Kitchen Makeover - The Chalkboard Wall

You can check out the rest of my kitchen makeover here.

I had taken more photos on attaching the rails to the wall, but unfortunately the files were corrupted when I transferred them to my computer.

I will give you the basics:



I used:
Level
Studfinder
Pencil
Screwdriver
Nail
Hammer
8 x 1 3/4 Inch screws (not included in ikea purchase)

The rails and buckets I bought from Ikea
2x Bygel Rail $2.99ea
7x Bygel Bucket $0.99ea
Chalk $0.89
Benjamin Moore Chalkboard Paint: $60
Alphabet Stencils: $2.00

Total cost to me = $75.80

The paint for the rest of the kitchen was $70 as I went with a kitchen and bath paint by Benjamin Moore. The paint went on so smoothly for the rest of the kitchen that I only needed to do one coat. I now have leftover paint that I plan on using to makeover our bathroom. I will post once that is complete.

Since I have a little boy, and little boys like to climb anything and everything, I wanted to make sure that the screws on both sides went into studs if they were going to be within reach. So, I went along the entire wall with the stud finder and marked with chalk where each of the studs were. Since this is a non load bearing wall, the studs were on 2' centres which was too far apart for the rails. I believe the rail's screw spacing is 19". The smaller wall by the doorway was just slightly over 19" spacing edge to edge.

I set my rail so that the screw holes were just at the edge of each stud and planned on running my screws in at an angle. I knew that this would mean that the screw heads would not sit perfectly flat, but function over form won this battle.

I marked one end of the rail's screw holes then ran a level line across to the other end of the wall to ensure the rail would hang straight, then marked the second set of holes. I then took a 3" nail and hammered it into the marked spots at an outward angle to make sure I would be hitting a stud. If you do not have a stud to attach to, I would suggest putting the rails up out of reach of anyone who might think it is a ladder, and using hollow wall anchors in your drywall.

Of the 8 holes I managed to hit the stud 7 times, so I think they will stand up well to a bit of abuse.

Here is my first attempt at using the chalkboard wall. Next time I may make the calendar larger.
I found letter stencils at Dollarama for the large lettering. $2 for the alphabet.

I may go and buy one of those little image projectors they have that you can put over a piece of paper and project on the wall. I thought that would be great for making large murals from coloring books. Will post another blog if and when I get around to that.

If you have any questions, or I have missed anything, please leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer. I would also welcome leaving a link or picture of your completed project!