I really think I’m on a roll here in this room. Things are definitely brightening up and it’s happening quickly! So far, fingers crossed.
Just in case you missed part one, here’s a little reminder of how this area used to look.
You can see the closet doors off to the right there. Yesterday I showed you how I’d painted out all the trim and panelling on that wall with the dresser on it, and today I’ve gone and finished up the wall with the closet doors!
The first thing I did was paint out all the trim and panelling again on this wall. It took about 3 coats and soon it was really starting to feel like a whole new world in here. I taped off the trim around the closet doors and used a foam roller to roll on 3 coats of chalkboard paint. I used the stuff in the can, not the spray paint, although I really love the spray paint version as well. The first coat seemed to go on really thin, but then magically after the second coat, it was pretty much done. I did a really thin third coat just to be safe, but I don’t really think it was needed.
The can says to wait 4 hours between coats, but honestly, in all of my chalkboarding experience, I’ve never waited more than 20 minutes and they’ve always turned out perfectly. It really was a quick and painless project. I added in some simple ceramic knobs to finish if off.
I let it dry for a few hours, then I came back to it. Before you can start drawing on your chalkboard, you need to “season” it. This basically means that you rub chalk all over it and then you smear it around with a rag really quickly. At the bottom you can see where I had rubbed the chalk on, and that the top you can see how it looks after it’s been smeared. Even with a giant chalkboard like this, it’s only a 5 minute job.
Closet doors: fully-seasoned and ready to go! Chris was a little confused as to why I would paint our closet doors black, but he’s just not cool like you and I, so he doesn’t get how neat it is.
So what did I decide to draw on them, this first time around?
Why, closet doors of course! I used an old yardstick that I found in a closet upstairs to draw a bunch of “planks” and try to make them look sort of like those fun barn-style doors I’ve been seeing around lately. And when I get bored, I’ll just draw a different style of door! Or something else entirely!
For the hinges, I just made a template out of cardstock and traced it roughly where I thought hinges should go. They’re supposed to look like old barn doors, so I didn’t worry about being too perfect with anything. But then, I never do!
Sammy took one look at them, hopped up on the dresser, and died from the sheer awesomeness of this project.
Just kidding. He’s fine. I did have to poke him though, just to make sure.
We do plan to replace all the doors in this room eventually, but for now, why not have some fun and do something a little different? Overall, it’s a great next step in the right direction. And did you spy my little secret in Sammy’s mirror?
Yup! The rest of the room is almost done being painted as well! I’ll show you that soon!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.