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chalkboard walls: love them or over them?

    Chalkboard walls are everywhere. It is no wonder since chalkboard paint is readily available and one of the easiest {and cheapest} ways to transform a wall.

    The first time I remember seeing chalk paint was a few years ago when Martha Stewart and her team shared how to make your own custom mix {latex paint + tile grout}.

    Since then, the trend has caught on and it seems like it only continues to grow.

    Do you remember this oldie but goodie from cottage living? One of my favorites. Love that barn door, too.

    Layla at The Lettered Cottage used chalkboard paint to cover a wall in her kitchen, then hung stainless steel shelves over top – such a charming restaurant look.

    Have you seen Holly Mathis’ redesign of her boys’ bedroom? She is amazing.

    She did the custom chalk paint method and covered a wall with it.

    Such a great playful/classic boy room.

    Janelle at House of Fifty added a dark chalkboard wall in her husband’s office, then created a gallery wall on top. She even left some empty frames to write in notes. So clever.

    Her entire house is pretty amazing and worth taking a peek at to get some great DIY ideas.

    A few years ago I painted one wall in my office with chalkboard paint.

    {more of my office here and here}

    I like the moodiness of the dark wall and the contrast with the subtle but busy pattern on the other walls.

    {same wall, just rearranged. Its a sickness.}

    The only problem with it is that our walls are slightly textured and so the surface does not allow for easy chalk writing. So pretty much the wall goes unused. That would be my only tip when it comes to painting a wall with chalkboard paint – smooth off the texture first.

    I’m still a fan of chalkboard walls. I think they are whimsical and classic all at once and I’ll be keeping mine for a bit longer. And maybe adding another to my boys’ room.

    What about you?

    Are you still a fan or over the trend?

     

    44 thoughts on “chalkboard walls: love them or over them?”

    1. Hello Emily
      I am pleased to see that we are all the same! … We did not quite take the measure of what we carry with us every day in the heart of our homes. Our husbands, our children … do not realize what it can represent, as this is when there is the fact that it becomes more important to them! Their gratitude is essential … It is important for these women to be outputs and have set up their own business. I would like to offer me Nooday jewelry, but we can not be delivered in Europe … Too bad.
      Enjoy this trip and post new beautiful photos and stories!
      Carole

    2. Ok. I am so glad you mentioned the texture on your walls makes your chalkboard wall basically unusable. We have the same thing going on here and it is frustrating! I love The Lettered Cottage’s idea of black in the kitchen with metal shelving…that link is probably my favorite that you shared.

    3. Still Love the look, although I have not appiled it yet in my home.

      Perhaps I am nostalgic regarding CBoards in general.
      It was a privalege to clean the eracers at the end of the day in elementary school…banging them together over the garbage pail.
      A chore I no longer would enjoy…lol

      And then there is the chaulk dust..I am on the fence.

    4. The print is SO beautiful! Thank you!
      I like the chalkboard paint idea for a pantry door, wall, etc. Would be so cute…but alas, our walls are also textured and I am kinda glad you pointed out the difficulty writing. I’d probably get frustrated with it! But I do like them. :)

    5. We have a chalkboard door in my craft room/husband’s photography editing room and it doesn’t get much use, but I do like it!

      Thanks for the printable, I was hoping for one :) Sharing it on my blog today…

    6. Emily, thank you so much for this printable! I loved it so much yesterday and was hoping it would become available. What an awesome reminder that God is with us no matter what we face.

      I’m definitely still a fan of the chalkboard wall! We have one in our guestroom and I really love it. Plus, the inspiration images you showed are gorgeous! I still am in love with your office redo.

    7. Don’t think I’ll ever be over chalkboard walls! We have one, and I apply chalkboard paint to quite a few things just for fun. Oh, and saw your comment; I’ve used the markers as well but they’ve never come off for me easily, either, even on smooth surfaces. Sigh!
      LOVE the printable; thank you!!!

    8. I am still loving the chalkboard trend. We are about to close on a new house, and I have the perfect spot for a chalkboard on the side of my cabinets!

