Chalk.

Interesting how one of the greatest burdens in your childhood has resurrected itself into one of the biggest home decor trends... That's right, I'm talking about the in-home chalkboard, made inexpensive and possible through the magic of chalkboard paint! I've flipped through countless design magazines over the past year or so that features one of these elusive walls, and so, when we purchased our own place, it was a no-brainer for us to install one. Originally, our plan was to paint a door with the chalkboard paint, but recently decided to paint a little sliver of a wall outside of our daughter's bedroom door insstead. Placing the chalkboard wall where we did was ideal for Hazel, but it also breaks up the bright blue in the foyer from the rest of the apartment.

While I was planning on buying the paint at Home Depot (for $20 a quart), I instead stumbled upon the paint at Benjamin Moore (for $12 a quart!). From reviews on both products I read, most claimed Benny Moore's to be more black and scrubbable (and cheaper too). At the store, the paint associate advised me to paint with a high desnity foam roller, and work it out in 3' sections. Worst advice ever. And really, I should've known better. Working it in 3' sections did not blend the paint at all. Instead, it created splotchy 3' areas where you can see the nap marks. But the chalk covers all that. As you can see in the picture below, we currently have an anatomical drawing of a calla lily that I did, and the bottom portion of the wall is where Hazel likes to draw and gnaw on chalk.

We don't use the wall quite as much as I thought we would... I considered writing grocery lists on the wall, but didn't think that to be a practical idea, as I would either have to bring the wall with me to the grocery store, or transfer the list onto a piece of paper- which would be a little redundant.

I ultimately feel that it's a great teaching tool for our daughter as we hope to place her in an environment where her creativity can flourish- however; she may be a bit too young for the wall, as she now has it in her head that she can draw on walls... and while she hasn't busted out the crayons on the wall yet, she does take rice crackers and other snacks and uses them to "draw" by pressing firmly onto the surface. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but our builder beige paint is poor quality and I think it can scuff up just by looking at it the wrong way... (oh well, another future project).

Speaking of future projects, I think we may have decided on some bathroom paint colors tonight. We're going to mull over them for a few days, and if all goes to plan, hopefully in a week or so, our bathroom will be revamped. Stay tuned- I'll be sure to post the process.