{Playroom} Writing on the Walls

Slowly but surely, our old storage/Ruby room is becoming a playroom.  The birthday & Christmas haul was in danger of taking over our entire house so "Project Playroom" quickly moved to the top of our to do list.  It is definitely a work in progress but rather than wait until the room is finished - which could be months - I thought I'd share one completed project at a time.

First up:  Chalkboard Wall

The space has a funky little half wall that just screamed Chalkboard! to me.  Here it is in the prepping stage.

To take it one step further, I remembered this post from my favorite DIYers, Young House Love, and decided to give the magnetic primer a whirl.  After all, the only thing cooler than a chalkboard wall is a magnetic chalkboard wall! 

I did some research, headed to Home Depot and just $30 later was equipped with Rust-oleum brand Magnetic Primer and Chalkboard Paint. (No idea why I only took a photo of 1 of them.)

The instructions call for 3 thin coats with 4 hours of drying time in between.  I did 5.  For anyone contemplating using magnetic primer in the future, stirring fast and often is KEY.  I had the folks at Home Depot give it a good shake in their paint mixer before I brought it home.  I also stirred regularly before and during application.  This keeps the magnetic particles properly distributed instead of stuck at the bottom of the paint can.

Here is what 5 coats of magnetic primer look like.

And guess what - it totally works!  Jackson's ABC magnets stick with no problem.

24 hours of dry time later I covered the wall with 2 coats of chalkboard paint.  I neglected to take a photo of this stage.  Just imagine the above photo only completely filled in.

Next up is conditioning the chalkboard.  This establishes a base coat so that your first few works of art don't scratch the surface and remain permanently visible.  After waiting 3 days for the paint to cure, Jackson and I went crazy with some big sticks of sidewalk chalk and covered the wall.

An eraser (and a lot of dust) later and voila! 

A perfectly functioning magnetic chalkboard wall!

After a few more days of drying we'll be able to use a damp cloth to wipe it down for a cleaner finish. 

I'm thrilled with how it turned out. 

Here's to writing on the wall!  And here's to hoping Jackson doesn't confuse all our walls with a chalkboard!

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Next Up:  Color.  The paint is purchased and 2 of 4 walls are done.  I went way out of my comfort zone on this one!