Chalkboard walls are all the rage, but I knew I wanted something different in our kitchen. And yet, I can’t fight the notion that a message wall is just so darn convenient when tracking schedules, making grocery lists, leaving welcome messages (or, as you’ll see in a few images, professing your never-ending love to your favorite TV network).
The giant before.
So when Ken and I finally decided to turn our big blank wall into a message center, we wavered between two options: (1) Go with the expected chalkboard wall, or (2) Try our hand at dry erase paint. Of course, the “expected” route has never appealed to us, and although we love chalkboard walls in other spaces, we didn’t want a super dark gray accent wall in our light and bright kitchen. Sure, it could have worked swimmingly, but I also love how airy our kitchen is and want nothing more than to bask in its white glow all day long.
Prep work before a race against the clock!
So, option (2) was settled upon and we got to work. We chose IdeaPaint, mainly because their website and branding is just so fantastic. (Kidding. But man, it’s cute over there.) And gosh, was it a harrowing task to apply this stuff. Because the concoction thickens fairly quickly, you have less than an hour to paint the entire space, which can be tricky when cutting in from ceilings and trim. I will also add that it’s particularly harrowing when the person applying said paint (whose name rhymes with “Ben”) is a perfectionist.
Here comes the big reveal...
Yet luckily, Ken pulled it off with seconds to spare and the dry erase paint exceeded our expectations. The hardest part? Waiting an entire seven days for the paint to set before we could try our hand at writing messages, notes and to-do lists. (Note: If you do this project at home, you won’t need to actually barricade the wall for seven days, because the paint is dry to the touch after roughly 3 hours. The seven day waiting period is strictly to allow the paint to set before actually writing on the surface.)
It works! It works!
We’re thrilled with the look and are so happy to no longer be staring at a large blank wall that served little purpose. Even better? We won’t be vacuuming chalk dust daily, which is a huge bonus for the gal that hates to clean (whose name rhymes with “Karen”).
The perfect wall for love notes - big and small!
What about you, friends? Have you ever worked with dry erase paint, chalkboard paint, or anything else crazy innovative? I’d love to hear your experiences!
Hi Erin! How fun is this?!! I love the possibilities ~ just one question. What's the recommended cleaning process to make sure when you clean the wall, its truly clear of the ink that was left before? That's one challenge I find with dry erase surfaces over time, they just don't clean clear. Thanks for the inspiration!
What a fun idea! And it looks great too!
This would be great on the closet doors in my home office. I was thinking the chalkboard route, but I like this so much better!
@Molly – GREAT question! The company recommends avoiding low odor markers, as they don't come clean quite as well as the old-school stuff. They ALSO recommend that you don't leave messages on for multiple days (just in case!), but we tested a swatch for 8 days and it wiped clean with little effort.
We plan to clean ours with just a dry paper towel and it seems to be working well so far. I'll definitely update you if that changes!
@Karen GREAT idea!
Love it! Now, the trick will be training the little one that THIS is the wall to write on… not all of the other walls! Hehe.
Oh man. My boyfriend will hear about this when I get home, and then will not stop hearing about it until we do it somewhere in our apartment. Way, way cool.
This is waay cool. Kids would have soo much fun with this. No more getting in trouble with writing on the walls!
Just made some shortbread cookies for V-Day. Check them out. http://becauseofmadalene.blogspot.com/2012/02/sho…
xo,
Christina
Regarding the cleaning issue: We used the IdeaPaint at work. At first it cleaned fairly easily, but the more it was used, the more difficult it became to get it really clean. Definitely recommend against leaving messages up for more than a day or two. There is a cleaning solvent you can purchase — just make sure you clean that off (damp towel) as soon as you clean off the marker.
Eeek, this sounds incredibly toxic to me. No thank you. I'd rather use safe paint that I can actually EAT, it's that safe……ecospaints.com Never use another paint again. I can see where the idea for the dry erase thing comes in handy and all, but I'd rather be safe and use a note and paper or large dry erase calendar. Oh and btw, I don't actually eat the paint, it's just that it's that safe that one COULD eat it. I have MCS so, it's very important that any paint we use, has ZERO voc's, not just low voc's.
Too opinionated..
@Sandra —- AWESOME feedback; thank you SO much!
@ch HA!
need to know name of acidic compound Scott used to remove cat urine smell in a basement he used on one of his property income episodes. Can anyone help me? I do not remember the show or date but wasn't too long ago.
You have to use something with "enzymes". I've had good luck with a solution of 1 part PineSol and 3 parts water. You can put it in a sprayer and spray it on, but if the floor has been extensively soiled you may have to actually pour it on. Use a black light to see the areas that need to be treated.
@ChedvaK so excited to hear you'll be trying this in your own home!
Thanks for your sweet words!
Love this! And it will match my office color scheme way better than regular old chalkboard paint.
P.S. I love your nail color!
@Liz – Oh, thank you! A gal after my own heart!
I love this idea! It's so much cleaner and brighter than chalkboard paint. I would be tearing that wall up with doodles
I had never heard of this! So darn cool.
