How to Make a Giant DIY Chalkboard

It’s inevitable our child is going to draw on the walls. She’s only three months old so we’re a ways off yet, but at some point those tiny little hands are going to go full Monet on the drywall, probably having chosen a permanent marker over a pencil knowing our luck. While we’ve accepted that reality, there’s no reason we can’t at least try to steer her in the right direction by encouraging her creative streak to be developed on this giant DIY chalkboard instead.

It’s a one-day project (our favorite kind), helped us fill an awkward wall in our kitchen that looked too bare but doesn’t work for shelves or anything too bulky because of the walkway to the pantry and exterior door right beside it, and it gives us a fun place to keep track of groceries or, more often, write snarky notes to each other.

Here’s how to make your own DIY chalkboard:

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Tools & Materials

Plywood – we used a 4′ x 8′ sheet to fill our space, but yours could be bigger or smaller depending on your area.
(2) 1×3 at 8 feet
Wood stain – we used Varathane Special Walnut which we already had
Chalkboard paint
One cup-shaped drawer pull
(4) 2-inch wood screws

How We Did It

We cut our plywood piece down to 3′ x 5′ and trimmed down the 1×3 pieces with our circular saw. We did two pieces at 38.75 inches for the top and bottom, and two pieces at 58 inches for the sides.

Next, you’ll need to sand, sand and sand again. It felt like I sanded the plywood piece FOREVER but looking at it now it’s finished, I wish I sanded it even more. Start with something rougher like an 80 grit and move up to at least a 120 until you get a nice, smooth finish.

While you’re at it, give those 1×3 border pieces a bit of a once-over as well.

Paint and Stain

Paint your plywood piece with chalkboard paint a couple of times. I had trouble getting a good, thick, even finish so ended up doing about three coats, but it dries really quickly. While you’re waiting for the paint to dry, stain your wood pieces (front, sides and back because the back may be a tiny bit visible from the sides).

Assemble

Once they’re all dry and ready to go, lay your chalkboard plywood piece down on the ground and put your side pieces on top like a frame.

Make sure you offset the wood pieces so they go over the edge of the plywood by about an inch so that from the side of the finished chalkboard you won’t be able to see the plywood underneath. In the end when it’s on the wall it’ll look like this:

Once you’ve got everything lined up, turn the side pieces over and swirl some wood glue along the underside, then put them back in their place along the edge of the plywood, remembering to have that roughly one-inch offset.

Clamp everything down in place and wait a couple hours for the wood glue to dry.

Optional: Add a Chalk Holder

Once everything is dry and secure, figure out which end you want to be top and bottom. Take your cup drawer pull and screw it in upside down (so the open part is facing up toward the chalkboard part) along the bottom piece of 1×3.

Now you’ve got a handy little chalk holder for your DIY chalkboard!

Attach to the Wall

Find where your studs are in the wall and mark them with painters tape. Hold your chalkboard up to the wall where you want it and use a level to make sure it’s level (you’ll probably need two people or something to rest the chalkboard on while you drill because the finished product is pretty heavy.)

Drill a 2-inch wood screw into the black painted plywood part in four places, roughly in the corners but make sure at least two are through studs for extra security.

Take some leftover chalkboard paint and touch up the spots where the screws are. Because the chalkboard paint is quite thick, it covers over that screw area well and you can hardly notice it unless you’re right up close.

And you’re done! We love it in our kitchen – it added some dimension to the otherwise very clean, white color scheme in there. It would be perfect for a playroom, mudroom or office as well, and we can’t wait until our little artist is big enough to draw masterpieces while we’re busy making dinner.

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