July 5, 2013

➷ DIY Chalkboard 《Contact Paper》 Backsplash ➹


Howdy, all. Welcome to what I'd like to call, a little strip of black glory...
Ever have an empty white space in your house and you're like, "Dang, that's a lot of white space and I'd really like to fill it?" Well, that white space for me is right under my cabinets.
Often, I'll sit in my living room and stare at the white noise and wonder why anyone would have all that vast pearly space to do nothing with. Nothing at all...  That is, until chalkboard contact paper came into my life and eased my empty-white-space burden.



This job is in no way permanent  so you can pull it off when you're tired of the look. We'll see how long it lasts around here. Wel actually, it stands a pretty good chance of sticking around since I have my hands full fulfilling my new destiny and all that!


Here's a the before post- for reference. This was a simple project that only took two episodes of Downton Abbey to do start to finish.

First ➲ You need to clean your walls + take off any outlet and light switch covers. Just clean using a little Dawn and some warm water on a rag and wipe'm down. 


Second ➲ The roll of chalkboard contact paper I used measured the same width as the distance between my counter and my cabinets. This made it super easy to keep the paper lined up and to unroll it evenly. Simply start with one edge of the backsplash and keep smoothing as you slowly unroll the paper. 


When I came to a outlets or something that needed cuts, I used a straight edge ruler and a xacto knife.
Tip: Work slowly and methodically. I kept smoothing it with a towel as I went along. It's a little bit like recovering a lampshade, if you've done that before.


Speaking of which, do you remember when I made a light fixture from some metal flashing- yeah, me too. Here's the link if you missed that one. Don't forget to check out how to make your own stencil from a file folder- aka make your own super-rad, greek key fabric!


This new, black separation between my cabinets and my counters is the perfect color tone to set my little distracted heart at ease. Here's the best part, chalkboard contact paper requires no glue, no mess, AND no long-term change. Should you choose to write on it, you absolutely can. 

So what are you waiting for? Act now! Get some Chalkboard paper and get to it!
I gotta go work on my wood stain, so I'll be chatting with you all soon.



Oh yeah. If you've never recovered a lampshade, then here's a link to that tutorial, as well!

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