DIY Marker Board

Jennifer —  September 14, 2011

The Hubs and I love to brainstorm.  We always have ideas in our head that we want to get out and onto paper.  When we brainstorm projects for our home we will sit together and make lists of what needs to happen.  Once we decide on something we make a list of all that needs/steps that go into the project and mark them off as we go.  The hubs wanted to get a marker board and put it in our laundry room.  The problem is…marker boards are not cheap.  The cheapest ones are not pretty.  So we decided that we could DIY a marker board.  First of all we knew that we could do a chalk board but there is a lot of white accents in our laundry room so I like the crisp white look of a marker board.  Plus, I love the markerboard calendar that we have in our kitchen.

Here is the wall that we had the space for our marker board.  (This pic was post renovation but pre-reorganization that is happening)

Here is how we made our 34-inch X 50-inch marker board

  1. We bought white smooth tile board from Lowes for $10.51.  This is what you could use line the stall of your shower.  It comes in large sheets and there are even faux tile versions and wainscoting versions (that we used in our master bathroom).  We had it cut at Lowes to the size that we wanted.
  2. We bought two 8ft pieces of trim for the frame.  $15.00
  3. The hubs screwed the tile board into the wall.
  4. He cut the trim to size and mitered the corners at a 45º angle to looked framed.  We used our miter saw but you can buy a miter box and saw for $11.00 that can do the trick.  Or, you could use flat wood and not miter the frame.
  5. He used construction gl

    ad-9d.html”>how to use your ipad

color: #fffffe;”>how to learn italian

ue and finish nails to secure the trim.  (The finish nails were not necessary, the construction glue would have been enough)

This is how our marker board looked until I decided a color scheme for the room.  It has been functional and not finished…until recently.  This week I caulked the seams, taped the heck out the wall and tile board, and painted it blue.
Here is a little tip.  I don't use craft paint for these projects.  I go to Lowes and get a sample of the paint color I want.  Your selection of colors is multiplied by 200 and you get 10 times as much as the little craft bottle for only $2.43.  It would take about 10 craft bottles at 97¢ a pop to equal what you get in a paint sample. Therefore, $2.43 instead of $10.00 is a much better value. Plus, you can match color perfectly.  I had some fabric that would be made into my dogs' beds and other textiles in the laundry room.  I used a scrap to match the blue exactly.  You also get a satin finish in samples instead of the flat finish of craft paint.
Of course, the look is not finished yet.  The ledges have to go.  I have another pen storage idea in mind. For $27.00 you can have a large, custom markerboard that would normally cost you about $150-$200…or even more for a nice frame.
Here are other ideas for this project:
  1. This could be a great gift for multiple college bound students.  You could purchase a larger picture frame and cut the tile board down to that size.  Since it is so large you could probably cut 4-5 pieces that size.  Place the tile board in the frame without the glass, put a ribbon on it and they can hang this markerboard by the phone or on their door.  If you are crafty you could stencil their initials, design, or name on the board.
  2. This could be used as wainscoting in a kids room.  Install it and put a chair rail of trim a the top and you have got a place for your kids to draw on the wall.
  3. You could make a marker board calendar similar to mine in my kitchen.  I bought mine at Pottery Barn using a gift card I was given, but if I didn't have that I might take on project of DIYing this.
It will be used a ton for my family.  I hope this helps you!
Thanks for reading,

Jennifer

zp8497586rq
zp8497586rq
zp8497586rq
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...