Make an outside chalkboard + our deck revamp

 

How about making an outdoor chalkboard for the kids this Christmas? Summer is coming and it’s time to get out and spend some more hours outside! I Love that… dinner outside, more hours to relax and hang out together.
I’ve been meaning to do something with one of our decks that was previously just a blank space – we never used it! It had an old outdoor lounge that was thrown away a few years back and I’ve been wondering what we can put there, as it is outside it all had to be waterproof, so it was a bit tricky.

Here is what we had previously…

 

We recently came back from a trip to Bali and while I was there, I got some waterproof beanbags from Crazy Donny’s, we brought these babies home with the help of a new bag and set about finding the beans to fill them up. Then we needed to spruce up the space and give these guys a home. (That’s really how this project started, the rest just evolved)

First thing I did was get all the pot bound plants out and painted up the old sandstone pots to match the new colour scheme, then we re-potted the agaves and saved the little pups too.

 

Looking at the blue on that wall, it didn’t match the new black and white theme, it needed something to make it a dedicated space. This was the perfect excuse to paint the wall and make it a chalkboard one at that! I used White knight chalkboard paint, I undercoated it first, then gave the wall 2 coats and we were done.

The little guy loved it!

 

He drew a pic of all of us…. daddy has the longest arms in the world… too cute!

A CLEANING TIP: The duster doesn’t bring back our wall to true black (it’s a rendered wall and isn’t the smoothest surface) so I use a scrubbing brush with soap and water to get this back to black, some Nifti and water also work too.

 

 

 

Then….I found this neat system at Ikea. The perfect place for those little agave pups and a place to store the chalk and duster.

It’s two Grundtal Rails with five Cutlery Stands, I think this could be another vertical garden idea inside too! Or see my Urbio here

 

 

We also bought foot stools to match the chairs and I thought a small round tray would work as a tabletop for drinks etc. This one is from Ikea.

Here is one of our new beanbag chairs…sooo comfy!

 

The little guy loves the big one… of course!

 

In my travels I found this really cool board with legs. It has a few more of the agave pups planted in old teacups we don’t use.

We’ve had a few gatherings and put the dip and chips on this, and we also use it as our little table to put our dinner on in the new “outdoor room”.

 

To make this look like a new space, I needed a rug to tie it all together. After much searching, I found the perfect one from Fab Habitat, it’s reversible and waterproof! They have some other fab chevron versions too and are made from plastic bags that are really quite soft under foot. Love this!

Now we are all set for summer!

We’ve watched some movies under the stars…

And we’ve been eating dinner outside now the weather has warmed up! The little guy goes straight for the biggest chair, (next thing we need is a low table with a space for “built in” drinks and ice – now that would rock!) Will have to get my thinking cap on about that one.

But the best thing is being able to look up at the stars at night and see the first star and the moon and make wishes on them, as a family… I’m loving this new space!

 

 

Murph loves it too… he hasn’t worked out how to get on those chairs yet… amazing!

This could be a fab christmas idea, an outdoor chalkboard! Paint an existing wall or whack up a smooth board on an existing pailing fence and paint it with chalkboard paint. Put it near a couple of comfy chairs and you can read the paper, or watch the stars, while the kids create around you and with you!

 

Got a wall you could paint as an outdoor chalkboard?

I’d love to see your “creating space”, email me sarahpreston{@}tomfo.com or drop me a line on my facebook page.

 

 

Live with Love,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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