DIY: Rental Approved Chalkboard

I have always wanted a chalkboard for my kids to draw on and express themselves artistically. I have given thought to purchasing chalkbo...


I have always wanted a chalkboard for my kids to draw on and express themselves artistically. I have given thought to purchasing chalkboard contact paper and I have searched high and low for a large frame to create a chalkboard with, but I could never find one that I liked. Chalkboard contact paper was something that I was kind of iffy on because I did not want a seam. I did not want to spend money on something that my kids would have peeled off of the wall and I was not sure how long it would hold up....but it was definitely something I considered. My ideal chalkboard is something similar to this one, here...but it is not kid friendly.

I needed to be able to find a chalkboard that was lightweight since I cannot really hang heavy things on some of the walls (rental...firewalls, weird walls, etc...). I also needed it to be budget friendly, so I decided to use left over vinyl flooring from a previous project and chalk paint that I had stored away. I painted the chalkboard the same way that one would paint a wipeable vinyl rug, minus the sealing part. What I love about using vinyl is that I could easily cut and shape the chalkboard to my liking.

Materials: 
Paint roller
Primer
Chalkboard paint
Vinyl flooring cut to size and shape
Chalk
finish nails and hammer


Steps:
1. You will be painting the back side of the vinyl, so clean it/wipe it down and make sure it is not dirty.
2. Prime backside of vinyl
3. Once primer is dry, hang it up on the wall at desired location using finish nails than paint with chalkboard paint--2-3 coats will do fine
4. Sit and let cure for about 2 days
5. After the paint cures, take some chalk and color it sideways across the chalkboard. Doing this will seal the chalkboard paint.

*Important- Let the chalkboard cure a couple days prior to using it--like all paint it needs to settle or else it will not come out right.

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107 comments

  1. This is clever! I need to try it.

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  2. Such a great DIY post! I was going to recommend chalkboard paint to you after reading the first couple of sentences but looks like you got there before me!

    Sarah
    https://everydayconcepts.wordpress.com

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  3. This is absolutely brilliant! I love it and will be making one as soon as I can figure out how to cut the vinyl easily!

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    1. Thank you. You just use regular scissors to cut the vinyl. It is really easy. MY chalkboard has been up for almost a year and it is going strong.

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  4. I wondered if it really worked! Now I'll have to give it a try!
    Cynthia @craftoflaughter

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    1. It works! Mine has been up for almost a year and it is holding up strong! thanks for stopping by.

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  5. Very cool! I really want to make a magnetic chalkboard.

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    1. thanks, someday I too will have a magnetic chalkboard...So cool!

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    2. you can always use magnetic sheet metal and paint over it with chalkboard paint...I heard it is better than the magnetic paint. They sell sheet metal at hardware stores...I do not know if they are magnetic, I am thinking they should be. They have a lot of different kinds and sizes there.

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  6. Very cool! I really want to make a magnetic chalkboard.

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  7. Very cool! I really want to make a magnetic chalkboard.

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  8. I found a chalkboard spray paint at my hardware store and it was great! I found an ugly mirror at a yard sale, painted the mirror with the chalk board paint, and then painted the frame a bright pink. I ended up using it as the welcome sign for my sister in law's baby shower. :)

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    1. That is so cool. I love how versatile chalkboard signs are. You can use them at party's, for menu's, at your home, in your command center. love it.

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  9. I love this idea, the shape is great. I've been using chalk board paint for years, the first can I bought I had to order on the line because no stores carried it. It's come a long way!

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    1. yes it has. I remember the first time I saw chalk paint...I wanted it and I painted my baby daughters kid table with chalk paint, but I used it wrong....Lets say, after I painted it no one used chalk on it. Ha!

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  10. What a great way to put this together so that it's rental approved! I can also seeing using this in a classroom

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    1. yes, you can. Preschool setting would be great!

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  11. I love chalk board paint! So much fun to use :)

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  12. How cool! I want to make one for each of my kids' rooms!

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    1. do it...just remember, if there is carpet on the ground and if you use colored chalk, it might stain the carpet...I think it would be fun for them.

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  13. What a great idea! The chalk board paint I have isn't the best, so I'm going to check out the brand you used.

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    1. Thanks! I am not a big spender and I am not chalk board paint obsessed so this bottle works great! I purchased it at Michaels in the paint aisle. I have found that, sometimes at Lowes they have chalk board paint marked down in the mistint area...a lot of times they are colored in something other than black.

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  14. This is awesome! I've wanted to do this for my daughter but we rent! Cool!

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    1. Thanks Brittany. You should definitely try it.

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  15. i love chalk board.. I have chalk board wine bottles from my wedding that I used for table numbers.

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  16. I've always wanted a huge chalkboard wall. I've been thinking about painting the tabletop with the chalkboard paint but I can't get anyone to agree with me.

    Bobaandpearls.com

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    1. Hilarious! I do not want to tell you what to do, but I would do what makes me happy. I went to school for design and I minored in Interior design and my husband always gives me his input on everything I do and I still do what I want when it comes to design...in the end once it is completed, he always agree's with me. YOU have a vision and sometimes others cannot see that vision as clearly as you can. Let me just note, painting an eating table in chalkboard paint will be messy...I would probably paint an outdoor table in chalkboard paint or a kids table.

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  17. Awesome and very clever. I love chalkboard crafts.

