What I'm planning on doing with the end of one of my base cabinets is painting a large square of luan with chaulkboard paint, framing it and attaching it with heavy duty double stick tape. This way if I ever change my mind, I haven't done anything truly permanent to my cabinet surface.

You may want to consider my plan as an alternative.

Im going to have a piece of wood that the lower third will have cork applied to it and the top 2/3 will be painted with chalkboard and/or magnetic paint (I've heard of this but have not actually seen it) to use a message center in our kitchen. It will have framing around it to finish it. I'm planning on putting mine on a wall, but you could attach it to the pantry door as well and not alter the entire door. I also saw refrigerator panels that were blackboard in a magazine and thought that was a cool idea too.

We will only be starting our major remodel at the end of the summer, so last year I did a quick fix by painting our kitchen cabinets and walls to hold us over.

On one large wall, I used chalkboard paint to paint a large square, roughly 3' x 3' and framed it out in some leftover molding. It is very practical for leaving messages and noting groceries to pick up, but I won't have a chalkboard again in my new kitchen.

It always looks great in magazines, but in reality it's just a chalky mess. If you use an eraser, then you just get a white haze over the black. It's nearly impossible to have a crisp, black background with white writing. If you don't use an eraser, then every time you want to clean it you need to do so with a sponge and water and you need to do a couple of passes on it to get it truly clean. I've also found that while the paint doesn't exactly wash off, after time it does affect it and if I was keeping this kitchen I'd probably repaint it once or twice a year.

For me, it's been one of those things thats a nice idea but impractical to maintain. My suggestion would be to purchase a large chalkboard (or make one by painting a piece of mdf and framing it) and then hanging it on your door. That way, if you find it isn't practical (as I did) or you just don't like it, you can remove it without replacing the door.

Good luck,
claire.

I've also been told by professionals that chalkboard paint is one of those cute designer ideas that sounds better than it works.

You're better off fitting a section of chalkboard surface into the space, or finding/making a nice one in the size/style you want, maybe with a frame and/or cork board.

Ah, how timely! We wanted to do magnetic chalkboard on our door. Couldn't find it locally, so purchased magnetic paint at SW, with the intention of tracking down chalkboard paint later. Many design changes later (LOL), we still only have a single coat of magnetic paint on the door:

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea magnetic chalkboard

We have a message board painted with the chalkboard paint. My contractor made the board out of sheetmetal, painted it with a coat of primer, then the chalkboard paint. We haven't had any fading issues. This is one of my favorite features in our new kitchen; it's so very handy!

{{!gwi}}

We made a chalkboard with chalkboard paint and wood trim & we're very happy with it. The chalk does create dust, but it wipes up easily. I've been meaning to buy dustless chalk but haven't gotten around to it. Using an eraser does create a white haze but that also wipes off easily with a wet paper towel.

We originally planned to make it magnetic, too, but I read negative things about magnetic primer and magnetic chalkboard paint (changes wall texture - so would be hard to cover over if you changed your mind and may interfere with wifi).

our builder suggested a masonite door with magnetic chaulkboard inset for our pantry. love that it combines both features.

hoffman, i love the photo. we don't yet have kids, but it's exactly how we're envisioning the usage of the door ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: masonite

Instead of a chalk board I'm using a white board. I had my custom cabinet guy make a message cabinet similar to the one in the link. That way if I'm having guests over, they don't see all the family messages and paperwork on the bulletin board. Good Luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Wall message center

Yes! We painted the panel on the inside of our pantry door with a diy chalkboard paint. The diy recipe is just a mix of latex paint and unsanded grout, and it allows you to make your chalkboard any color you want. Ours is a deep red. We use it to keep a running shopping list and (sometimes) a menu for the week. I love that the kids actually write down the things they need me to buy, because they don't have to track down a paper list. I don't keep an eraser around -- we just use a damp paper towel, so no mess. Love it!