I have not tried the dry erase style BUT I did put the black board style on my pantry door and I LOVE it. Works like a charm and when my grandsons visit they love to draw on it, Just keep a good supply of colored chalk and you are all set!!
So not thrilled with the new show "Love It or List It". The concept is great so I hope some adjustments can be made for viewers. The antagonistic style of both hosts, who border on rude, becoming annoyed with their own client is a turnoff. When the competitiveness of hosts is what is expected to attract viewers, no thanks. Please try again!
@ D Critchet, couldn't agree with you more. For some reason, the producers at HGTV believe they need to inject the reality rudeness found on the other networks into the programming. What they fail to realize is that one of the reasons we watch HGTV is to learn something positive. There are still a few good shows on HGTV, but overall, the network has become a major disappointment in the last couple of years. Based on the comments found on this blog, the producers really, really do not know the HGTV audience and consequently losing a lot of us. They don't seem to mind, they just give us more of the same that generated the complaints in the first place.
So great and perfect for you guys! Yay to no chalk dust either. Can't wait to write you guys unexpected notes… Oh and yes, the kids will love it!
The blue nails – love, love! Need to know what polish that it. Love the dry erase wall, I have to try this! And Sandra – so good to hear someone else say how disappointing HGTV is getting, still love it, just not as much.
does anyone know what happens if you want to paint over it?
Erin, this is awesome! We were thinking about doing chalkboard paint in our apartment. We thought it would be fun for Nathaniel (and us) to draw on and use for a fun art display area. We're going to move into a new apartment this year, so maybe this brighter option would be the way to go. xo
@MargaretAK – Hi Margaret! It's a Revlon shade from Target – must look it up for you!
@Kelli – I'd recommend a really great primer before painting over it, but haven't experimented with this yet!
@Melanie – Great idea!
I like to use dry erase markers on my bathroom mirror for handy reminders.
We used that shiny bathroom wallboard to make our dry-erase wall; no worries about toxic paint! We also used regular blackboard erasers and soft cloths, too, for removing messages. Have fun!
I have taught elementary school, and we purchased wallboard at Home Depot, and had them cut into squares for the students to have their own whiteboards. So, I know before it was cut, it was a large size, maybe not as big as the wall. They were used for years with the students and cleaned with a kleenex and stored until the next use. I like that instead of the paint option.
Regarding painting over: The instructions I received with my Idea Paint were to use Premium Primer on the area to be covered with the Idea Paint. My suggestion for painting over is to first sand the gloss off the Idea Paint and then use that same Premium Primer (Erin suggested a really greater primer) to cover the Idea Paint area. Like Erin, I haven't experimented with this either, but cannot imagine why the two-step process would not work.
I love this in comparison to chalkboard walls which can get a little overdone. But I'm most interested in that wall to the left, which appears to be your entryway with all the hooks on it. Is there a post up that shows the details of that wall? Looks so cool from afar. And how do you keep it looking like a piece of art and not just a big cluttered mess of a wall?
@fourflights yep, that's our entryway right here!: http://blog.hgtv.com/design/2011/05/11/our-quirky…
we love it SO much, and the secret to keeping it un-cluttered is to store small things like hats/gloves/scarves or dog leashes in one big tote to hang, rather than keeping everything exposed on separate hooks. works wonders!
@sandra – awesome idea; thank you for sharing that!
Erin – do you remember what you had under your paint? Primer etc? Thanks!
Hi Teresa: We had primer and white interior paint (I believe eggshell?) underneath the dry erase paint. Be sure to clean and prep the wall before applying the dry erase paint!
I used this paint in my daughters room. She had a small attic door that was framed in her room. She was a bit afraid of this door, so we decided to make it a dry erase board. The frame for the door was perfect for making it seem more like a "picture" placed on the floor. She now is not afraid of the door, and uses it to post insperational quotes, pictures and brithday reminders. Just Love IT. We have not had any problem erasing even quotes that have been up for awhile. We use disinfecting wipes to get it really clean.
Does it come in any color besides white?
For anyone that wanted the darker color of the black board look, but doesn't want the chalk dust, there are chalk markers out now, which work just like a dry erase marker, but for chalk boards.
you can make chalkboard paint in any color, you just add tile grout powder to whatever paint you're using. and instead of using a dry cloth or eraser for erasing the messages, use a wet-and-wrung-out paper towel. no chalk dust cleanup.
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Wall Arts
While deciding the wall on whiteboard paint for your kid's room, it is always good to take the opinion of your children. These tool is such a useful thing that brings a sense of creativity and imagination to my business right now. The more creative the office will be the more intelligent and creative your employees.
You might want to put in bigger ventilation. Something like that seems a little too small for the room.
I am going to do this for my grandkids, I have 6 under the age of 4, so they will love the fact that Gigi lets them write on the wall!
Does it have enough ventilation? Can you guys add more? I think it will look much better if you install more or replace it with a wider one.
-Christina W. Wear