Our basement is where our homeschool room is and the wall is concrete. Since we’re limited to what we can do with the walls and I’ve always wanted to try out chalkboard paint, we decided to make one giant chalkboard wall!! We decided to use Valspar Chalkboard Paint. Since the wall is an imperfect bumpy concrete wall, I knew it wasn’t going to have the most perfect outcome but we’re fine with that since it’s meant for my kids are going to be scribbling on it.
Here is the before.
- First, we prepped the wall by wiping it the wall down using a cleaning rag with just some water and tad bit of dawn dish soap, taping off the edges of the wall, and covered the floor with plastic.
- Then time to paint! Even some of our kiddos helped.
We did wait a full 24 hours before doing the second coat. Surprisingly we were able to get a good two full coats with one-quart sized can!
after the second coat
- After waiting another 24 hours of letting the second coat dry, we seasoned the wall. We took a total of three sidewalk size chalk and rubbed it all over the wall.
This part we did while the kids were in bed which was great because it made a huge mess!! I was fun that it was my husband and I were the ones making the mess for once. This is what date night looks like for us.
- Afterward, we wiped everything off and cleaned up all chalk dust that got everywhere. Luckily we kept the plastic down for the seasoning part and it caught the bulk part of it. Then it was ready to go!!!
The next morning, the kids were eager to test it out. The biggest downfall to having that huge chalkboard wall is the huge mess the kids end up making!!
It’s been a couple weeks and after plenty of artwork getting done it and it getting wiped several times (with wet washcloths) this is how it looks now.
Altogether, this project took a total of three days to complete, mainly due to waiting 24hrs in between coats. It’s definitely not the most pristine chalkboard wall but it works out great for us. It’s a great improvement for our homeschool room. Have you tried using chalkboard paint? Comment below with your experience.
