David wrote us recently to ask: I have seen your tips for wall-sized calendars, but what recommendations do you have for creating a large close-to-wall-size art display wall? I hope to create something that is magnetic and which has whiteboard capabilities (chalk or marker)?
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We love this question because it's something we've wanted to do as well, but on a smaller scale. Chalk does seem to be all the rage lately. We'd probably stay away from markers just in case your little one decides to stray from the white board. Yoyashop offers chalkboard paint (in black) that is also magnetic. That way any art work on paper can be put up on the wall as well. A can is $35 and covers 12.5 square feet. We're envisioning something like our Flickr Find: Courtney's Playroom where she dedicated an entire wall to chalkboard paint and it looks great.
If you don't want to paint the wall at all, see our earlier post featuring some chalk board items that you can just hang onto the wall for a similar effect. Consider mixing in some bulletin boards or peg boards so items can be pinned up (if the chalk board is not magnetic).
Our final thought is to keep a camera handy and photograph the wall frequently as it will be forever-changing. This way you can preserve all of your child's works.
Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for David?
(image: crashedcar)
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Some wallpaper companies for commercial contracts sell magnetic whiteboard wallpaper. Almost all of them have it now, but MDC Wallcoverings and Wolf Gordon are the first that come to mind.
My apartment's little space for the water heater and furnace features a magnetic door in the hall, and I use this area to display my daughter's artwork. I bought a bunch of fun magnets and we spend time choosing which works to display and arranging them. A large piece of metal attached to the wall would do the same job.
That huge chalk board makes me shudder. Imagine the dust! And sidewalk chalk has stained my daughter's clothes more than once. I much prefer washable markers, but I'm not sure dry erase markers are washable.
So true!
I don't find chalkboard walls all that kid friendly. The dust gets everywhere. Little hands transfer chalk onto upholstered furnishings. Rubbing up against the wall stains clothes. And the dust makes some people sneeze.
It looks great in styled magazine pictures... but is a pain in the ass in real life.
Hi-- Courtney here-- the person mentioned in the above post as a flickr find. The dust is really minimal. I'm wondering if the people commenting above have ever had a chalkboard wall because none of those things have been problems in our house. And my son is not overly-compliant, just your average three year old. One thing I can say is that the walls aren't super magnetic, so hanging large artwork would require many magnets. Thin light magnets work the best. If someone is thinking strictly display- I would think covering a wall with homasote would be a better choice. Check out their website for resources. It is less than $20 for a 4' x 8' sheet. I made six different tackboards out of one sheet, and my local lumber company cut it to size for me. Of course, then you have tacks to contend with, but I taught my son when he was two that if you poke yourself with a tack, it will hurt, and it has never been an issue. He just asks me to get things on and off for him. Here is a link to a small tackboard I made for his room, with tacks that I also made-- http://tinyurl.com/2nwhth-- there is also a link in that post that show more detailed shots of the tacks...
Dry erase markers on porous surfaces tend to perform as permanent markers. We substitute them in a pinch. I don't know if the dried ink has the same staining capacity, but I would test it extensively before creating an child accessible installation.
I love the idea of chalk walls, but I agree that they're really too messy to be practical.
Another baby group mom had a gorgeous all white living room and very fastidious children. One visit from a wild two year old who got colored chalk from a chalkboard all over her hands and the room, furniture, and carpet were no longer monochromatic. All parties present felt completely sick over it and it happened in a split second.
Courtney, I have never had a chalkboard wall in my house, but my kid's favorite summertime art medium is sidewalk chalk, and she wears play clothes and gets washed off thoroughly before she comes indoors. Is the chalk you use indoors somehow different than sidewalk chalk in composition or staining power? How often do you wipe down the chalkboard with water, like the teachers in school used to do?
I'm not sure how our chalk compares (although we do use sidewalk chalk outside) but it is just normal small chalk from IKEA and most recently purchased at a local Waldorf school. I have only washed the board thoroughly maybe 3-4 times in a year and a half. I think most people would find that this is not something that gets used everyday, but rather, because kids in the home get used to it like any other household object, we add to it weekly, but retain pictures from a long time ago. We still have some drawings on it from my son's birthday party in December, as well as some we added last week. I think the biggest problem may come in when kids come over who aren't used to it, maybe it is more of a novelty. It is always the life of the party, which I appreciate because many of my friends have much older kids who may not be as excited about our toys. Also, adults who visit often write on it. I would never put this in a white living room as a previous poster mentioned (seems kind of crazy to me), and all of my family room furniture is slipcovered, but I've never once had to wash the slipcovers because of it. If any has gotten on it-- a dusting maybe-- I have just patted it a bit and it's gone. I actually expected more of a problem than I've gotten. One last thing-- I have hardwood floors in my toyroom with FLOR tiles as an area rug, and there is always a little 2" dusting of chalk along the one wall when I vacuum. There is none on the carpet tiles at all, and I would never put it in a room that has wall to wall carpet. That few inches along the edge is all you need for the dust to fall on the hard flooring.
Here's a site that sells magnetic wall paneling. You can convert an entire wall into a magnetic whiteboard.
http://www.magnatag.com/page/WW/board/whiteboard-wall-panels/?gclid=CKihsMi_44oCFRBGGAodbSbr2A
We have a chalkboard wall that my son uses daily. We have only recently had a problem with chalk dust. I opened a new box of chalk and noticed right away that there was more dust than usual. I discovered that we had been using "dustless" chalk and that this new box wasn't marked dustless. The texture of it is completely different than the original dustless version we used. Those of you who had dust problems may want to switch brands...the difference is like night and day.