Want a knife block you can doodle on? Here's how you can easily re-paint your knife block, using chalkboard paint.
Our knife block, a cheap-o Winner's purchase from four years ago, was looking a bit worse for wear. Due to my excessive cleaning, I had managed to scrub most of the varnish off and I wasn't a fan of the light wood in our kitchen.
 |
| Before |
 |
| Before - Sans Varnish |
I had a can of
chalkboard spray paint lying around because I opted
not to paint the
magnetic memo board I made. But that meant I hadn't actually tried super trendy chalkboard paint. And all the cool kids are doing it. So I thought the lonely can of paint + an ugly worn-out knife block = fun kitchen accessory, without spending any money!
Supplies:
Steps:
- Lightly sanded the surface of the knife block
- Wipe it down with a damp rag to remove any residue, let dry
- Tape off the feet - especially if they are rubber
- Spray in light, even coast in well ventilated area
- Let dry
- Rub the side of a piece of chalk all over the surface, wipe off with a damp rag
One coat of paint resulted in this:
Here's what it looked like after I rubbed the whole thing in chalk using the side of a piece of chalk (as per the manufacturer's instructions):
Then I wiped the chalk off using a damp cloth. Apparently this "conditions" the chalkboard surface. Can you imagine doing this for an
entire chalkboard wall?!?
Now I can doodle:
 |
| No doodle. |
To save you some scrolling . . . the "before" again.
 |
| Before |
I love the look! Even as a plain black knife block I think it looks better: crisper, more modern and it fits with the other black accessories in the kitchen. Check out these other
knife block makeovers - I promise you'll be inspired!
 |
| After |
Troubleshooting tips for using chalkboard spray paint:
Use a very fine sandpaper because any scrapes or scratches in the wood will be made more visible by the matte paint.
Don't paint rubber feet - the paint would NOT dry on the rubber feet so I had to spend a few minutes scrubbing them clean with paint remover.
Be a bit more generous with the "conditioning" process. The amount of chalk I used was insufficient and sometimes what I draw won't erase easily, but I still love it.