Recipe for a Chalkboard Pantry Door

Remember a few months ago when I took you on a little tour of our new home?  I shared this photo of our kitchen, which is totally lovely and spacious; I easily spend the most time in this area.  As much as I love the pantry behind that white door slightly to the left of center, it felt bland.  Boring.  The accents in the rest of the kitchen are stainless steel and black, so the white just stood out like a sore thumb.  I've been lusting over dark interior doors, but couldn't get JP down with a medium gray (using some of the leftover paint from some of the rooms in the house) door.
When my mom visited in March, she suggested painting the door with chalkboard paint; that woman is a genius.  Once I got JP's seal of approval, it was go time!

I followed this tutorial from Young House Love, which only took about 3 hours (including dry time).  First, I wiped down the door with some degreaser, since it is in the kitchen and subject to lots of dirty hands and food stuff.  Then JP removed the door from the hinges and moved it to the basement for me; it kept Mia away from the wet paint, and I could open the windows and door down there to get some ventilation.

I used a liquid deglosser, some thick latex gloves, a few rags, and a screwdriver.
Oh, and the paint, some Frog Tape, a small foam roller, and 2" angled paint brush that didn't make it into the picture.  This door project used about 1/5 of a pint of chalkboard paint from Rustoleum.  You might be able to get away with spray paint, but I didn't want to run the risk of drips.

Don't forget to remove the hardware!  That's what the screwdriver is for.

Once it was downstairs, I donned some lovely latex gloves and used a liquid deglosser to finish prepping the door for paint.  It was really easy to apply: just wear gloves and use some old rags to rub the door down.  After that, I taped off the edges so the paint didn't drip all down the sides.  

Then, start painting!  I had to do 4 coats to really cover all my bases; this is only the first one.  Each coat took about 30-45 minutes to dry. 

A few hours later, after the hardware was reattached, the door was ready to be rehung!  I absolutely love how it looks- such an easy and inexpensive update in this very well-visited room.  All in all, including supplies, it cost less than $35.  

Here's the same view as the original photo; it gives the kitchen a bit of depth and playfulness.

There's a little jar of chalk by the door, so JP leaves me messages like this one:

He's pretty cute.