DIY Chalkboard Pantry Wall & Faux-Granite

This summer, we will have lived in our house for 10 years. Hard to wrap my mind around that! The past few years it has become apparent to me that my house isn’t a home enough. It needs more touches! So about a month ago I started a project which I finally got finished (oops).

It started with this:

The side of my mid-80’s wood pantry in my kitchen. Boring. Bland and ugly. We have been talking a new kitchen for years, but you know….might as well make what I have work for me NOW. Make it more mine. And make it a little bit more home.

DIY Chalkboard Pantry Wall? Yes, that thing you see on Pinterest all the time. It really is easy, and doesn’t take a lot of skill. All you need is a can of Rust-Oleum Chalkboard Paint in Black and a low-nap roller brush (think 4 to 6″ in length max, a mini one). Your local Home Depot will have it all. Do make sure you tape off everything. I still managed to get some on the wall. Thankfully I have wall paint for touch-up this week. The hardest part was keeping the cat off of my drop cloths. Seriously? He’d tear around all crazy. Yeesh.

The first coat had me wondering if it really would look OK. Go for thin coats, let dry overnight before doing a second one. Then, if like me, get busy and come back 3 weeks later……

I applied 4 coats total and in the end it looks fantastic! Now I need to let it sit, for around 3 weeks more, to cure. I’ll post an update then on how it looks 😀 But I can say I love it already. Heck, I want to paint the inserts to all my kitchen cupboards now……but yeah, I need to get the trim up instead on the wall. That is one thing we have been doing – replacing all the narrow wood trim with wider white. It looks so much nicer.

Faux-Granite wood rails? I was inspired by an article in the new March 2014 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. I had not thought about using the paint on wood rails…but it looks fantastic!

Originally this wall divided the kitchen from the living room (oh 80’s…..), my guess is they did this for a spot to plunk down “entertainment centers” against a tall wall (it was where the cable connection was). A few years back, we had a contractor friend cut the wall in half. It comes now about 5 feet high, meaning I can see over it mostly. It opened up the house on the main floor though. After cutting it, we put the wood topper back on, but hadn’t finished it. Our kitchen has been painted mint julep green since we moved in….and finally I decided it HAD to be painted, so I am painting the kitchen white. I started off with this wall, and hey….make the 80’s wood look all fancy pants? Might as well! And the best part about chalkboard paint is in most cases you con’t have to do any prep work….

I still need to do a few more coats, then let it cure (and keep that cat off of it!). Then, yes, more trim work to be done….

I am feeling inspired. A fun way to pass the winter, and make my home more me. But I might need to go buy another bucket of paint 😉