Blackboard

Syracuse, NY use to be an industry town. All around town there are lovely old brick factory buildings, which now are mostly empty and just waiting for someone to come along and see their potential again. Now Syracuse mostly revolves around the University economy. There are a few in town but the most notable and largest is Syracuse University. We happen to live in the University neighborhood which aside from being close to our public library branch and co-op also allows for excellent sidewalk scores. Growing up in Alaska this type of thrifting was not something that I grew up doing. In Alaska there's no such thing as curbside recycling or trash pick up. You haul everything to a transfer station to be taken away. In the few short years we've lived in Syracuse we've managed to score some pretty awesome sidewalk loot. N's changing table/dresser, her train/play table, a foot rest, and most recently a chalk board.

C gets all the credit for this one, as he picked it up on his way home from work one day. Sidewalk shopping takes a certain DIY eye as most of the things need a little love, and the chalkboard was no exception. The wood frame was overall solid but needed a few new screws/nails and the slate needed some new chalkboard paint. Luckily chalkboard paint is all the fad right now and is easy to come by at your local Joanns. I ended up putting four coats of paint on this and still have probably half of this little bottle left. Then we popped it back into the frame and C tightened it up with some new hardware.
Now it's good as new and is already getting some toddler loving.