{Kitchen Reveal}

remember last week when i was asking your advice on what i should do to change up our kitchen?

well, i decided on going all out chalkboard paint.

i have always been a huge huge admirer of the high contrast between a dark wall and white cabinetry/finishes. because of that admiration i decided going for the dark and playful walls was the perfect solution to my design dilemma since i have all white cabinets and appliances in our current kitchen.

i got my diy on last weekend and must say i couldn't be happier with the outcome. even mr. w (who was supportive of, but i think fairly unsure of, my enthusiasm to paint our tiny little kitchen so dark) loves it.

here's a little tutorial of my experiences and a few tips i learned along the way!

originally i had wanted to make my own chalkboard paint so i could make my own color, i was thinking navy at the time. however, after reading a few tutorials online, i noticed several people saying their DIY version had several clumps in it that would transfer onto the wall. since we are in a rental, i didn't want to be stuck sanding down the wall, as well as painting it back white, before we move out someday. so i decided on the classic black.

you'll want to do your typical taping off of the walls, trim, and cabinetry as you would with any other paint job.

this is what it looked like after the first coat. i was most definitely thinking it was going to be a big diy flop. i was pretty terrified that i had gotten myself into a mess that i wasn't going to be able to fix without spending loads of time and money to get our wall back to white..

i decided i try a second coat before evaluating whether it would work and if i should paint the rest of our walls. it took great after the second coat!

so i headed on to paint the rest of the walls

after you get both coats finished, the worst part is next:
you have to let the paint dry completely for three days!!! before you can write on it.
this was a major test to my patience...and viv's..

[day 1: waiting patiently]

[i figured i'd clean up while we were waiting.
 i didn't take the tape off until i knew the paint was completely dry.
 not sure if this was the correct way to do it, but it worked, so hey!]

[day 3: not so patiently waiting anymore]

the next step after learning how to be patient gets a little messy.
if you skip this step, you'll get what they call 'burn marks' on your wall, where whatever you first write on the wall gets 'burned' onto the wall, showing thru no matter how many times you erase it. seasoning simply entails covering the entire wall in chalk, then wiping it off.
i must admit, it went much faster than i thought it would. i used the two-handed 'wax on-wax off' approach.

{seasoning the walls}

{wiping them down with a damp cloth}

{seasoned and ready for use!}

{done! ready to draw on!}

{i drew out my design on paper first to make sure i liked it}

{finished...for now.. :)
we have that dumb switch box on our kitchen wall
and i didn't think it would be smart to paint it, so instead
 i framed it to help blend it into the design a little better.}

[there were a few spots the paint didn't adhere well due to
some caulking used on the wall. thankfully it's not too noticeable]

[now i can't lose my gorcery list!]

[the back end of our kitchen.
i'm actually kind of liking our cabinet hardware for now]

{now it's a girly light switch ;)}

[it's flu season, ya know..] 

[playful pep talk to inspire me to cook more]

few tips i learned along the way:

[tip 1: wrapping your roller, brush, and paint
pan in grocery sacks is a great way to keep your
paint from drying out in between coats]

[tip 2: be prepared to get dusty...black
pants not recommended!]

[tip 3: if you wet the chalk before writing with it,
 it will help the color appear  more opaque.
this works especially well if you are using colored chalk]

*sidenote*

[you know the child's book, if you give a moose a muffin?
the whole trickle effect concept?
well, now that i've painted the kitchen,
i want to paint the lids of my canisters,
 maybe brass, or a neon or something...stay tuned..]

i'm so elated with the outcome!
so glad i decided to go big and do the dramatic look.
i love the impact it has on our space.

next up: i'd like to change the lighting fixture once i find just the right one
and i think i need to change the lids on those canisters...
stay tuned for more changes coming soon...hopefully..

thanks so much to all who gave their input on this project

xx