Forget little dry erase boards, if you have large ideas you need a large whiteboard. With a can of whiteboard paint and about one hour you can have an entire Dry Erase Wall. Which is much cooler.
4 years ago I turned an entire wall in my office into a very large whiteboard calendar. And it still looks great. It hasn't made my ideas any better but at least all of my bad ideas are in one place.
My name is Karen and I like to write things down with pen and paper. I do a lot of this in my office to keep track of blog posts. I realize this puts me on par with someone who washes their clothes against a rock or still uses a DVD player, but I don't care. Even though I like technology and use FIVE Google home assistants in my house - I love a good hand written list or calendar. I like it even better on a wall.
I've tried using my iPhone for taking notes but it just isn't as convenient or effective. Whenever you watch a tv show that involves detective work or research, you don't see everyone writing their evolving notes and research on a tablet. They do it on a big wall so everything is easy to see.
At least that's the way it goes on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.
I painted an entire wall in my office with dry erase paint and haven't regretted it once. When my DIY dry erase wall is - erased - you can't even tell it's different than a regular wall.
I did this on a whim because I wanted to consolidate all of my lists and notes so that I could see ALL of them easily and quickly at a glance. I didn't want to flip through 4 notebooks and 2 wall calendars, plus whatever receipts, napkins or matchbook covers I've written stuff down on.
Beside my office desk I have a completely blank wall. So my first notion was to run to Walmart or Home Depot to buy a Dry Erase board. But ... that wasn't going to be big enough for all of my big ideas.
I did some searching and discovered that dry erase paint exists (it's also called whiteboard paint). It's the same idea as chalkboard paint but Dry Erase. A couple of companies make it but I went with Rustoleum Dry Erase for no particular reason. This isn't a sponsored post!
It's not a new invention, but it was new to me and that's all that matters. It was exciting enough for me to run out and get everything I needed to make an entire whiteboard wall in my office at that very moment.
Which sadly meant I had to leave my laundry only partially pounded on the rock, before running out the door.
My local hardware store had everything I needed and by that night I had an entire whiteboard wall for writing notes.
Table of Contents
What will it cost?
A dry erase wall is going to cost you about $25 if you're in the United States, and about $50-60 if you're in Canada. I can't explain the price discrepancy for those of us in the North but I can tell you even at $60 it's worth it.
Materials Needed
- Dry Erase paint (comes with 1 can of clear paint, 1 can activator)
- Paint brush
- Paint roller (foam or microfibre)
- Paint tray
- Stir stick
- Blank wall
Instructions
You need a smooth wall, so make sure you have that. Sand off any huge bumps and patch any holes.
- Mix the can of activator with a stir stick. It's the smaller can. Then pour the activator into the can of clear dry erase paint.
- Stir them together until they're completely mixed and emulsified.
- Pour your mixed can of paint into a tray. It will look white but once it dries it is completely CLEAR.
Because the dry erase paint is clear you can paint over any wall and still see your original wall colour under the clear Dry Erase coating.
(just make sure you buy the "clear" dry erase paint, it also comes in white)
- Cut in near the ceiling and edges. My office ceiling is VERY low so I knew I'd be able to write on the wall all the way up to the ceiling. If your ceilings are high you don't need to go that far up *but* there will a noticeable difference in the wall's finish because Dry Erase walls have a semi-gloss look.
- Carefully roll on the Dry Erase mixture making sure you cover every inch of the area you intend to use as a Dry Erase board. Make sure you do an even coat. If you're doing just a small portion of a wall, tape out the area you want to paint.
- Let the wall cure for 2-3 days (a week is actually better) and then get busy scribbling. And erasing.
See that black thing over to the left of the photo? That's my DIY walking desk. If you work at a computer a lot all day, you should make one too. Although since I got a dog I don't find I need to be forced to walk in my office anymore.
A microfibre cloth works best for wiping off dry erase marker, but a whiteboard eraser works as well. For ghosting or marker that doesn't wipe off with a cloth you need isopropyl alcohol. Dampen a cloth with 99% isopropyl alcohol and white the board to remove ghosting.
