Chalk It Up to Dining

I wanted to add a bit of whismy to an empty wall in our dining room, so I thought the perfect addition would be a Chalk Board. I've seen some amazing chalk boards on these blogs: here, here and here. I knew I wanted the chalk board to be large and the frame had to be pretty.

Mr. CHL and I agreed we didn't want a black chalk board - we thought black would be to harsh in the room. Instead we wanted a dark gray chalk board plus I didn't want a bunch of leftover chalkboard paint. I googled diy chalk board paint colors, when I came across a great how to from Martha Stewart. Thanks to the amazing Martha you can have a chalk board in any color your heart desires.

We got a flat sample of Behr paint in Dark Pencil - I love this color very rich deep gray. The sample paint is the perfect size for this project 7oz. Next we mixed two tablespoon with the paint untill it was nice and smooth. Think hot cocoa with no clumps. Mr CHL applied the paint to the glass using a sponge roller, nice thin coats. We let the paint dry ten mins between coats - and lightly sanded each coat (after it was dry). It took about 5 coats to reach perfection.  

Meanwhile Mr. CHL spray paint the frame a glossy white, next I applied three coats of glossy white to the frame

A lovely addition to our almost done dining room & I love the deep gray color, looks perfect with the walls

Supplies Needed for Chalk board paint

1 cup of flat paint (any color)
2 tablespoons of unsanded grout
Sponge roller

Project Breakdown

Frame:     $ 14.99 (I used a picture frame because they are cheaper then framed mirrors)
Paint:       $    2.99
Unsanded Grout: Free, had on hand (previous owners left misc grout our garage)
Primer: Free, had on hand

Total Cost: $ 17.98