Chalk Board Wall

Finally something big happened in the kitchen! We painted a GIANT chalk board wall. I've got pretty big plans for the kitchen and having something chalkboard was on that list. I originally thought a chalkboard refrigerator (see this for inspiration) would be ballin' but after realizing the fridge we inherited with the house needed to go we decided stainless steel was best for  home resale and function. Whew-whew.
So plan-b was put into action:

So this is what we started with. Kilzed empty blank bleh wall. 

The tools. I wanted to use the magnetic primer so the whole wall would be one big awesome functioning board. The magnetic paint ended up being quite the battle.  All the metal particles were in the bottom of the can which I did not realize until getting to the end of my first can and discovering a metal sludge. Woops. So one more can and 6 total coats of primer later.... it still doesn't work that great. It's magnetic but not enough to hold up anything. Also it made a HUGE mess and make the surface very bumpy. So I wouldn't recommend the primer. Save yourself the time.  

Yes, I paint in my football pants. Don't judge. 

The color of the chalk board paint. I was so afraid I had gotten blue. Luckily it dried nice and black like I wanted. 

What coat one of the magnetic primer looked like going on. I had such high hopes...

And the whole wall in all it's primer glory. Notice the blue tape and green countertop lip in the lower left corner. 

As I painted I started to think about that lip. It won't be there forever. Eventually we want to replace the countertops and add a subway tile backslpash. So I had 2 options. Leave it and have the hassle of fixing it and repainting that side and hoping it looked even down the road. Or take care of it now. Guess which one I chose. 

It was surprisingly easy to remove. I didn't even wake MLW up. However it did leave behind some nasty looking glue and an uneven surface. 

So out came the spackle and the sandpaper. 

Nice and even and pretty! No hassle down the road! A DYI win! 

The hardest part about the whole process was waiting the 3 days for the chalk paint to cure. Luckily it was over the weekend MLW and I were in Asheville so I didn't have to look at it for 3 days! 

After 3 days you have to set the paint by covering the whole surface in chalk. This makes it easier to erase down the line. 

It actually looked pretty cool all done, but it was dusty. Chalk dust particles were a flyin'! 

Look how messy my patched corner looks! I'm totally glad we did this before the new countertops.  Trying to keep the countertops clean and pretty during this whole process would have way upped the difficulty level.

I then took a rag and just erased all the chalk lines. Starting to look like a black board. That haze in the air is all the chalk particles. 

Dusty!

Dusty and gross. The magnetic primer made a huge mess. 

Viola! Add a fall garland that I rescued from a wedding. ( I can't stand to see good flowers go in the trash, especially if I have a hunch they will dry pretty) Also it still super hazy. It probably took a good 24 for all the dust to settle so I could clean it up. 

And the whole wall! The best part is waking up to sweet messages from my husband. Stay tuned for a tutorial on how to do chalk board art, because you know I didn't freehand that quote on the right!