My new years resolution, well one of them, has been to do something about our bare walls. The walls are off white and it can look very clinical at times. I have nothing against all white rooms (coming from a Nordic country I am well used to it!) but I do agree that I need to break down all that whiteness that is taking over our house.
I have been considering a feature wall for our house but haven’t been able to find a good spot for it. I am not a fan of wall paper (especially the ones with flowers) but having a feature wall painted in one colour or in black chalkboard paint could work very well. I have seen similar ones in interior magazines and in friends’ homes and they look fabulous!
The more I think of it, the more I believe having a chalkboard statement wall could really complement our house. They are contemporary looking, stylish and would fit in with our black and white theme but most importantly are a bit of fun and funky.
My main concerns for getting one are:
1) Where’s the perfect spot?
2) What will be the purpose of it? (Is it just a piece of art or will I actually write things on it)
3) Will it make the room much darker? (especially if you are painting a larger area)
4) Does it really go with the decor/style of our house?
I really don’t want a wall where kids can write random things (this could work in the kids room but not in the common living areas). I just want something that will be useful and look good!
After doing some serious thinking I decided I am not quite brave enough to do it yet. In stead, I wanted to get a nice chalkboard for the house, mainly to use as a shopping list/board and to see how I like it first.
I was looking for the perfect chalkboard for quite a long time until I finally managed to find ‘the one’! I found it on www.notonthehighstreet.com and this is the first time I have ever used this website (although I have been eyeing up their products for a while).
They have some unique items there. Basically, the idea of the website is to bring customers products that are not sold on high street shops and are a bit more unusual and a lot of them can be personalised which makes them great gifts. The products can be a little on the expensive side though and I have never seen anything on sale there. Then again, I think if you want something different you probably have to pay a bit more for it which is ok for me.
I had the perfect spot picked for the chalkboard in our dining room above our bins (I know that sounds a bit funny but it actually works!). I am still thinking of painting this wall in black chalkboard paint but it all depends on what we decide to do with our extension in the future and whether we decide to get rid of it.
Finding the right size chalkboard was trickier than I thought. Luckily I read the sellers reviews and a gentleman had mentioned that he managed to get a custom made size that was not offered on their website (they only had small, medium and large). I contacted the supplier, Yours by Design, to confirm if this was possible and they said they could do this at the custom size I wished (45 cm x 55 cm). Hooray! I was thrilled and positively surprised someone actually gives you good customer service these days!
Planning the text for the board was so much fun! A lady called Mia contacted me to ensure the chalkboard was proof read before they started making it. I actually changed the text 3 times before I was happy with the layout and they were very patient with me. All the communication was via email which was handy.
I was nervous what the end result would look like. I mean, I cannot really return a personalised item unless it is faulty. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about and it arrived within 2 weeks wrapped up in bubble wrap.
Here it is:
It’s kind of cheesy which is why I love it! I came up with the text with my husband and it was more difficult than I would have though to agree what will go up there! You can probably tell that we are wine enthusiasts 🙂
I could not be more pleased with our chalkboard! It’s perfect for our dining room and I already use it a lot. I can genuinely recommend using this company (Yours By Design) for anyone looking for a chalkboard. It’s a shame that they don’t supply chalk with it as I had to go and order some online but this is only a minor issue. It also does not come with a chalk holder which means you either fashion something yourself or just keep it in the drawer as I do.
I am still considering having a chalkboard statement wall in the house. I think I have to wait until our extension is done to be sure where the perfect spot will be. Also, I feel once our dining room area is more open-plan it will help me to envision what the room will look like with a big statement wall. Until then, I am quite happy with my new chalkboard although it has made me think I need to take more risks when it comes to decorating our house. Maybe that could be my next years new years resolution..
