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.
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| Before |
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| 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:
- Sandpaper
- Old rag or paper towel
- Painter’s tape
- Chalkboard spray paint
- Wood knife block
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:
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| No doodle. |
To save you some scrolling . . . the “before” again.
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| 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!
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| After |
Troubleshooting tips for using chalkboard spray paint:
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Use a very fine sandpaper because any scrapes or scratches in the wood will be made more visible by the matte paint.
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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.
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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.
Wow – chalkboard paint on a knife block? So cool. I love this project!
it never even occurred to me that I could paint this bad boy!Good Jobbie!
How fun is that! Even if you don't do much doodling it looks great with the black paint.
Thanks!Carol: I don't doodle that much either. I kind of settled on a doodle and it stayed. But I do like the graphic look.
Oh you little smarty pants, you. That's freaking awesome!
Great idea! I love chalkboard paint. I did a kitchen door in it at my last house, and Carl and I used it for notes to each other and for our grocery lists. I also did a door in the rumpus room at my daughter's house, and I drew funny little cartoons on it for my grandson.
looks very very neat :), no doubt am a huge fan of yours 🙂
That looks great Tanya 🙂
I think that's an awesome idea, but I couldn't take my eyes off that tea kettle.
Thanks! The tea kettle is by Le Creuset (which is pricey) but I got it at Winner's, where it was steeply discounted. I've seen them at TJ Maxx, in the States, and also at Le Creuset outlet malls.
What a great idea! I was just thinking the other day that we needed to get rid of our knife block because it starts too look ugly.