Using Blackboard Paint
And Magnetic Primer

As any mum knows, 'entertaining' a youngster and trying to cook dinner at the same time isn't easy.

Some years ago when my daughter was a toddler I asked her dad if he could use chalk board paint to create an area on the kitchen wall so little Abi would have something to do whilst I was in the kitchen.

He constructed a frame which covered almost a whole wall and we put cork tiles in the top half to make a notice board area. On the bottom half, he put hardboard which had been painted with black board paint.

It made my life easier I can tell you and Abi happily sat on the kitchen floor 'chalking' her pictures for hours on end.

She's 15 now and has, of course, lost interest but still sometimes writes me a message or funny note there.

In a vacation property, a chalkboard wall could be fun for any children in the party but would also give you a fun way of leaving your guests a 'Welcome!' message which could, of course, be tailored to the time of year, age and make-up of the party etc.
As long as it is 'prepped' properly you can apply black board paint either directly to a wall or onto a board which would then need to be secured to the wall.

As an added extra, I read recently that if you use a magnetic primer before the paint, you can then use it either for chalk or for magnetic letters.

This is a fairly cheap and easy idea and it adds something a little different to your vacation property with the added benefit of a bit of fun for the young - or maybe not so young - visitors.

Chalkboard Wall Photograph Courtesy of Sean Scoggins @ flickr
Magnetic Letters Photograph Courtesy of Gaetan Lee @ flickr