Making a Wall Chalkboard

My inconvenient entryway is the only part of my house that I really don’t like.  Being an urban dweller, I live in a stacked-condo and that means that as soon as you come in my front door you have to go up a steep set of stairs.  This set-up leaves very little room when you come in the door and it has always been the bane of my existence in this house.  I have been tackling painting most of the house this spring (see the paint colour plight here) and finally got the staircase and entryway done.  Painting a lighter colour really helped to brighten up this area but I wanted to do something a little different to add some character.  I decided a large chalkboard right inside the door would do the trick.  When I was painting the entryway, I left a large area on one wall as it was and then taped off a rectangle around it that would form the inside of the chalkboard.  Using a roller for the first coat and a brush for the second, I painted the inside of the rectangle with Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint. After the inside was done, I used a piece of chalk to draw out a frame around it.  Chalking out the frame on the wall first, before painting it, allowed me to make sure it would have the proportions and curves I wanted.  Once I had the shape I wanted, I filled it in using Fusion Mineral Paint in Champness.To give the frame a little more depth and character I used a very bristly, small, flat paintbrush and painting on some Fusion Antiquing Glaze after the Champness was completely dry.  The Antiquing Glaze softened the blue and added lines to make it look like wood grain.   As with any chalkboard, once you have let the paint cure for about four days, you need to season it.  I took a piece of chalk and rubbed it sideways all over the surface and then wiped it with a soft cloth.  Doing this will keep future pictures and writing from leaving permanent marks in the paint.  It was really hard to get a full shot once it was finished because the space is so tight but this gives you an idea of the scale and scope once it was done 🙂With the large wall chalkboard done, I can now write notes or messages and the entryway has a little bit of character despite it’s very small space.  It also draws guests eye to the art on the wall instead of the cramped entryway and steep stairs.  That’s a win win in my book!

** Don’t forget to pop over and enter to win a $40 Gift Certificate to the
Recreated Designs Etsy store! **
Contest ends August, 24, 2016Save