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This Brings Us to Two

The weekend, as usual, went too fast. (And since it’s Tuesday, it goes to show we’re playing catch up, too.) It was a good one – filled with friends, food and very little down time – and while waiting to tie up those loose ends in Operation Studio (we’re thisclose), we squeezed in a moment to do this:

For as long as we’ve lived in this home (we’ll be closing in on year five this fall!), our entry wall has been kelly green (Behr’s Chlorophyll). Other room colors have slowly evolved (our orange bedroom comes to mind), and although the media wall had us covering the other green wall, we weren’t ready to say good bye to this one.

Until now, anyway.

Since the studio has been taking priority this entire year, we’ve been allowing other parts of our home to gather old-office clutter that we weren’t sure what to do with. For the better part of March, our entry table housed more than just Scott’s wallet and a few keys, rather, our snail bank, extra frames and a whole lotta dust began collecting, too. For such a small area, it became this obnoxious pile of stuff in the middle of our home, causing my OCD heart too much anxiety.

While watching television one night, my mind wandered (as it usually does), and I asked Scott if he’d be into changing the green. He easily agreed, we threw around a few suggestions, and we landed on a chalkboard/grey combo. We pulled you in by posing the possibility on Facebook, and a few days later, we cleared the junk, patched the wall and taped it off.

We had both paints on hand, one being left over from our back splash (Rustoleum) and the other being the same grey as the rest of our hall (Behr’s Porpoise).

Because we were going with black over green, we didn’t bother to prime the wall, and luckily, there was no issue. In total, the chalkboard paint took two full coats and a third touch up coat, and the grey covered in two. I pulled our tape off before either paint dried completely, which helps prevent any of the color to peel along with it.

Of course we didn’t want the green to show through, but we had the idea to create a chalkboard lip. Using an Ikea Ribba picture ledge, Scott used a miter saw to cut it down to the width of our 42″ wall. (Not shown, I applied white acrylic paint to conceal the raw edge.)

After waiting a few days for the chalkboard paint to cure, Scott slated the wall with a piece of white chalk. Once the whole wall was covered, I took a damp cloth and wiped it down, giving it that smudgy, smoky look we love. At the same time, the thin layer of chalk acts as a buffer between the wall and any future doodles.

For the finishing touches, we framed this beautiful print from Jess LC, a great inspirational reminder from our friend (you guessed it), Jess. And for fun, we had Mr. B’s dad whip this up (but please, don’t ask us what it means!):

And although we’re not thrilled with the placement of our thermostat, we think it actually blends in better with the chalkboard wall than it ever did against the green (with special thanks to the smudgy, chalky residue; really!).

If you’re standing at just the right angle in our home, you can see the kitchen back splash, the new entry wall and our graphic wallpaper all at the same time. We especially love that all these surfaces are shades of grey, which ties back into our neutral hallway – a perfect happy accident! This also brings our chalkboard total to two in this home; do we need an intervention?

We’re still undecided on the future placement of the old console table (we may sell it at our annual yard sale), but we couldn’t be happier with this simple change. What do you think? Have you used chalkboard paint (store bought or self made) in unexpected places? And is anyone else reminded of this?

In other very exciting news, we’ve finally joined Twitter. Yup, we’re absolutely behind and we’ve no idea what a hash tag does, but we hope you’ll follow along @TeamYBH!

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  • Carrie @DreamGreenDIY4.3.12 - 8:11 AM

    I love it! A fun change for sure…

    And I officially need an intervention when it comes to chalkboard paint – We’ve got a chalkboard calendar, a platter-turned-chalkboard-message-board and a DIY-ed framed chalkboard for our wedding buffet menu at the end of this month. EEP! At least it’s a very practical and useful obsession. Right?? ;)ReplyCancel

  • Liliana4.3.12 - 8:37 AM

    It looks great! I like it more than the green wall = )

    ~ L.ReplyCancel

  • Aleksandra4.3.12 - 8:46 AM

    OMG I ADORE it!! My friend (and Curious Georgia’s adopter) is an artist and has a giant chalkboard wall in her office, and she creates such beautiful things on it. Perhaps you two could inspire one another — she is at: http://anchorb.com/chalk/

    She is also blogging her beautiful works, Georgia’s sweet face, and her lovely photographs: http://anchorb.com/journal/

    Hope you two hook up!ReplyCancel

  • rachael4.3.12 - 9:15 AM

    Wow, what a difference! I was at first a little sad to hear the kelly green was going, but this is really great. I like how it feels cohesive with the wallpaper. You realize you’re giving grandpa more canvas to work with though…ReplyCancel

  • Amanda4.3.12 - 9:29 AM

    Love the wall and the extra addition of the ledge. I know you love the look of the chalk, but have you ever been curious to try a chalk pen? They can look so sleek!ReplyCancel

  • Hey that looks great! I love the ledge too, great idea!ReplyCancel

  • Jaimie4.3.12 - 9:45 AM

    Looks great! Love the ochem mural especially :)ReplyCancel

    • Kim4.3.12 - 9:55 AM

      Thank you, everyone!

      Carrie, VERY practial, indeed.

      Aleks, those links are amazing! I’ve added Georgia’s momma to my Reader.

      Rachael, since you take care of Gramps, it’s the least he can do for you – have him pick up a paint brush!

