Fun and Easy DIY Chalkboard Wall

I live in this charming, red brick house in a historic neighborhood. At least that’s how I will pitch it when we go to sell next year. However, living in an older home means living with quirky things that construction workers have done away with in change for more convenient materials. For example, lath and plaster walls. The bane of my existence. I can’t just hang a picture the normal way or my walls crumble and fall apart. Because of this, some walls in my home have remained bare for the 10 years we have lived here.

Meet my lonely kitchen wall. We have cabinets on either side of the kitchen with this bare, lonely wall to look at. Nothing seemed quite right there. Even if we did hang pictures, they would likely get knocked off the wall when I was busy cooking. A little table would be in the way and would block cupboards from fully opening.

One day, I was browsing Pinterest and saw chalkboard walls. That’s it! My lonely kitchen wall could be a chalkboard wall!

Deco Arts sent me some Americana Chalkboard Paint to try out. We used a level to measure and tape off where we wanted to paint. Josh patched any holes and I cleaned off the wall. We didn’t sand the wall because the wall doesn’t have any texture and with lath and plaster, our wall would crumble. Deco Arts suggests sanding and priming any surfaces that are rough or porous.

We painted 1 coat horizontally and let dry for 1 hour. We then painted the 2nd coat vertically and let the wall dry for 24 hours. I then chalked the entire wall and erased to ready it for use.

I imagine that most of the time I will use the wall for writing messages while I am on the phone, making to do lists, and letting the children draw. My two little boys tried it out and loved it! My 3 year old drew on the wall for hours.

I wanted to try my hand at some chalkboard art but found my talent severely lacking. I had my friend Deanna come over and do her thang with my chalkboard wall.

I will likely display some cute chalkboard wall art for Holidays or when we are preparing to sell our house next spring. However, most days I will let the kids draw on it to keep them occupied while I am busy cooking, baking, or cleaning the kitchen.

Painting the chalkboard wall took about 3 hours total to paint and  24 hours to set.  I used 6 – 4 oz. bottles of Americana Chalkboard Paint to paint a 45 in wide by 62 inch long rectangle.

I love how my chalkboard wall turned out!  What do you think?  Are you brave enough to try it in your own home?