2 days is the absolute minimum you should wait before you use your dry erase board. It needs to cure and the length of time it takes to do that depends on the temperature of the room and the moisture in the air. Waiting a full week will give you the best results.
Using the board too soon (before it's fully cured) will stain it.
1, 473 ml can will cover approximately 30 square feet with 2 coats.
If for whatever reason you want to get rid of the whiteboard wall all you have to do is give it a light sanding (this helps paint adhere), wipe the sanding dust off and then paint it with a coat of primer and then your final paint colour.
If want to do this but you're worried because you feel like it's permanent or will ruin your wall - don't worry about it. Just do it. It doesn't ruin anything and I use mine ALL the time When I'm not pounding laundry on rocks that is.
Nope I can't carry it around with me like an iPhone. But I can't drop it in a toilet either.
→Go follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
Stephen
I can't tell from the images, but I assume your walls are not textured. So I'd have to do some prep-work of smoothing mine down and repainting before using this.
Karen
Hi Stephen. My walls are smooth BUT they have been painted several times so they aren't perfectly smooth and it worked great but with actual textured walls you'd have to smooth them down, yes. ~ karen!
Sarah
I was thinking the same thing!
MaryJo
Holy-chalkboard Batman, I had no idea that there was such a thing! If only I had a house with a bare wall in it that I could do this with, it would be perfect for leaving notes for my husband. I leave bright neon orange Post-It notes for my husband on the TV, on his laptop screen, at eye level right above the coffeemaker, and he STILL doesn't see them. I could write notes that were 3 feet high!
SusanR
How about a door? Does the terlet he use face a wall or a door that's flat enough to take the paint and write on? If it's directly across from his face, maybe he'll see it.
Julie
I always wanted to put a chalkboard wall somewhere that my kids could have gotten to it. Then I took one look at all of the chalkdust that would explode in my house and nixed that idea right away. Because who doesn't need more dust in their house? I never knew this existed...thanks!
Cheryl H
Great idea. Thanks for sharing!
I got a portable whiteboard for Christmas. We use it to draw pictures we don’t need to save, card and game scoring. It’s come in handy! https://www.thegrommet.com/wipebook-reusable-whiteboard-notebook
Quentin
Wow, I didn't know this existed as well, Karen. I like how you think. You sticked to what you liked, pen and paper, and found the resources to put your notes on a larger scale, the walls of your office with the dry erase paint. I applaud you for your creativity and hard work.
Kirsten ilczyna
Yes very cool idea! Is no one going to comment on the upside down girl in the first and last photos? What’s with that?
GC Lehman
...or the Buddha trying to grab her @$$...?
SusanR
@$$? What @$$. There's no @$$ there to be grabbed! LOL
Karen
It's a painting. And yup, she's supposed to be upside down.~ karen!
Sally
You are quite clearly a mind-reading witch - I was only telling someone on Saturday that I was sure that this stuff existed and was going to have to prove it to them! (Now, of course, I have to go and buy some and get it done...).
Karen
I really am a mind-reading witch. I am. ~ karen!
Sabina
Mind blown! I can’t believe this has been around and I’ve not heard of it yet! My daughter has taken over our spare bedroom and turned it into a fitness studio and she has a small white board on her desk where she keeps her schedules, goals, accomplishments, etc. This would be fabulous in there!
Thanks again for another little jolt of inspiration Karen!
Clem
Hey Karen
This is really useful. Thank you. I'm still trying to make time to do your kerfing technique on wood. I need to find a sharp rock!
Karen
:) Forget the kerf cutting - just do the dry erase board. It's way more fun. ~ karen!
Clem
It's for a harp I'm (trying to make) make. Don't hold your breath ...
Thandi
I am routinely mocked for my habit of renting DVDs and then watching them using a DVD player. Apparently when you're in your mid-thirties this is not something you're supposed to admit to in polite company. Wait until they see my dry erase wall! MUHAHAHAHA! I shall make it next to the bookshelf where I keep all my notebooks. Obviously with space for the gorgeous wall calendar my sister made me for Christmas (she gets me).
