DIY Chalkboard

I love chalkboard walls. When we started our renovation I thought I would want an entire wall in our kitchen painted with chalkboard paint. Then I realized I really only had one wall of color in the kitchen...so I had to reconsider.

Of course I went to Pinterest and looked around for some things...

A smaller, framed chalkboard area? This was a serious option for a while.

A chalkboard door? Hm. Old doors are expensive.

Then I saw this chalkboard out of an old window. My mom mentioned that we had some old original windows from our camp at the lake I could use.

It needed some major love.

Ick.

First, the glass had to go.

Then we were left with the frame.

My mom cleaned it up, sanded off some of the white paint, and then finished it with this.

It looked great!

I was in charge of going to Lowes and getting luon pieces to fit inside the frame. It was harder than it sounds. I lucked out and found a nice salesperson willing to cut them for me in the store.

I read online that luon is a good option because it is much smoother than most plywood. It's cheap too. I brought those home and painted them with chalkboard paint.

A warning about chalkboard paint. I'm not sure if some brands are better than others but I had some trouble with it. I was also painting in the direct sun, a no-no. It came out a bit bubbly so we tried painting the other side of the board in the shade. It was only a little better but you can't really tell from a distance so I decided to deal with it.

Next we cleaned up the hardware. It was beautiful but RUSTY.

First we cleaned them with dish soap, then soaked them in hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. After that we scrubbed them with steel wool. The ones on the right had been soaked.

They didn't come out completely clean, but they were much improved!

The finished product!

I had to wait a few weeks to hang it up in the kitchen, but it's finally ready to show!

xo!