    9. I am soooooo over them! They are messy and so yesterday… In small doses they are cute but lets move on!
      Saw some great ideas on these comments tho- love the bible verses and inspiration for Chemo patient

    10. Hey Emily! I think I will always love the chalkboard wall. I have a soft spot for anything whimsical and child-like in decorating and this just never gets old for me! I’m looking forward to doing a green chalkboard wall in our beach cottage kitchen this summer.

      LOVE the Soar print, so so beautiful. You are a shining star for Him!

    11. I full on am still on the chalkboard everything bandwagon. Especially now with all of the colored chalk paints. Love. And thank you for that printable – I actually saved it to my computer yesterday to hopefully print off, but now you made that much easier. Super cute Emily!

    12. Thank you Emily for sharing the PDF – I was going to ask you also :-) Your blog post and the scripture were perfectly timed (God has a way, right?!) My sister, a mom of 4, just found out that she has grown Stage 3 Invasive Glandular Cancer (from a clear mamo to a 3 inch tumor in 7 weeks). I sent a link of your blog to her yesterday and she loved it. She starts chemo this week and I had hoped to send her a copy as a reminder – thanks so much for sharing, its beautiful. I love your blog and your honesty, its always encouraging :-)

    13. Love Them! And Chalkboard Pens , they aren’t dusty like chalk and the lines for lettering are crisper and neater. I use both however depending on the application.
      Loved your post yesterday, Love that you Keep It Real:) you are blessing and encouraging others in the process.
      Must meet you sometime before heaven :)
      love,
      Linda

    14. In our previous home, I painted the children’s closet doors in chalkboard paint. I thought they were fun – until we put the house on the market and almost every realtor who came through recommended we re-paint them. Sigh.

    15. I would have to say I’m over them, if only because the chalkboard dust sort of drives me crazy (and reminds me of too many struggles with math equations on a chalkboard at school :) ) Even if I won’t put one up in my own nest, I still think they are a great practical and cute option for walls.

    16. I love chalkboard walls. I think I always will, honestly. Perfect for jotting down a quick list or reminder – or my fave – a memory verse.

      Also – Emily you are so generous and giving! Thank you for investing your time and talent into things like a free printable. Seriously, how generous. Praying that you will be blessed with acts of great generosity and the rest that your soul needs!

    17. THANKS for the free prints! My husband is recovering from Guillain Barre syndrome so I am going to frame this and put it where he can see as an encouraging reminder (and honestly, at 36 weeks pregnant with #3 and taking care of him and 2 little kids, I need it too! Yeah…your weary post was definitely right on)!

    18. I enjoy it in small doses. I haven’t been brave enough to do a whole wall. I did paint the inside of my medicine cabinet with chalkboard paint. It’s a great place to write down all those things that come to you while you’re in there…thinking :). I actually use it as the place to write down my year’s resolutions (they tend to be broad like being a good friend or being healthy). Good thing to be reminded up first thing in the morning.

      I also painted the top of my son’s desk. It was a desk his grandfather made for his uncle (but was passed along to us) and it was in rough shape (aesthetically). So I painted it, but decided to do the whole top of it in chalkboard paint. It’s been a fun place for him and I to exchange notes.

      I just got a small framed chalkboard that I’ll use as a “welcome” spot for the guests coming to our cottage throughout the summer. Easily customized for each guest.

      We’re about to purchase a used RV that’s a little older and I’ve thought about painting one cabinet front for each of my kids, so they all have their own space in there. But that one might not go over well w/ my husband. I might just have to settle for a smaller framed chalkboard (easy to make) hung on the front of the cabinet.

    19. Can you be over them if you never really liked them? I don’t like the feel of a chalk board (cleaning, erasing, writing, to the touch, none of it). I’m ready for the trend to be over.

    20. Yes, I still love ’em! In fact, I’m about to do a black chalkboard wall in my office for the contrast and I’m a major list maker.

      P.S. Glad to hear things are looking up for you! I am in that weary zone myself right now. No fun!

    21. Have you tried chalk markers? I believe Uchida makes some. That might work better on a textured wall.
      Thanks for the pdf!

