Making a Chalkboard For a Child's Room

This is what the boy's room looked like right before we moved in.

BEFORE

We painted the room Ash Mist in Olympic's No VOC paint and put in new flooring.  The room brightened instantly.  On one side I set up a spot for their toys and made a chalkboard to put on the wall.

AFTER 

 Making the chalkboard was quite simple really.  I already had a big picture frame that I bought at a garage sale for $5 and wanted to re-purpose so I decided to use it as the frame for the chalkboard.

To remove the backing and glass I first had to pull out many a staple from the wooden frame.  A simple little 5 in 1 tool hubby bought at the hardware store really made removing those staples a cinch.

 After removing the backing and glass I primed and painted the wooden frame.  The paint is Simply White by Benjamin Moore mixed in Olympics No VOC paint. While I was waiting for the paint to dry I took a piece of 1/4" plywood luan that I had leftover from our fireplace remodel and cut it down to size with a jigsaw (luan wood is a mid grade mahogany plywood). This was my first time using a power tool!  My boys watched wide eyed with wonder from a safe distance while I cut away.  The youngest exclaimed at the end of it all "You are the best mommy" with awe in his voice. The male fascination with power tools starts early I tell ya!

After cutting the luan plywood I painted it with chalkboard paint in the color 'Peapod'.  It was the perfect shade of green for their room and I was very pleased with the end result. This chalkboard paint is found at most large hardware stores and can be tinted in 12 different colors.

By the time I got to this stage my dear sister Stacy who lives in New Jersey (and blogs here ) arrived for a 2 week visit and helped me finish the project.  Here she is stapling the luan plywood directly onto the frame using a staple gun.

To hang the chalkboard on the wall we used this monkey hook that one of our local hardware store employees recommended. It was our first time using it and we were all quite impressed. It carries up to 75 lbs, is easy to use and makes only a tiny hole in the wall. My little brother hung the chalkboard for me, officially making this project a family affair during which much laughter was shared and many precious memories were made:).

Under the chalkboard are two trofast storage systems made of pine that I also painted Simply White.  Ikea sells the exact same frames in white but since those are laminate I was worried about sturdiness (3 boys!) and opted for the ones made out of wood instead. We have been using them for a year now and they are extremely sturdy.
Here are the trofast frames before I painted them. The boys were so excited that day to finally be able to organize all their toys in the different bins for the first time since our move! (the stools and the rug are are also from Ikea and can be found here and here )

 Before

 After 

I will be posting pictures of the other side of the room soon...
Checkout two more of our makeovers here and here.

Party Time! I am linked to the following  parties

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Momnivores Dilemma

Type A Decorating

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