Margaret Oomen created the perfect pegboard sourcing inspiration—and got a can of chalkboard paint—from the aisles of Home Depot.

The library holds a wall-size blackboard for the Bancrofts’ four children, with a colorful permanent piece by local artist Derek Phillips.

Mark Fekete and Viviana de Loera, co-founders of interdisciplinary design firm MARK + VIVI, happily took on the challenge of building their dream home in a transitioning Montreal neighborhood. The couple's kitchen is an exercise in both sustainability and creativity. The island is wrapped with reclaimed scrap wood uncovered from the house during demolition. Chalkboard walls provide a whimsical canvas for graphic images and notes. Stainless steel was selected for the kitchen countertops, and the pair relied on a local industrial sheet metal fabricator to help them prepare the material for residential application. The mix of warm and cool adds depth and dimension to the space.

The chalkboard wall also acts as a sliding pocket door to the first floor bathroom. To maximize usable space, there are no hinged doors in the home's interior.

Chalk Piggy BankFar more sophisticated than the plastic pigs of yore, the smooth ceramic piggy bank features a leather tail and comes with its own chalk. $85

Jimena makes use of a giant chalkboard just outside.

A chalkboard made of anodized aluminum is a place for keeping to-do lists.

Located off of the kitchen, Vivi’s office disappears behind sliding walls covered in black chalkboard paint from Behr. This is one of the best home office setup ideas if you're short on space or if you're going for a minimalist look.

The Jackanory wardrobe is a long, lean number with a similar shape to the Scribble table. It too comes in solid oak with a high-gloss clear lacquer. It comes in over 50 colors.

The kitchen is just as detailed and eclectic as the rest of the main floor, with a wall-sized chalkboard and retro wallpaper accenting the streamlined white cabinetry. Bright, colorful dining room chairs add whimsy.

De Waart added a chalkboard to the kitchen for writing memos and for drawing, as Tammo does here.

A low slab, the Scribble coffee table by Timothy Ben comes in ash, oak, cherry, or walnut and will make a handsome addition to any living room.

Leave a note, let your kid draw, or maybe do a bit of TV-time doodling yourself on the chalkboard end of the Scribble coffee table. Made in Britain by the Welsh-based designer Timothy Ben.

Chalkboard-fronted cabinets provide an ideal surface for scrawling shopping lists.

Two dozen specialized flavors are posted each day on the chalkboard.

In a home in Los Angeles, a child's bedroom has been outfitted with custom carpeting and millwork, a reading nook under a staircase, a mini door and window, and a magnetic chalkboard wall.

Bunk Beds with chalk-board wall

Ikea cabinets were combined with durable work surfaces and personal touches like a chalkboard wall. Decopour flooring, a cement topping similar to terrazzo, is a very durable, family friendly surface. Kitchen, dining and outdoor space flow around a 12-foot long island—nicknamed "the mother of all islands" by the residents.

A hidden powder room is concealed behind the kitchen unit's sliding chalkboard door.

A chalkboard wall encourages creative exploration in the child’s room.

A built-in closet and chalkboard surface in the entry keeps things tidy and the couple's to-do list in order.

The front of the wall that separates the kitchen from this playroom is a chalkboard where the couple’s son can play and draw.

A curving charcoal wall covered in chalkboard paint lines one side of the open living area.

The Perezes drink home brewed beer at the kitchen table, which folds down from the wall; the table's underside serves as a chalkboard when folded up.

The original chalkboard was retained and protected with glass in what is now the dining room.

The room's interior scheme is more playful, befitting a child. A chalkboard backs the TV niche and is bordered by bright orange cabinetry sized for children's clothes.

In certain places, the scale of the home is adjusted for children. A standard door, covered in chalk-board paint, has a 48-inch-tall door set inside it.

Original schoolhouse shades, the old chalkboard...a gathering space so dramatic but full of welcoming charm.

The long kitchen table, which can comfortably sit eight, has been handcrafted from salvaged cedar. Birch and chalkboard barn doors effortlessly hide any unwanted clutter.

A wood-framed chalkboard folds down from a wall in the kitchen and provides more counter space and a dining area. The open wood shelving was crafted from a beloved table that did not fit in the tiny home.

Max devised a movable plywood beam that holds a trio of pendant lamps to swing down as needed. A wood piece covered in chalkboard paint hides the electrical panel. “Slate was too expensive,” he says.

The couple’s children had requested a treehouse, but the lack of old growth trees on the property prompted Wendi and Lukas to include a loft above the renovated garage. The hatch skylights allow the boys to have a lookout over the backyard, and the chalkboard wall is great for doodling.

In the Mission District yard Monica Viarengo created for the Sharkey family, outdoor chalkboard paint by Sydney Harbour applied to marine-grade plywood offers a gallery for creativity. A mural by local artist Erik Otto—inspired by the neighborhood—brightens the back of the space.

The centrally located sink does double duty. On the kitchen side, a suspended chalkboard for notes hovers above it. Similar tile in the kitchen backsplash and shower creates continuity. Note the tiny cooktop with integrated, exposed venting above it, which syncs with the industrial concrete on the floor and ceiling.

Writing on the walls is encouraged by the magnetic slate chalkboard from Claridge Products. The Phoenix table by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso does double duty as a play table or a coffee table, depending upon who’s in residence. The Tulips felt rug is from Peace Industry, and was made in a fair-trade workshop in Iran. The casework is constructed of anigre wood.

Hue: WOOL .05 Chalkboard. www.colorhousepaint.com/col...