Electrical cabinet turned ‘framed’ chalkboard

Why blend in when you were born to stand out? That wisdom goes for people, and I’ve decided it also applies to ugly electrical cabinets.

For the first few years we lived in our house, our finished basement was exclusively a playroom for our babies. I discovered the wonder of chalk paint — it was pretty groundbreaking back in 2011 — and used it in three or four different spots in the room. I thought I’d never get sick of it.

The space morphed into a playroom/guest room over the years, and then last year we turned it into a large home office for me. We lightened the walls (from deep grey to warm greige) and painted over all of the chalkboard paint, and it felt very fresh.

But those electrical cabinet doors still bothered me. I was trying hard to make them blend in, but they were so awkwardly placed. I couldn’t hang art next to them without it looking weird, so I settled for leaning a canvas against the wall. Nothing felt right. I could still see them!

During a recent organizational frenzy, I rearranged the furniture in my home office and decided I was finished trying to pretend those doors didn’t exist. They really had worked better as one big chalkboard.

But wait … I no longer had any chalkboard paint. Would regular matte black paint work? …

Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …

Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …

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