Chalkboard Command Center
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Chalkboard walls are all over the places these days…from playrooms to bedrooms to kitchens. We have a wall in our kitchen that I have always eyed for a potential chalkboard wall. I wanted a little more than just a plain wall though and had dreams of a chalkboard command center where we could store important information too!
I never seemed to actually move it up on the to-do list and make it a priority though. Something about the black you get with typical chalkboard paint kept holding me back.
Then, a few months ago, Benjamin Moore contacted me and asked me to try out a new product they would be releasing soon {hint: soon like this week!}. Of course, I jumped at the chance because I love Benjamin Moore. Plus, the product was oh too perfect to get my chalkboard wall out of my head and actually onto to the wall.
So, what is this new product?
Tintable chalkboard paint. Yep…you can tint this chalkboard paint to almost any Benjamin Moore paint color!!! Awesomesauce, right? No more sticking to black, gray or maybe a light blue if you can find it. Now, there are a crazy number of color options to choose from.
Since I recently made new kitchen curtains, I chose a color I knew would work with the overall color scheme in the curtains: Dragonfly. Words cannot describe the excitement when this box arrived!
As I started thinking about the wall, I decided that I didn’t want to just paint the whole wall in chalkboard paint. Instead, I wanted to make more of a command center using the chalkboard paint for the major parts and combining it with the chore charts for the kids (tutorial for those soon!).
First up were the measurements. I drew out a elaborate child like drawing of what I wanted to do on paper.
I headed out for the one supply that didn’t come in the box: 1/2 inch painters tape. Yeah, try finding that! I ended up with .70 inch tape which really measured more like .625. Thankfully, Mathlete was around to help me re-do the measurements and drawing.
I convinced him to do the taping too 🙂
With a little help from H.
I was on E duty since he has decided that he needs to climb everything in our house at least once per day.
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| Hi, I like to sit on top of the table. |
We taped off a large section at the bottom.
Then, in the middle, we added some tape as general guidelines for where we would hang the chore charts.
At the top, we used the smaller tape to create a grid that would become out calendar.
When we were finally ready to paint. We put a coat of the wall color over all the tape to make sure that our chalkboard paint wouldn’t bleed. A calendar needs crisp lines afterall 🙂
I let that dry overnight and then, in the morning, set up entertainment for the kids so I could finally paint the chalkboard.
I did two coats. Once going on vertically and the other going horizontally.
Almost immediately after finishing the second coat, I pulled up all the tape to make sure it didn’t adhere to any of my paint.
From there, I used my Cameo to cut out the days of the week and some other fun stuff for the wall.
Mathlete came back in and hung my chore charts and clipboard and the wall was done!
I am so in love with it! The color is amazing and goes perfectly with the curtains. The paint was ridiculously easy to use and gave awesome coverage.
Now, I just need to fill it up with all the stuff we have going 🙂
Have you made a chalkboard out of anything recently? Don’t you love the idea of being able to tint the chalkboard paint to almost any color?
Do you have any questions about colored chalkboard paint? Tweet or Facebook Benjamin Moore and let their experts help you.
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I love that Idea! I have a similar wall that I keep staring at and haven’t made the chalk board commitment yet because of the same reason…Do I REALLY want a huge black rectangle on my kitchen wall…? I like this idea though…! Thanks for sharing:)
xo
Nelly
dginnovations.blogspot.com
Love your detailed instructions – this is a brilliant idea for helping to organize a busy schedule. Found you via “Make the Scene Monday”!
Wow, that is so exciting about the tintable paint! So many ideas… I love the calendar you made! Great job!
sara @ applestonedrive.blogspot.com
That wall is just perfect for that! It was just calling out to be used for daily organizing. And those little helpers are soooo cute!
This is seriously legit!
I have serious envy here! Awesome job!
Love this! You did an awesome job! I need to do some more charts like that too! Been doing them on paper and on thee side of my fridge… always a mess
Wow! It looks fantastic! I love that you were able to make use of the wall right there in the kitchen. Wish I had actual wall space in my kitchen. You did a great job!
Fantastic! I just found you through BM on twitter. Love your schedule and chore chart! Just love it!
Ahh, I love it! I wihs I had a wall that I could do this on. You did a great job. Thanks so much for linking up to Tip toe thru Tuesday. I hope we see you next week.
How sweet that they gave you a sample of just what you needed. You picked such a great color; your design is so creative and cool too!
