Bright Colors

• Do away with the drab greens and blacks of yesterday and use bright colors to make a custom chalkboard on your office wall or playroom furniture. Purchase ready-made blackboard paint in the bright color of your choice, or select multiple colors. Try making a checkerboard chalkboard out of red and orange -- or paint a small accent wall in your child's room in bright blue. Paint an entire tabletop in a bright color for your child to experiment with, or create a flower using multiple colors for each petal on your wall.
  
  

Greys

• Use greyscale colors in order to create a classy, yet creative addition to your office or studio space. Map-out the pattern using painter's tape. Use a variety of squares in different sizes, overlapping in shades of grey and black. Alternatively, create a checkerboard with 31 or more squares to allow for a calendar. Greys and blacks are also great for refinishing cupboard doors or to use on the outside of the pantry.
  
  

Earth Tones

• Avoid really pale earth tones and pastels, if you are creating a custom-painted chalkboard. Consider using a grass green palette, dark brown, shades of terracotta or sky blues, if your room is decorated in earth tones. These colors will not be too overpowering for an earth tone palette, but will be dark enough to still be useful. Use a color that is dark enough for chalk to show up on.
  
  

Creating Custom Shades

• Make your own chalkboard paint to ensure it is the perfect match for your home's color scheme. Measure 0.5 volumes of tile grout and set it aside. Combine three volumes of acrylic paint primer and 1.5 volumes of water-based glaze medium, tinted to your preferred color. Combine the primer and glaze medium in a bowl and mix it well. Add the tile grout to the mixture through a kitchen sieve and stir.