Broken Door to Farmhouse Chalkboard

Our 1985 townhome came with the original doors which have the charm of shoulder pads and tracksuits. When faced with the price tag of replacing the doors or enduring their blah look, we went with the former. With two kids in diapers, we had other things to throw money at. 

And then those little diaper-bottomed babies grew up and out of nappies and entered the sibling-rivalry phase, a parent's greatest joy. Our oldest two are a year and a half apart and for the most part get along, but when they don't, they really don't! There is no half-hearted effort when it comes to them fighting. Countless times my daughter slammed the door to her bedroom to keep her brother out only to have him match her force on the other side. Matching force to force led to forcing their way through the door! We literally had to lift the door up to swing it closed or open as the casing began to fall apart. 

The door needed replacing but we didn't want to reward our daughter with a brand new door. We could see our son "fighting" with his sister through his door in hopes of breaking it to get a new one. She would help with this evil plan, being the best-friend-sister that she is. Instead, we bought ourselves a solid core door and gave our old one to her. 

My husband saw trash but I saw "trashure," and I didn't even need to dig it out of the trash! Score! A silent thank you to my kids for this interesting piece of junk. 

The smooth-enough surface and size were perfect for a chalkboard. 

These were my inspiration for the project:

source

source 

I wanted BIG. I wanted CHUNKY. A statement piece. 

The frame is a "trashure" find. The upper right corner is decently dinged but I think it adds a rustic element.

First, I stained over the frame to make it darker.

Second, cut the door to fit the frame.

Third, glued the door to the back of the frame and attached a sawtooth hanger to the back. 

Fourth, chalk painted several coats. 

Or maybe I reversed step three and step four??? I can't remember.

 And here is the "old door" sandwiched between the other doors, nearly back where it started. I love how it fills up that space.

Now to improve my chalkboard sketching skills. Or buy a chalkboard pen and stencils. 

Or face reality and at least let the kids have the bottom portion. 

The plans for this hallway include new greige paint and white trim along the doors...which will eventually be replaced. The boys are sharing a room currently...we'll see how long their door lasts! ha! I think the chalkboard will look even amazing against the new paint color. 

Now what to do with the backside of that door? 

This amazing chalkboard organizer by sawdust2stitches has me drooling.

There is an excellent tutorial for this idea on her website. Fingers crossed I can scavenge most of the wood from the ReStore where wood is .20cents a foot. Keeps with the theme of "reduce, reuse, renewed."

Or maybe I'll come across another large frame while treasure  hunting...

 What would you do with a beat up 80's door? 

Pin Friendly