The Chalkboard French/Pier Mirror

The chalkboard between the windows came from my love of French and pier mirrors.

Lonny Mag/ Lauren Gold

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 That bathroom is just sooo good!

I have been on the lookout for awhile but no luck so far, they are all just too pricey! And nothing local, imagine the cost to ship one of those giants!

The space between the windows would be too small and specific for a mirror anyway.  But I didn't just want to hang art, I wanted something different that would add character to the room since it would be right across from the door when you walk in.I finally decided to built my own, however, to get a mirror that tall, cut to size, would probably be expensive.
And I have always wanted to try chalkboard paint…

So that’s how the idea came about.

I don’t remember if we went to Lowe’s or HD for the molding because we checked both and it was one of those late night trips that eventually blur into one.  We wanted molding to resemble the French mirrors, with rounded cut.  The one we got was about 1.5" wide.  I also got a wood onlay to go on top.

Of course, it was not possible to bend the wood for a curved top, so I decided to do two tiers to mimic the shape. The hubby used the miter saw to do 45 degree cuts to the pieces, for a clean look.

We decided to use wood glue to hold the wood onlay instead of nailing it in after seeing how delicate it was (just have to hold it in place about a minute for the glue to set enough).

It would make more sense for me to paint the molding pieces first before putting them up but I was too impatient.  It would also make sense to mark the shape and put on the chalkboard paint first. But again, I was too impatient and just wanted to see how it would look!  I, however, did run outside in 30 degrees weather to spray paint the inlay on our porch at 10pm in my pj, hoping the neighbor would not see me.  I just had to do it; it would be a pain to get paint into those nooks once it was up.  So I sprayed in semi-darkness, ran inside to help the husband, then ran outside 30 minutes later hoping the paint was dry enough, which it was…kinda…good enough.

For the frame, I did two coats. First coat with a metallic paint left over from the bedroom stenciling and the final coat with gold leaf paint since it would take too much gold leaf paint alone to cover the frame.

  

 

(the bottom portion is after the gold leaf paint)

 

I used black Chalkboard paint from Rustoleum and basically followed the instructions on the package.

Even though the wall was smooth, I did a quick sanding just to make sure, then I rolled on the first coat and used an angled brush along the frame.  The next night, I did another coat.  I should have sanded between coats for a smoother finish, but I did sand after the second coat was dry. Any white spots, I touched up with a brush.  Chalkboard paint is very much like regular latex paint so the patches blended in nicely when dry.

After a few days, I conditioned it by rubbing chalk all over the board, and then I cleaned it with a damp piece of old t-shirt.  I still use the old t-shirt piece as an eraser, I read the store bought chalkboard erasers are not actually good for the chalkboard.

Originally, I thought the chalkboard would be used as a place for me to scribble down my design layouts; but since we decided to put the loveseat against the window, it would be hard for me to reach there frequently.  So I decided to do a calendar on there instead. I left a piece at the bottom for some scribbling, if the mood strikes.

I love that the frame adds architectural interest to the room and the chalkboard is unexpected.
Definitely a project I would do again!

*sorry for the bad photos, they were all taken at late evening or night time, mostly with the phone camera*