So remember that Florida condo that we bought (now almost a year ago)...? The one that I said I would blog about, but then hardly mention on here...? Well, it has finally reached a respectable level of "doneness". (It's not DONE, and will probably never be DONE... but it has surpassed "presentable" and has attained "pretty cute" status.)
Our latest project was scraping wallpaper off the kitchen walls and repainting (a safe, boring beige) in there. Between the refrigerator and the doorway leading into the kitchen is a big, empty wall that needed something. We had tried our crate bookcase and then a table/desk, but neither really fit the space quite right. After a little Pinteresting, I decided I wanted to paint that wall with chalk-board paint. Of course, Matt thought I was crazy, but we went and bought the paint all the same.
Once I was at Home Depot - I was presented with a whole new conundrum... Did you know that you can now get your chalkboard paint blended to ANY color of your choosing?!? I stuck with my original vision of a bold, black kitchen wall, though - and purchased a pre-mixed/boxed Rusto-Oleum Chalkboard paint in black. (They did shake it up for me at the paint counter, though.)
The paint was especially runny. We had splatters all over the place - even in the adjoining rooms. We rolled on the first coat, let it dry, and it looked TERRIBLE. Of course, Matt remained optimistic (sarcasm). The second coat, although still drippy (is that a word?) went on much nicer. And, when it was all dry - it was A BIG, BLACK WALL IN THE KITCHEN.
The box instructed us to wait three days before "conditioning," but we had to go home before day three... so a black wall it remained until we returned a month later.
Pinterest had previously informed me of the need to condition your new chalkboard wall by covering it entirely with chalk and then using a damp paper-towel to wipe off all the chalk... prior to any writing or drawing. (Otherwise, I assume a ghostly remnant of your first chalk doodlings will forever remain on the wall..)
It took a while to cover an entire wall with my little chalk pieces which kept wearing through and causing my fingernails to scrape uncomfortably along the wall. And, it created a sizeable pile of chalk dust on the floor and baseboards. Then, sticking with what I had read... I proceeded to use a full roll of paper towels to wipe down the entire wall. (Which not only wasted a lot of paper towels (and effort) it also left millions of little flecks of paper-towel stuck all over our freshly seasoned wall. We have since discovered that a damp wash-cloth or dishtowel makes a much more effective eraser. (The damp wash-cloth nicely removed all the paper towel pieces, too.)
While I don't know that I'd want to live with a chalkboard wall every day, I love it for what it is, where it is. Before my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew came down; Matt and I wrote a giant, "Welcome to FLORIDA" on there. Up above the doorway - Matt has the distance noted to various ball-parks. My sister colored the cute sunset scene, so I was sure to give her credit for that.. J.P. loved it - and kindly kept all the chalk on the designated wall which was pretty polite for a two-year-old.
I keep thinking that if/when we ever go to sell - we'll likely need to cover it all up. (I'm guessing most Naples-condo-shoppers would probably prefer our boring beige to be on all four walls of the kitchen.) But for now, just like McDonalds, I'm lovin' it.
(Which reminds me I showed a house today with red and yellow stripes painted on the kitchen walls - it was hideous.)
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