I have searched high and low for the perfect kitchen menu board. It had to be the perfect size with the perfect wording and so forth and so forth. Anything I did find suitable seemed to me to be inequivalent in value to what I was getting. So…..handy husband please help me. Okay so how hard could it be to build your own menu board? Not very, well not for me at least as I watch from the sidelines and just explain how I want it to look. We made a couple different ones, one was sturdier and made from plywood, one was made from sheet metal which added the benefit of a magnetic board which you can add clips to and hold paper recipes from recipe cards. The frame can be as simple or as fancy as you choose, or you can use an old picture frame, window frame even an old door if you wanted to go BIG.

1. You will need some chalkboard paint. We used a Rustoleum brand that we purchased from Home Depot. You will need to apply several coats to make the surface smooth enough and make it easier to erase the chalk. Especially if you are using the marker type. We found the plywood had a lot of grooves to fill in and needed a couple more coats than the sheet metal.


2) Build a frame. This can be as simple as you like. We recommend building it with a chalk holder. This can be an easy addition by simply using a piece of cove moulding create a lip on the inside of the bottom part of the frame. Or you can build a shelf as the first picture with a small piece of chair rail.

3) Finish the frame as desired and assemble to the board. We stained the the white board and then chalked over with a white chalked paint. We then went over with steel wool to “antique” the look.
4) Add and permanent lettering you wish to add. I purchase a stencil set from Michael’s craft store and a paintpen. Stencil whatever you would like on your board. I am using mine in the kitchen so I used “Menu”. However, there are multiple uses for a chalkboard in your home office, child’s play area, laundry room etc.


Enjoy!
