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'm in the Uk and bought Annie Sloan paints a couple of year ago to paint some pieces of furniture. I attended a course run by the stockist and made a good job of a small tilt top table and a poor job of a mahogany coffee table (it was quite hot weather and I think that was the problem. However now I have a new one. All of my Annie Sloan paints were purchased about 4 years ago. There are 8 cans of which 2 have been opened and part used. They are all stored in my 2nd bedroom, my craft room, which is warm and dry. I keep them in the plastic tubs that come with Ikea trofast units and saw that one had gone rogue and was sitting on another shelf in the room. When I picked it up & could see that the back of the can was full of holes along the seam and paint was leaking out. A can of Emilie, Chateau Grey and one of Olive were similarly affected (Chateau Grey had about 30% used and resealed. The other 2 cans hadn't even been opened. I contacted AS UK and was told that they had changed their can supplier in 2016 (I wonder why!) and that the paint only had a shelf life of 12 months so, as a goodwill gesture, they would send me one can out. I've since checked the other 5 cans and even the previously unopened ones are rotting from the inside. The ones that are intact have what appears to be perfect paint in them. I want my 3 cans replacing and 5 empty new cans sent out to decant the rest into. I've rung around several stockists and they all say things like the cans last for ever, no shelf life. oh they found a can that was 15 (or 25 according to who was telling the tails!) years, opened it and it was fine to use. AS won't budge on only replacing one can so thats £160 pounds worth of paint wasted. My own stockist is horrified at what I've told her and has said that she has had some of the cans for longer than a year and that no-one has ever said there's a shelf life of 12 month. They say they've now put info on their cans stating it should be used within 12 month of purchase but your can might have been sitting on the shelf for some time. A bunch of liars and cheaters who wont admit to a problem. Buy something else.

So after a lot more research, I’ve elected to paint the floor with Wise Owl One Hour Enamel. Plus primer and a sealant. It’s possible I may add a crackle glaze between the first and second coats of OHE, with a darker paint color over a lighter one, then seal, then use a brown glaze to softly define the grout lines, then seal again. I found lots of great info through White Owl suppliers & users. The OHE is super strong & durable. But this is still in the thinking stage. I’ll be doing some experiments, then decide. And if I want a rug/rugs in there, I’m going with Ruggable washable rugs. Thanks for all the advice & comments here. Love the internet!

I would use the 'clear finish' made by the people who made the chalk paint. It is the best option...The chemicals will be compatible.