It's so funny to me that such a spontaneous, simple project is what people always comment on when they walk into my kitchen. I mean, I
painted all the cabinets, but that's not what people notice. Of course not!
Anyway... I had this big, empty wall in my kitchen. No windows or anything. Just... wall. I wanted to put something BIG on it! I had seen a kitchen-chalkboard-command-center-type-thing on Pinterest somewhere, and I liked the idea. I couldn't find the link, though, so I just made it up as I went! Seriously, this entire thing was done for less than $15, using some things we already had.
I wandered out to the garage to look at wood and see what was there. We didn't bring any wood with us when we moved across the country, but garages always seem to have pieces of wood in them, right?? Well, ours did-- and I found a thin piece of wood that was smooth on one side, and nice and big. I held it up against the wall in the kitchen, and it was perfect! Which was good, since a) the table saw wasn't set up, and b) I didn't trust myself to use it, even if it was!
I picked up a small container of chalkboard paint at the local craft store for a few bucks, and slathered it on. It took two coats, and I used pretty much the entire half-pint container, but it went on nicely!
The next step was to attach it to the wall. I strongly recommend getting someone to help you with this part, but I was on a roll... Patience has never been my strong suit! I nailed one of the upper corners to the wall, then moved the thing around while simultaneously using my level to make sure it was straight. Then I nailed the other corners down. Tada! It was awesome!
...until it fell down. OOPS!!! I am not an expert-- have I mentioned that? :P So I did the entire thing over again, this time with screws and drywall anchors, where needed. I think I used like 10 of them, staying as close to the edge as I possibly could. Much better. It's not going anywhere!
I picked up some really cheap trim at Home Depot, painted it white, cut the corners with the miter saw (I'm not afraid of that one!), and tacked it around the edges with some think finishing nails. Voila!!! I later added some small cup hooks up at the top (for keys) and the two wooden "mailbox" things (a few bucks each at the craft store-- I painted them with the same paint I had used for the trim).
Honestly, it was EASY. And cheap. And everyone (literally, EVERYONE) comments on it when they visit for the first time. It makes me want to cry a little, when I think about the sweat I've put into other things that go unnoticed. But alas, there you have it! Making a chalkboard is a piece of cake!