Liz
That is crazy awesome!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! What a clever idea and pretty color too. It turned out great! I would be thrilled if you shared this at my Throwback Thursday party. I hope to see you there and thanks so much for sharing! http://www.hubbymademe.com/throwback-thursday-no-10/
I love it, that is just what I need on the stairs to remind everyone of what they should be doing and what not to forget. Please may I post it in my “Completely fabulous and Brilliant” page on my blog?
This is AMAZING! I love it and love how you stay organized! Your newest follower from threekendrickblessings.blogspot.com
What a great idea! Have one myself but never thought of painting it on the wall! Stopping by from Natural Nester’s Party! Would love for you to visit sometime!
Ilda
http://www.ilovedoingallthingscrafty.com/
OMGosh, I so so luv this command center! That color is awesome also! I’ve been eyeing up a wall to do a chalkboard on too but didn’t want to commit to such a dark color, I’ll be hitting up my local Ben Moore real soon! So glad you linked with tip Toe Thru Tuesday!
kim
wow…it looks amazing…love this take on the usual chalk walls…:)
Shannah,
OMG I love this! I love the color of the chalkboard paint too. I sure wish I had a wall that big with nothing on it in my kitchen. This was an amazing tutorial that I’m sure my readers will LOVE. Thanks so much for sharing.
Michelle
It looks so nice and organized!
Crystelle
http://www.crystelleboutique.com
Turned out really neat! Great for the kids to participate in too 😉
-Fotini { http://glamorousbride.blogspot.com }
I just love this Shannah! Such a great idea!
This looks great! I’ve featured this post over at The Bulletin Board – come on over & check it out when you get a chance 🙂
http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2012/09/the-bulletin-board_16.html
Crystal
MrsHappyHomemaker.com
Uhm, I LOVE it! Great idea to paint a coat of the wall color first to prevent bleeding. Pinning this for my “to-do” file. Found you @ Etcetorize.
Great idea, love what you did! Thanks for linking up to our Pretty Things Party. Hope to see you back next week!
What a fun way to stay organized! And that paint sounds awesome!
What a fun way to stay organized! And that paint sounds awesome!
This is so fun! And so cool that you got to try this stuff out before it was released, that is awesome!! I will def. be trying this!!
We featured you today at the naturally-nifty party!!
http://natural-nester.blogspot.com/2012/09/naturally-nifty-party-32.html
That’s such a cool idea..and I love organization! 🙂 Hope to see you at FFL..
Lina
It looks so cool. (are you brave enough to post a pic of it actually in use?) Are they daily or weekly chores or what? I’d love to introduce a chore chart like that!
I love it!! such a pretty color too. Found you through Scissors and Spatulas.
Such a great idea!! Love the paint color. Would love for you to link up at my Pin It Thursday party
TOTALLY awesome idea!!! I wonder if that paint will come to Canada?? (We always seem to get stuff way later than you lucky ducks in the states!)
AWESOME idea!! Totally great for organization! Love it. Pinning!
Thanks for linking up to this week’s Catch a Glimpse Party! I’ll be featuring this tomorrow. 🙂
Wow! That’s amazing!
Thanks so much for linking up at I Gotta Create! <3 Christina
Can you send him over here?? I need one too!!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!
Thanks for linking up to last week’s Tuesday Confessional! You’ve been featured and Pinned so head over and grab a brag button!
http://www.craftyconfessions.com/2012/09/tuesday-confessional-features_23.html
~Macy
This turned out great!! A chalkboard is so handy to have in the kitchen. I would love if you would share this (and some of your other projects) over at my link party going on right now:
http://sewingbarefoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-weekly-creative-1.html.
Have a nice day!
Shannon
Such a great idea! I do my menu on little pieces of paper and I am constantly loosing them.
My new co-host for Pintastic Monday is featuring you over at her blog today.
http://justdawnelle.blogspot.com/2012/09/pintastic-monday.html#comment-form
Love love love this idea!! Already showed the hubby and trying to plan where to put it on my wall. I love this so much better than some of the other “command centers” I’ve seen. Great job and thanks for sharing!!! 🙂
Thanks! This has definitely been extremely useful for our family since we put it up there. Plus, the paint is fantastic and holds up well to repeated wipings.
Hi, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you
get a lot of spam feedback? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you
can recommend? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any
help is very much appreciated.
I use a plugin on my blog that blocks most spam comments. A few get through and I either edit out the link {if it looked like a legit comment someone was just trying to stick a spammy link in} or click them over to spam myself.