I found this pair of shutters at a yard sale.  They were mighty green, looking like they came straight off a summer camp cabin.  I fell in love instantly, but having no idea what I would use them for, I did not buy them.  They also had a couch for sale and my neighbor happened to be looking for one, so I finished my yard sales and drove home.  I walked over to tell her of the amazing sofa they had and decided to drive with her to look at it.  While she was talking to the seller, I noticed the shutters still sitting there.  Luckily my neighbor was there to talk me into buying them, because I still could not think of one single use for them, and I was trying NOT to buy things to collect dust in the garage.  These sat in my attic for the better part of a year before coming up with the perfect use.

I was finishing up the mudroom (add link) when I decided I wanted a large chalkboard to fill the space behind the door.  I found a couple of pins with how to build your own so of course that is what I planned to do.  After sitting on the building idea for a couple of days, I started to think about what I could repurpose into a chalkboard so I did not have to buy more wood, because I did not have the right pieces on my wood stash to make one.  My mind just kept spinning, thinking of narrow, longer ‘things’ that already exist that I could use when all of the sudden it hit me.  I raced to the garage attic, pulled out one shutter and knew it was exactly what I wanted for the space.

I posted on my neighborhood facebook group asking if anyone had leftover chalkboard paint they didn’t need before I went to the depot, and low and behold a friendly neighbor left some out on her porch for me to pick up!  I used existing trim paint (Bejamin Moore White Dove – or Dove White – I can never remember – mixed at Home Depot with Behr paint).  And if I remember right, the pair of shutters were $20.  Essentially this was no cost project and I love how it turned out!  I may have to turn the sister shutter into a match and sell it to fund another project.  For now it sits; you never know what idea might pop up next!