Last year I was looking for a design solution for our home office.  More specifically, something to serve as an inspiration board and place to put up everything from Save-The-Dates to postcards, magazine clippings, and children’s artwork.  I looked in to a bunch of different cork boards, but I just didn’t love the way they looked. I also didn’t love the idea of pushpins all over the place for our baby to find and push in to her eyeballs (or my eyeballs).  After thinking maybe I would just buy cork boards, cover them with pretty(er) cloth and wear glasses to shield my eyeballs, I came across an article where Julianne Moore talked about the magnetic paint boards in her kids’ rooms. Magnetic paint boards?! GENIUS.  I investigated further and found out that the paint is a matte black, and can be covered with one last coat of a different color to mask it without compromising the magenetism. DOUBLE GENIUS!  I also felt like this was my chance to have the timeless chic-ness of Julianne Moore rub off on me.  Added bonus.
I painted inside the already-existing molding to give it a “framed” look, and loved the color it was so I left it as is.  But I’m already thinking of sneaking magnetic walls all over the house! Here are my tips for stress-free Magnetic Walls:

• The paint is messy. Plan accordingly. For some reason magnetic paint is much looser and thinner than normal paint and it drips. A lot.  Make sure you tape off the area and get some good plastic down on the floor.
• To make the magnetic pull strong enough to hang things, you need many coats.  My wall needed six. Make sure you allow the wall to dry in between coats.  This was a two-day DIY for me.
• The right magnets are everything.  I wanted the magnets to basically disappear so that I could really showcase the elements on the board. You also need the magnets to be STRONG (hello fancy double-stock wedding invitations).  After a lot of investigating, I found Rare Earth magnets online.  I use the super small ones and keep them in a baggy in my desk drawer.  These are so strong that they don’t fall off the wall, but are tiny enough not to be a choking hazard if Marlowe Knievel manages to adventure her way up there.
• You can hang more than paper! I found the wire deer head and the paper maché letters at flea markets and hung them each with a nail to give the board some dimension. I also got magnets with hooks to hang a vintage necklace and the driftwood heart!

xoxo
EAM

(Photographs by Nina Suh for Love And Lemonade Photography)