Kitchen Chalkboard Projects

Turn your refrigerator into a kitchen chalkboard message center.

To get this look, cut wood panels to fit your refrigerator front, and paint them with chalkboard spray paint. Mount the panels on your refrigerator doors. This homeowner was able to remove the old stainless-steel panels from the refrigerator and replace them with the chalkboard-painted wood panels.

If you want to add a chalkboard to your kitchen but don't want to add a slate of black, turn the inside of a cabinet door into a chalkboard instead.

Mount a purchased chalkboard inside a cabinet door, or cut a piece of thin wood to size and coat it with chalkboard spray paint. Mount the chalkboard panel inside your cabinet door for an easily accessible but discreet message center.

Editor's Tip: Use this trick for a kid-friendly chalkboard treatment that disappears when not in use. Cut and mount the chalkboard panel on the inside of a lower cabinet door. Make sure to choose a cabinet away from kitchen traffic that holds kid-safe supplies, such as cookbooks or even kids' toys and games.

Keep little ones occupied while you work in the kitchen with a just-their-height chalkboard. You can cover a section of a wall with chalkboard spray paint, or spray-paint a thin wood panel, place it in a frame, and hang it on the wall. Here, a piece of trimwork above the chalkboard panel acts as a tray for chalks.

Editor's Tip: Use magnetic primer with the chalkboard paint to make the panel double as a spot for magnetic letters, animals, and other kid-pleasing magnetic toys.

Place a message center near your back door for a convenient place to post reminders. To make a magnetic board, first coat the board with a magnetic primer, following the manufacturer's instructions. Then finish with the recommended number of chalkboard spray-paint coats. For a finished look, trim the board with narrow strips of wood in white or another contrasting color.