Questions Answered: How'd ya do that?

I think one of the most common questions I've been getting is: "How did you transform your fridge into a chalkboard fridge?"

So, here ya go.   My very very complicated, step-by-step instructions.

1.  STEP ONE: Lightly sandpaper the fridge.   Nothing major here folks, just run a piece of course sandpaper all over the area you want to paint.  No need to strip off the finish, just rough it up for a few minutes.

2.  STEP TWO:   Paint a light coat of chalkboard paint (from a can, please!) on the fridge.   It comes in black or green and can be found at any hardware store.   The first coat is going to look awful, but don't worry.    Just do the base coat and let it dry completely.

3.  STEP THREE:  Add another coat of paint.    Lightly, again.   Dry.  Repeat.   The third coat will be the charm and will look just like a chalkboard!

4. STEP FOUR:  After it dries completely, rub the whole thing with chalk.  This will help "cure" it.    Then wipe off the chalk with a damp rag. 

5: STEP FIVE:  Have fun!  Write grocery lists, notes, tic-tac-toe, whatever. 

It really is that easy!

Comments

[lucy]

Oh my goodness, you are a genius! I hate my fridge, but this is wonderful! It's on my to do list right now.

[ses]

LOVE this!

[Concha]

This is absolutely briliant! But I do think you are very corageous...

[Anna]

I did this to my fridge with the black chalkboard paint after happening upon your site. Love it! So do the kids! It turned a very inexpensive fridge into something that looks super mod.

[Robin]

I get the usefulness of having a place where you can leave messages for other family members, write a menu for a party, things like that...but what I don't get is writing a shopping list on a fridge - you write it once on the fridge, and then what - copy it again to take with you to the store???

[Aino]

It looks fab! If I hadn´t a new Gorenje in the house I would head straight to by some chalkboard paint! :)
P.S. it does encourage to depend on the memory when you don´t take the shopping list with you to the store ;)

[Laura]

Great job. I recently did this to a door in my daughter's playroom and it's been enjoyed. I think this solution will be great for us until we're able to upgrade our kitchen!

[Christine]

I think this is a neat idea, but one question... if you're so concerned with "green" living; why is BOTTLED WATER on your grocery list?

[Sarah Marie]

So why not use Krylon's spray paint? I opted to use this because it dries in 3 hrs as opposed to 3 days??? Thanks!

[zerka]

I recently did up my kitchen but didn't want to spring for a new fridge so used this idea and it looks fabulous. The people at the paint shop recommended a special base coat of something to make the blackboard paint "stick" better, so I used this first. I get lots of comments on how good it looks. Thanks for the idea.