Our household was in desperate need of a central place to keep all of our important information - calendars, to do lists, dinner menus, etc. So I decided to create a communication wall. I searched Pinterest for some inspiration and set to work.
The three pins that inspired me were:
We chose a wall to dedicate as our communication wall. I would have preferred something closer to the kitchen but no such wall exists. So I had to settle on the wall that you pass by as you head out to the garage. Here it is before the renovation:
Then I had to decide what all needed to go on the wall. This is the list I came up with:
- Current month calendar
- Next month calendar
- Dry erase board for notes
- Bulletin board
- Grocery list
- Weekly dinner menu
- Bill holder
- Hooks for keys
- Family to do list
- Container for pens, chalk, etc.
I found most of what I was looking for on the Pottery Barn Teen website with their Style Tiles. I ordered two dry-erase calendars, a plain dry-erase board, a galvanized metal board with attached pails for storage and a Cork Board Rail. Their stuff is just as nice as Pottery Barn but way more fun!
Just like the Central Command Center inspiration I found, I decided to have a chalkboard background. So I taped off a rectangle on the wall and painted on chalkboard paint. By running a smooth line of clear caulk over the edges of the painters tape, you can prevent any paint from bleeding under the tape. Perfect lines every time! I've used the same trick to paint stripes on walls as well.
We now have a chalkboard wall!
Above the wall I wanted to have our last name. And I wanted fun patterned letters like the inspiration I found. So I got cardboard letters from JoAnn's and some coordinating scrapbook papers from the local scrapbook store. Then I painted the edges black for a shadow effect. I just used leftover chalkboard paint (since it's black and all).
Then I used mod podge to cover the letters with the patterned paper. They turned out great!
For the to do list, I found a frame for 50% off with a shape that I liked, but the color was not going to work:
So I sprayed a little primer on it and then painted it yellow. I used the same template that was used in the inspiration example. You can write directly on the glass with a dry erase marker and then wipe it right off.
I got some pretty blue clipboards to hang our weekly dinner menus and grocery lists. That way we can easily take them down and carry them over to the kitchen table while we are planning our meals for the week.
I already had a bill holder with hooks for keys on it so I decided to use that. I may end up painting it another color at some point. But for now, I've left it as-is.
I already had a bill holder with hooks for keys on it so I decided to use that. I may end up painting it another color at some point. But for now, I've left it as-is.
Once we had everything we needed, my husband then got to work hanging everything (not his favorite thing to do - but he is so so good at it!). Here is the end result:
And here are the kiddos taking advantage of being able to draw on the walls!
It was a fun and fairly easy project, and I love how it turned out! Now hopefully it will actually help us stay more organized!
