Keep your revolution in communication and personal digital devices, I’ll take The Amazing Instant Chalkboard Door any day!
Some elbow grease, primer, and blackboard paint have transformed my drab pantry portal into iDoor! Okay, maybe it’s not that amazing, but it is handy, handsome and heaps of fun to have an old-school chalkboard in the kitchen!
Those pesky grocery lists that slip off the fridge are a thing of the past. Now after a disappointing trip to the pantry, I write down the missing items right on the door. Obviously I can’t bring the door to Fairway, but when I copy the list down before I go, I take the time to organize it, so that items in the same aisle are listed near each other. I don’t want to see parsley on the list when I have already cleared meats and dairy!
Doors are great places for Instant Chalkboards. I painted one in a girl’s room that is used for messages, schedules and doodles. In another application I spec’d a chalkboard area in a co-op building’s playroom. It was a low cost, quick solution. Size can be easily adapted to the site. If you have a kids play area and an accessible wall, you can make the chalkboard size to suit the space. To give it more oomph you can even add some trim molding to form a frame around your chalkboard.
Any very smooth paintable surface will do. I recommend a quick sand with an orbital sander, but you sand by hand if you prefer; more muscle, less dust.
Once you sand, apply a primer. My current favorite, as recommended by my excellent painter, Christine Hughes, is a product called Stix. It has great adhesion, and receives the paint beautifully. I have heard several contractors and my paint supplier rave about this stuff.
When the primer is dry (follow instructions on the can for drying times) apply the blackboard paint. According the experts, “be careful not to over-coat and don’t go back and “work” an area, just touch up uneven sections with the second coat.” I‘m not sure what happens when the chalkboard paint is “overworked”, but it can’t be good. Apply the second coat the next day. Once it’s painted, give it a few days to cure. I like to leave it for a whole weekend.
I keep my chalk in a cup by the door, but you can buy a drawer pull and turn it upside down to hold a few pieces right on the door. It’s fun, inexpensive and unexpected, and the pop of black paint can be really interesting…although you might have to explain how to use this device to your kids!
The blank wall is a problem my clients constantly want help with. Many seem stuck on the idea of finding one huge piece of art to fill a wall. An easy way to sidestep this issue is to take a group of photos or pieces of artwork that you already have and hang them together.
