It's okay to write on the walls...

... if you're using Idea Paint. This great product is the invention of three undergrads (John Goscha, Jeff Avallon and Morgen Newman) who back in 2002 couldn't afford whiteboards for their brainstorming session in college. So they came up with the idea of creating paint that transforms virtually any surface into a dry ease surface.

The process is quite simple. The paint comes in a kit including everything you need to make your own dry erase surface. All you need to do is pour the bottle labeled "THIS" into the quart labeled "THAT", stir it with the provided stick and paint any primed surface of your choice. The paint dries relatively quickly but you should wait for it to cure for a couple days before using it. What makes this product so attractive, beside the fact that it allows us creative types to unleash our creativity beyond a limiting piece of paper, is that it erases easily.



Idea Paint is a great alternative to blackboard paint and comes in a couple different color options. There's so many great possibilities with a product like this : offices, kindergartens, common rooms, conference rooms, play rooma, teenager's bedrooms, etc.







I'll have to try it out at some point. Maybe I'll start with the sample...

photos : Idea Paint

Magnetic Chalkboard wall

There it is! :) The magnetic chalkboard paint was heavier and darker than the Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint. Basically the magnetic chalkboard paint was applied on the first coat and the Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint was applied on the second coat. The first can has no indication as to how many coats of paint is required or what the coverage is. In this case one can was enough for one coat. But I think 2 coats would probably be better. The paints didn't smell much either, which is always a plus.

Before...


First coat of magnetic blackboard paint


Final result with the Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint


A close up on a little butterfly magnet on the wall.

After a couple days, the chalkboard wall is ready for use :) I love the contrast of the charcoal against the light wood tones of the floor and the wardrobe. It will look even better once the other walls are painted and the furniture and accessories are in place.

North River Penthouse

I believe that even if you live in an rental, you should take the time to design and decorate it to your taste. Your environment affects your well being in so many different ways, so why not take the time to customize it so you live a little happier and a lot more comfortable?

I'm currently starting a new project : North River Penthouse, which is a rental, so obviously we don't want to spend too much money on it, but it can definitely use a bit more personality. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice apartment, but I find it to be a little too much on the yellow side (the floor, the wall, the cabinet).

So one of the main things will be to break that yellow and introduce other colors. In this case, we're going modern and sleek look (as much as possible) and we're taking inspiration from nature (rocks, woods, etc).

First things, first : Paint. It's the cheapest and easiest way to completely change the look and feel of a room without spending too much money. This time, we're going with grays: A light warm gray from Benjamin Moore called Gray Owl and a darker gray for a bit of contrast, also from Benjamin Moore, simply called Gray. These will be used throughout the flat.

For some reason, I love chalkboard paint. I've used the one from Benjamin Moore on several projects and I'm going to use it again on this wall. I also finally found a magnetic chalkboard paint that I will try on this project. The magnetic chalkboard is much heavier than the Benjamin Moore one. We'll see.

The wall is pretty much ready to be painted. In this case I chose the "box" to receive the chalkboard paint. I like to use the architecture to decide where the paint is going to go.

Here's a neat little trick: When I take out the outlet covers, I always tape the corresponding screws directly on the plate to make sure I don't loose them.

Stay tuned for more coming soon :)