The Much Hated Message Board

The boyfriend picked up a message board about a year ago at a thrift store. I think he paid about $3 for it or somewhere thereabouts. Never really needed one and thought this was the ugliest thing to ever come out of the 80s...aside from the stirrup pants, of course. But the 80s are just that...memorable for the music, much of the rest remains somewhat questionable.

So, much like anything else, over time it became ugly and dated. But for some reason he seemed to need it...and felt the urge to actually use it (in which hiding it under the bed wasn't looking like a plausible option). So with a losing battle on my end ..and in the spirit of compromise, I pouted a little and whined a lot. Then I grabbed some supplies and got to work. :)

I pulled out all the hooks and the metal grapes (yes, you read that correctly), filled all the holes with wood filler and sanded it all down.

I taped off the cork and chalk boards and started painting. I spray painted with a primer and then an ivory color (I was all outta white). It took about 3 coats and then I roughed up the edges a little with some fine grit sandpaper. 

As a last touch I decided to paint the corkboard black to match the chalkboard.

I hung it, I stared at it for about 10 minutes, I cleaned the kitchen, fed the cat, grocery shopped, came back and stared at it for another while...then decided I absolutely hated it.

So I mixed up a bunch of colors until I got a color I loved and voila!

The color is a mix of something in between teal and turquoise. I grabbed some scrapbooking paper and covered the backs of the mail slots. It made a nice contrast I think. I'm still using the old hooks but painted them white until I find something else.

I think I can live with this for now...I kinda love it. :)