I get the coolest requests. For reals. When the “O” family asked me to help put together their homeschool schoolroom, I was super excited. I mean, an actual schoolroom? There were so many possibilities of what we could do in such a space. After setting up a consult and listening to Mrs. “O’s ideas, I completed the vision board of what this room should look like.

But first things first, here is where we started:

Disclaimer: Mrs. “O” had moved all of these items to the center getting prepped for me to paint when this photo was snapped. I assured her I would let all of you know that prior to moving on with the details of this remodel. Anyhoo, here was the vision board for this dining room-turned-schoolroom:

Elements include a bay window built-in desk feature (enough spots for four—yes, four(!)—boys), a rustic wood desktop housing four cabinetry bases for extra storage, bright colored desk chairs, a feature accent wall consisting of a framed magnetic green chalkboard (epic!), followed by some Icy Avalanche (Sherwin Williams ) paint, and a cool light fixture as well.

Once the adjacent walls were painted and our feature wall/chalkboard was skim coated smooth, I put the first layer of magnetic paint on. Now, I’ve used magnetic paint in the past and never had any issues. However, this time around? It was a hot mess. HOT! Not only is this stuff super thick, but it’s a huge pain when trying to paint on the wall. Huge. It also required some sanding down once it was on. I forever loathe this stuff. Also? It’s hard to get off.

Just look at poor little “K” below who managed to find his way into the magnetic paint. Messy!!!!

We made the best of it though and now “K” has his footprints forever enshrined upon the wall. Nice. After the magnetic paint episode, four quarts of GREEN chalkboard paint went on the wall. This stuff is pricey and needs a serious mixing upon arrival for the color to be consistent but look at the outcome:

Nate Koogle—expert carpenter—framed out this bad boy and now mama and her four students can use this all year long. Oh, and of course we had to try it out and season it up a bit.

However, we ran into a snag. Because of the thickness of the magnetic paint, it created areas that were uneven and and since this mama is using said board to teach on, it needed to function and function well. Even after the chalkboard paint went up, no bueno. Even after a light sanding? Still no good.

I called in for back-up.

Nate came to the rescue and sanded this wall back to square one. We ditched the magnetic paint in round two. Total bummer but necessary. Sigh. AFC then primed and repainted the chalkboard in that infamous schoolhouse green finish. Voila!

And “M” got to seasoning it right away.

Once the chalkboard wall was completed, the room just needed to be put back together. Mrs. “O” grabbed Ikea’s Billy bookcases from the old playroom (turned nursery) in order to gain more storage in the schoolroom. A new rug was set in place, and all learning components added back into the room.

Ready for the finished product?

A new lighting fixture was added as well. Since this area was originally intended for a dining room, the fixture mount isn’t centered perfectly over this table, but that’s an easy fix should Mrs. “O” want to do so later.