Over the weekend my boyfriend and I hit up the Melrose Trading Post. For those of you who live in Los Angeles, you are seriously depriving yourself if you haven’t checked it out. It is basically a flea market that is held every Sunday at Fairfax High School in West Hollywood. They have all sorts of finds. Jewelry, clothing, furniture, flowers, food. They have things old and new. Some things have been refurbished and fixed up while others need a little T.L.C.

We went specifically looking for a few new items for our apartment. I had been wanting a chalkboard for sometime and jumped at the $20 price tag. I’d been thinking about making my own board for sometime, but I don’t think I could make it cheaper than that. The only issue? We weren’t wild about any of the colors they had, so we picked one thinking we could always paint it later.

I really liked the peeling paint effect that the chalkboard was already sporting, so I didn’t want to cover it up, just tone the green down. This is when I decided to whitewash it. Whitewashing is very simple.

You’ll need:

a clean rag or paper towel

water

paint

painters tape

First, clean the surface to make sure there is no excessive dirt. Tape off any areas that you don’t want to accidentally get paint on. Make your rag damp with water and dip the rag into the paint. Spread the paint on the surface, evenly at first to make sure the entire surface is covered, then go back and add paint or wipe away paint with your rag to create texture and depth. If you want more of the original detail to show, use less paint. Let dry, remove tape, and voila!