TucsonPatt
I did not know about this stuff, but what do I know - I still use a flip-phone and also don't text. (I do use iMessage on my iPad sometimes, though) this sounds genius, whomever thought it up and invented it! Does it have a "use by" timing schedule? Do you have to throw everything (brush, roller) out after? Do you have to prime after you've sanded down the high spots, or does that matter? This really intrigues me. Genius idea!
TucsonPatty
Cancel that - you do not throw away a Purdy brush! How do you clean off what sounds to me like an epoxy-ish acrylic paint off of your tools?
Karen
Varsol. :) Although if I were doing it again I would just use a cheap brush and indeed throw it away. I hate using Varsol, it's a pain. ~ karen!
Lavada Shaft
Is that a microfiber eraser in your hand?
If not, you could cut and glue a microfiber cloth to the erase you have or, better yet, make some microfiber sleeves to slide over the regular eraser, pop them off for beating on a rock when they're filthy and replace with another, alternating between two eraser covers. Just a thought.
Karen
Good idea. ~ karen!
Cussot
I made a brush for my chalkboard like that - I wrapped a scrap of 2 by 4 with white towel and stapled it in place. Works fine, looks nice.
Mary Edmondson
Love the wall for sure. But I really want information about your Apple computer. Although I have a desktop iMac (and an iPad and an iPhone) I want a portable computer. What model - what memory, RAM - all the technical details? I’ll get the same just as I did the treadmill. Wish you could get a commission.
Stephbo
Mind. Blown. I had no idea this stuff existed!! And so much cheaper than those $@&# boards!!
And a quick hint: If you accidentally write on dry erase board with a regular marker, just go back over it with a dry erase marker. Works like a charm, even on permanent marker that has been there over a year!
GC Lehman
Thank you!! 💕
Tina
Omg, I was just thinking of what to do for the wall behind my sewing machine. I keep putting butcher paper up so I can make notes and jot measurements while I’m working. This will be perfect!
maggie aikens
This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! It makes me want to weep. It may even be more beautiful than my new grandchild and I have beautiful grandbabies 😁 I swear, I thought you could never top the xmas tree dried orange slices (my most favourite thing in the world) but this.......this is brilliant!
Deana
I love this idea!! However, we are renting a house right now and not allowed to paint. My husband wanted a huge white board in his office and it’s quite expensive. Any ideas?
Bev
Look up dry erase pens, they have bad stuff in them, though there are safer ones out there. I have always stayed away from white boards because the pens smell bad to me.
Karen
Potato chips have a multitude of bad things in them too but I not only don't stay away from them, but I actually eat them. As long one doesn't eat dry erase markers there are no health risks to them. Sniffing them I assume would also be bad and don't recommend. Or snorting them. Snorting almost anything is usually bad. But with normal use, dry erase markers are fine. :) ~ karen!
Roz
And I eat gluten too, oh the horror
Nancy
I have a James Beard high gluten bread recipe. My husband likes to talk about it at social events to appear somewhat dangerous.
Judy DeLacy
If the smell is too strong for someone, they sell "odorless" dry erase markers.
Kristin Conley
Karen, you are a genius!
I absolutely love this idea!
Now all I have to do is find a good wall...
I think it would also work well in my horses barn for updating the feeding and turn out schedule. Brilliant!
Thank you.
Cheers,
Kristin in Oregon
Karen
Thanks Kristin! I have to say I LOVEEEE it. It works great and I use it relentlessly. It'd be great in a barn because it's so easy to clean. ~ karen!
Andrea
So stinkin’ clever!!!
Kristin
As a child who was always in trouble for drawing on the walls... I've waited for this post for 50 years!
Karen
If I can dig it up I'll find a photo of my bedroom wall from when I was 13. I drew ALLL over it. Pictures though. I did it prior to either painting the room or wallpapering it. I can't remember! ~ karen
Kristin
Yep. I did pictures too - entire murals. Once I grew up, I did some murals. Definitely hit the spot but I still find myself want to draw on the walls!