Happy Friday, everyone!
If you're like us, it can sometimes feel like the house belongs to our kids and we're just living in it. When our oldest child was about a year old, he was really getting into anything and everything. He really loved crawling around our kitchen and knocking on the cabinet with whatever was in his hands.
That's when a light bulb went off! I wanted to get ahead of any future drawings on the wall, and give him a designated space to draw, color, or scribble that would cater to his spontaneity as a toddler. I give you, the cabinet chalkboard.
All we needed for this project was some black chalkboard paint, paint brush, wood for framing, a saw (any kind), wood glue, and a top coat seal for protection. That's it!
We have an end cabinet by the door to our laundry/mud room that made the perfect spot for this project.
Step 1: We wiped down the cabinet to make sure we had a clean surface for painting.
Step 2: We painted the chalkboard paint relative to the size of the cabinet, accounting for the space we'd use for the frame. There's no need to be exact in painting since the frame will cover up any imperfect edges. We needed about two coats of paint to completely cover the area.
Step 3: For the frame, we measured the length and width that we wanted and made cuts into the wood at 45 degree angles, with the short side in. We wanted the edges to fit perfectly together like a picture frame. We used 1/4"x3"x3' S4S (which just means it's surfaced on all four sides - four flat, square edges) oak for our frame. Each board runs about $4, but may vary depending on your store.
Step 4: We applied the finish to the framing pieces before assembling it into the cabinet so that we didn't mistakenly apply finish onto the chalkboard or cabinet. It also helped with drying time since we were able to let the pieces dry outside. For the finish, we used a satin polyurethane, but you can use any finish you like or have on hand.
Step 5: Assemble the frame onto the cabinet. We did this piece by piece by applying wood glue directly onto the boards then placing them onto the cabinet.
**Optional step** We used some painter's tape to hold the frame in place while the wood glue dried. Wood glue dries fairly quickly, but we didn't want any shifting during the drying process.
And you're done!
This project cost us around $25 and was quick. Most of the time was spent waiting for the paint and finish to dry. - Karly What kind of easy, kid focused projects have you done?
Let us know in the comments!👇