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  18. That is such a clever idea, I love it! Thank you for sharing your genius with us :)

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  19. What a great idea. Looking forward to trying this for a summer project! Lindsay www.itssimplylindsay.com

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  20. Chalk board paint is the best! At our old house, we painted the whole inside of the front door so the kids could doodle. Need to find something to paint again.

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    1. So cool. I cannot wait till I can paint an actual wall with chalkboard paint.

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  21. Very creative, thanks for sharing!

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  22. What a great idea! I will have to try this, I love how creative it is. My kiddos love chalk boards! - Jeanine

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    1. Thank you Jeanine! I think your kids would love it as much as mine do.

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  23. I just think this is awesome! My kids would love this, even if it's not a rental! Great job!!

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    1. Thanks Ashleigh! Yes, it would work in a home or rental, especially if you do not want to paint your actual wall with chalk paint.

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  24. I want to do this in my kids room.

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    1. that will be cool and your kids will love it.

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  25. I would love to be able to do something like this in my kitchen! It looks really easy to put together, and for all of us renters out here, easy to take down too ;) Thanks so much for sharing this post! I hope I can give this a try soon!

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    1. Thanks Ariel! It is SUPER easy to put together and would work great in the kitchen...good idea...it would make a great chalkboard menu.

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  26. I Love how you cut the vinyl thingy! It is cute!!

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  27. Wow I would have never thought of a DIY chalkboard. What an awesome idea!

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  28. This was a great idea and project! Saved this one to Evernote! :)

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  29. This is so clever! What a great idea!

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  30. This is really awesome. I love chalkboards in homes, especially entry ways. The rental friendly version is great for ay home.
    :-)
    Traci

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    1. Thanks Traci for your kind words and for stopping by!

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  31. This is such a cute idea! And it's rental approved too - that's the topper to the cake for real! :D Thanks for sharing.

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  32. I love it!!! I´ve been wanting to do this in every house we move into. I never get around to it. I should really make it a priority. I love the shape your board has. #blogmeetsblog

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  33. I didn't know there was chalk paint! Amazing stuff. thanks for sharing.

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    1. There is chalk paint and chalkboard paint. I have not personally used chalk paint but this was painted using chalkboard paint that I purchased from Michaels. They do sell chalkboard paint at hardware stores in qt size cans.

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  34. Rental, or not, this is a great idea! It looks fantastic :)

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  35. This is genius! My hubby and I have been renting for 4 years and I've always held back from projects like this because they didn't seem rental approved--your project is officially on my to-do list! Thank you so much! I am so excited you've found a way to get a chalkboard in our apt!

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    1. Thanks for your words and I am happy I inspired you to do some type of diy, to make your rental more YOU. Thanks for stopping by.

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  36. OMG I love this idea! I have never added a chalk board to my home because of the expense and the permanence of one. but this makes it so doable. My youngest would lot fit if I made one! thinking about it.

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    1. Thanks, this would be fun for you and your daughter. My kids have a blast with this chalkboard and draw on it daily.

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  37. We are renters and this idea is brilliant. I love how it turned out and definitely want to give it a try.

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    1. You should try it out and thanks for stopping by!

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  38. This is so cool! I recently tried liquid chalk markers so this would be great to use with them!

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    1. Thanks, I really want to try liquid chalk...where do you buy those?

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  39. I am obsessed with chalkboards, so I love this! I previously had rented for years and never thought of doing something like this.

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    1. I think you will love having a chalkboard, they can be used for so many different things and they would make fun backdrops for whimsical kid photos.

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  40. I've always wanted to chalkboard paint to do nice diy projects, such as this.
    Thanks for sharing. I've pinned it for future reference.

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  41. Love it!! What a resorceful way to get what you wanted in the size and shape you were looking for. I can't wait to try this!!

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    1. Thanks Michele! The shape of the chalkboard is my favorite feature of this chalkboard and I am happy you like it.

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  42. Well, well...isn't this just a tiny bit creative! So cool! Thanks for sharing.

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  43. This is perfect! My kitchen is a chalkboard theme and I would love to have this for my kids!

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  44. How pretty! What a beautiful idea! I love the shape you made it. I ended up just painting a wall in each of my kids' rooms, but mine isn't a rental. Now that they're older and kinda don't want it anymore - I wish I had done it your way!

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    1. Thanks for your perspective! Don't you wish they would just stay little? I keep telling the mister, we need to do this, this, and that before the kids are not into that stuff anymore.

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  45. This is so much fun! Maybe when we move to our new house we can do something like this. thank you for sharing it

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    1. Thanks Trisha for stopping by and for your sweet comment!

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  46. This is a really cool Idea. We have a chalkboard wall in our house. LOVE chalkboard paint!!

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  47. This is a neat idea! It would be awesome for any home. I know my son would love this. Pinning this!

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  48. I love this! My daughter would still love it and she's almost 9.

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    1. Yay! That is great. I hope my daughter is still into this stuff when she is 9.

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  49. This is so clever! Nice and light for hanging on walls. :)
    xo, Caitlin
    And Possibly Dinosaurs

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    1. Thank you Caitlin! It is great, light weight, and awesome. We love it!

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  50. Ohhh, nice! I love this! I always love creative things like this. Thanks for sharing!

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  51. Wow I'm clearly a little late to THIS party...but this is awesome Jess! I can't believe that this is FLOORING! Hollahh! You are so creative! We also have a chalkboard for our kids...well really, it's in my kitchen so it was originally built for me, but it's always filled with kid art on there! Funny how much kids love to chalk, eh?!

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