Chalkboard paint: The First Installment

I have this love love relationship with chalkboard paint. I'm a bit ashamed to admit it because of how dang trendy it's gotten. Go to Apartment Therapy and search for it, you'll get approximately 5 million different uses for the stuff. But I love that it's graphic, cheeky, utilitarian and cheap, so I won't apologize.

I was sitting in my very white living room one day when I considered this random little wall near the fireplace that needed something to make it worth being there. I had tried a few different chair/table/lamp combos and they were fine, but nothing spectacular.

Said wall, the one with the tree in the very bare room, first week.

I saw some holes that needed to be fixed in another wall, went the Bi Mart to get some putty and while there saw a can of chalkboard paint and right then and there decided to paint that wall black. I went home and the deed was done in no less than 2 hours.

Wall the same day it was painted, about a year ago.

This course of action is classic Ashley. And thankfully in this one instance I didn't have regret like I did that one time I sprayed a metal table bright pink with a big party of people coming over a few hours later. Ew, that was ugly.

I think if I'd thought about painting this wall any more I would have shied away for fear of it feeling too heavy, dark or contemporary. But for such a light, bright room it worked well and now helps ground your eye as soon as you walk in.

Chalkboard paint has a really nice flat finish, no shine so in this space it doesn't compete with the other walls.....well at least not as far as sheen is concerned. As for writing on it, I found in the bright light of this room that when I did write with chalk and later tried to get it off the texture of the wall made that really difficult, and the light showed all the residual dust. So I've settled to just enjoy the blackness of it without taking advantage of it's main feature. Who knows though, I may get creative with this again soon.....

Wall as it stands today with new vignette.

I love the new vignette that's going on there now, but I especially love the mid century clock I found at TJ Maxx. It's my favorite contrast and a fun mark in the room. 

I'm a big fan of black and white and midcentury wood as my neutrals with pops of color and this wall is one of my favorite places to highlight all of these attributes.

I'll share more of my love of chalkboard paint soon, in spaces where I actually have used it for it's chalk-tastic-ness, there really are 5 million great ways to use this stuff.

So.there.you.have.it.y'all.

Ashley