Family DIY: blackboard wall

We are no John and Sherry by any stretch of the imagination, but sometimes Jamie and I like to tackle a DIY project at home. Well, usually it’s me that wants it and Jamie who plays along because he loves me 😉 It can be simple as buying and putting together an Expedit bookshelf or more involved like planting a tulip bed. But it does happen.

A few months ago (yes, I can’t believe I haven’t posted this yet!), the whole family pitched in on a project that I’ve been wanting to do ever since my two-year-old daughter, Zara discovered that walls are the perfect spot for her scribbling!

So let me rewind. One day, while I had my back turned, Zara decided that my pristine white walls in my scraproom were a nice place to practice her drawing. Who can blame her? It’s the perfect height. It’s a blank slate. And her mom has an endless supplies of markers, journaling pens and other permament writing implements just lying around the house.

Because the ~~marks~~ art she made could not be entirely removed (even with a foul-smelling cleaner), I thought that painting over it with blackboard paint would be a good idea. Fast-forward to one weekend in September. With nothing planned that weekend, we decided to buy some blackboard paint at Home Depot. But not to paint my now sullied wall of my scraproom. But an entire wall in our kitchen.

I’m sure you’ve seen the photos on Pinterest or Apartment Therapy. Or just google “chalkboard wall”. With our cherry-red linoleum floors and slate floors in the living room, I thought it would look good. Jamie agreed. Plus, the girls would have a place to doodle and we could keep track of our grocery list needs and who’s turn it was to pick what we had for weekend breakfast.

Source: kitchenireland.com

So after cleaning, spackling up any holes in the wall and taping off all the trim, we were ready to roll on some paint. Two coats. The hardest part of the whole process may have been waiting the recommended three days of curing before we were able to write on the wall.