalk pens, though I've seen in reviews that they aren't great for wall chalkboards because they don't come off as easily. We shall see, though.
http://www.amazon.com/Chalk-Ink-Classic-Markers-8-Pack/dp/B00251G48E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392648480&sr=8-1&keywords=chalk+ink+pens

- Something to clean the chalkboard off better.
I have read that magic erasers and Windex wipes work well, so I'll have to give those a try!



All in all, I could not be any happier with the finished product!
We love using it to just doodle on, write down our grocery list, and it really just make this home feel more like "ours" now that we've added this special, personal touch to one of our main living spaces.

And I am so thankful to have such a crafty man willing to go along with (& enjoy!) my crazy décor ideas.

xo,
Sara


1 comment:

  1. What a GREAT idea! We are renting our condo now but as soon as we find our home (and buy it!) I will get busy on this project!
    Also, I just wanted to say hi as your newest follower. Hope you'll stop over and follow along with me too!
    -Christina

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