    22. I still love them, and Julie M.’s comment is so funny about schools going to whiteboards…wonder if that will the next trend? (Which will then be followed by Smartboards where you can just project whatever image you want on that wall…something my husband has suggested for years that I do so that I don’t redecorate so much! LOL) My sons’ room has the wall, and it will stay there I know. I also love my real chalkboards in the playroom, and kitchen, and office, and once upon a time one was in the laundry room with directions for all family members who were old enough to read “How to do the Laundry.”

    23. Thank you so much for the free printable. Your post was very touching and certainly struck a (much-needed) chord in me. I have had several items weighing down my heart, and your post reminded me to just lift them up to Him and release the stress and anguish. I plan to post the Soar print in a prominent spot for a constant reminder. Thank you again.

    24. The chalkboard trend is still going strong. I find it so interesting that schools have been replacing chalkboards with whiteboards, and yet this trend is now caught up with the home. I feel like I’d need some mad hand lettering skills in order to make it look nice in the home.

    25. The Chalkboard walls are so cool and fun, but I have had a chalkboard in my house for quite a few years and it is so darn messy and chalk dust gets all around it so quickly that I don’t think I could have a whole wall in my house. But it does look so fun on all these pictures. They did amazing jobs.

    26. Thank you for the free printable. I love it and can’t wait to share it with a friend!

      It’s funny how our weariness ebbs and flows. I’m glad you’re feeling better today! Thank you for sharing your story this week; so many people are fearful to share their thoughts when things are heavy, but someone can always relate.

    27. I’m a fan! I have a chalkboard wall in my son’s room and I would like to do another in the kitchen. I have the same complaint though. I’m not sure if the wall was not properly primed because it’s not that easy to write on.

    28. in theory I love them, as I still love to see them in blogs and mags. But I don’t think I’d ever do it in my home coz of the mess. I can barley stand my large chalkboard looking scruffy let alone a whole wall.

      ps. I’m looking for a birthday list printable, do you have one?

    29. I used chalkboard paint for the first time almost 8 years ago on a wall near our laundry room in our first home. Since then, I have not painted another wall, but love using chalkboard paint to create chalkboards that we use indoors and out. I have reused old crib parts to create sandwich board outdoor chalkboards, put a huge chalkboard on our fence using plywood, and have a chalkboard in just about every room of our home to draw and write inspirational words.
      So, I guess you could say I LOVE chalkboard paint and chalkboards!!!

    30. I love the chalkboard walls, especially the different colored chalkboard paint. I know what you mean about textured walls, which is every wall in my house, so I have resorted to buying very large mirrors ( home goods) and painting them with chalkboard paint. They look great and have a very finished look because of the frame. I just put one in our playroom/media room.

    31. I love the chalkboard walls… if you are looking for a really fresh spin or look that really POPS! try liquid chalk pens. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM!!! They give you a great line and they come in all kinds of colors, pastels, neon, and plain white and black. They are a little expensive, but the quality is great and I use them daily at my job (a lot) and they last for a long time.

      http://chalkink.com/ChalkInk.com/Homepage.html – this is the brand that I have used and had a lot of luck with, if you have a minute watch the video (turn down your volume…. I saw it for the first time today!

      I guess after this whole message I should mention I do not work for this company in any way! I just think they have made a great product!

      1. I have a chalk pen that i love how it writes, but it DOES NOT erase! At least not from my wall. I had to repaint portions of the wall to cover the notes written with the pen. This could be due to the texture of the walls …

    32. Emily,
      As always you never let me down as a source for encouragement! Thank you! I still love chalkboard walls, but I am always about five years behind! :) I would love to paint a wall in our home, but we rent so there goes that!
      Love the print and encouragement on becoming weary, I think when we are tired from loving and raising our kids it is a sign that we are working hard to pour in their lives!
      Hope you have a great weekend!

      1. Alyssa,
        We also rent right now and I use a chalkboard applique sold at Target. It comes rolled up in a clear tube. It’s sticky on the back, but can be removed and even repositioned easily with no damage. While it’s not an entire wall (about 16×20), it does add that chalkboard element; I keep Bible verses on it :)

    33. I still love chalkboard walls, I did one in my house in black but the room I chose was our foyer and it made it very small and dark. I reprinted it back. So my tip would be choose a room that has lots of natural light. I agree with you about it adding whimsy to a room, hopefully it’s a fun trend that lasts. Have a fabulous day!

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