      Amanda, we have thought about chalk pens, but we just love, love, love the look of smudgy, imperfect chalk. Perhaps we’ll pick up some pens for more cohesive notes in the future!ReplyCancel

  • It looks terrific! That is the perfect place for a chalkboard wall.ReplyCancel

  • Kyley at Painting Pony4.3.12 - 10:41 AM

    I love it! Chalkboards are so cool!

    I have several in my home that I made including a GIANT canvas chalkboard in our bedroom (seen here:http://pinterest.com/pin/278941770639803034/ ) and even an old model horse I painted in chalkboard paint (http://pinterest.com/pin/278941770639803033/)

    can’t get enough of them!ReplyCancel

  • Kim4.3.12 - 10:57 AM

    Kyley, love them both! Your horse reminds us of our skull we picked up at the Renegade Fair: https://yellowbrickhome.com/2011/12/15/do-you-want-a-painting-joan-cusack/ReplyCancel

  • jodi4.3.12 - 11:03 AM

    it looks so great!!ReplyCancel

  • Erica4.3.12 - 11:30 AM

    It looks awesome; such a fun idea!ReplyCancel

  • Rachel H4.3.12 - 11:57 AM

    When we refinished our kitchen cabinets last summer, we were stumped as to what to do with the giant rectangle that was the outside “wall” of the fridge surround. It was laminate, so no chance we could sand and restain, so the solution we came up with was chalkboard paint! We love it, and it’s where we keep grocery lists and where I write the menu for the upcoming week. It also looks damn good, so it was the perfect answer.

    Check it out: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.811167476740.2207992.2904246&type=1&l=79bce0a85aReplyCancel

  • ktmade4.3.12 - 12:02 PM

    I’m in love.
    It’s absolutely perfect! And when I saw the first finished photo, I actually thought “oh, they must’ve moved the thermostat – I wonder how” because I didn’t even notice that it was there! So it definitely blends in.

    Very cool.ReplyCancel

  • casacaudill4.3.12 - 12:31 PM

    It looks fabulous!

    I just bought a quart of chalkboard paint this weekend because I know I want to paint something. I’ve been toying with the idea of just a small square or an entire wall and this post gives me the inspiration I need to jump in with both feet.ReplyCancel

  • Kim4.3.12 - 12:38 PM

    Rachel, it looks great! I especially love the kitty, of course!

    KT, that makes me feel better. Originally we were going to try and paint the thermostat a flat black, but when we started taking apart, we realized we might mess it up.

    Casa, BOTH feet! It’s just paint!ReplyCancel

  • I love organic chemistry. Well at least I used to since I am now retired from the Chemistry career path after 20 yrs. I lol’ed because I actually understand these molecules. Most times when I am on blog there are all the decorating/ fashion terms that I am completely out of touch with. It tickled me to see something practical & stylish (chalkboard) paired with something so academic and scientific (Org chem structures). Way cool!ReplyCancel

  • Kim4.3.12 - 1:51 PM

    Ha, thanks, Tonya!ReplyCancel

  • Trude4.3.12 - 3:16 PM

    While that green is one of my fave colors, I do love how the black chalkboard ties in everything down the hall. And how fun will it be when you have people over? :)ReplyCancel

  • kaylan4.3.12 - 5:10 PM

    i’m still sad to see the green go, but i do love the chalkboard! the chalk ledge is the perfect addition too.ReplyCancel

  • Patti Varland4.3.12 - 5:34 PM

    I love the gray (we used the same color in our new master bath & bedroom) & the chalkboard, very fun! I would suggest trying your console table under the chalkboard (that table is valuable real estate you may need), shortening the legs if need be. If you like it there, paint it bright for that nice pop of color in your entry (rather than the kelly green wall)ReplyCancel

  • Kim4.3.12 - 6:07 PM

    Patti, good idea. We’re still undecided on the table, but we did put the rail in a place that would still allow the table to fit underneath – so it’s always an option!ReplyCancel

  • Jess LC4.4.12 - 11:19 AM

    The hallway looks awesome! I can’t wait to see it in person sometime (hopefully soon?). And that Just Keep Going print looks rad, if I do say so myself. : )

    Talk with you soon, lady!ReplyCancel

  • mandy @ this girl's life4.4.12 - 12:19 PM

    It looks great! And I love the print also. We have a badly placed thermostat on one of our walls too so it is always great to see how others work around them. :)ReplyCancel

  • Cait @ Hernando House4.4.12 - 3:26 PM

    Love that! A little sad to see the green go, but the chalk wall is so fun!

    And I’m obsessed with the smudgey look, too! Chalk pens are fun, but I think I’m stuck on the nostalgia of the smudgey chalk.

    I just painted a chalk wall in our kitchen and we LOVE it. I really like the idea of the Ribba ledge, too! Now if only Ikea were closer… I considered the similar West Elm ledge, but it’s backordered. Boo.ReplyCancel

  • […] I’m loving how my friend and blogger Kim of Yellow Brick Home styled her Just Keep Going print in her hallway over chalkboard […]ReplyCancel

  • Sara Grace4.15.12 - 4:31 PM

    That is SO cool! I want a chalkboard hallway!ReplyCancel

  • ONECHATTYBIRD4.19.12 - 10:52 AM

    SUCH a great look, really good job!ReplyCancel

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