Industrial Rivet Chalkboard

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I love it when people “knock off” a project from one of the big stores that most people only dream about having the funds to shop at…stores like Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, and Restoration Hardware. Just to name a few.

I am guilty of such dreams, but I have never done a knock off of my own. Until today. An Industrial Rivet Chalkboard Knock Off.

Industrial Rivet chalkboard Restoration Hardware Knock off

A few weeks back I fell in love with Restoration Hardware’s industrial rivet chalkboard, it was simple and just cool industrial. Obviously my wallet could not afford the price tag $399, so I set off to make my own. As luck would have it my friend had given me some old windows that she had removed from her basement. Even though she gave me several I just used one for this project and it was the perfect size!

Now this baby was not made of metal like RH’s version, and it also wasn’t as thin on the edges. As long as I could get the look and feel of RH’s piece then I was good. I went to work…

I removed the rubber strip and the metal thingy. Then cleaned it up and gave the glass 3 or 4 coats of chalkboard paint.

Cutting chipboard 4 at a time with the jigsaw

Once the last coat of paint was dry I set out to create my fake metal and rivet corners. I chose a scrap piece of chipboard 1/4 inch thick and drew on a pattern using the window frame as a guide (far left photo). To save time I stacked three more pieces of chipboard under the patterned board, clamped them down, and started cutting out the pattern with my jigsaw (middle). When all four corners were cut, I kept them together to sand the edges smooth (far right).

adding corner pieces from chipboard to make fake rivets

Not too bad, obviously thicker than the original, but the right size for the window frame. You can also see I filled in the crack where the rubber thing was with spackle.

Using upholstery tacks to make fake rivets

Next up was gluing down the corner pieces, I used Gorilla wood glue and set one on each corner of the window frame. Then, to avoid splitting the wood, I drilled holes for my upholstery tacks. Before I hammered in the tacks, I added a dab of hot glue, to make sure they would be nice and secure.

I now had my “rivets”!

Spray painting silver as first coat for faux metal finish

Since I have a stash of half empty spray paint cans, I was lucky to find the colors I needed to do my faux metal on the window frame. I started with some Krylon Silver, and sprayed it really well.

faux metal finish spraying with brown, sponge black on edges

Then with some brown I sprayed from really far away to give it a speckled look, to age the shiny silver. Last, I got a sponge and dabbed it in black paint (acrylic or latex) and lightly rubbed it on the edges around the frame. If it looked too dark I used a wet paper towel to blend it in.

close up of fake rivets on RH Knock off industrial rivet chalkboard

This gave the frame the dark industrial metal look. It isn’t totally perfect, but close enough for me. Everything I used for this project I had on hand so my RH Knock Off was completely FREE!!

Now I have to decide how I want to use it. As a calendar?

For weekly meal planning?

Or just for quotes of inspiration on my mantle?

I love chalkboards, they can be used for so many different things! I think my boys room would be a great place for it to end up…eventually. 🙂

I think I could attempt another knock off, knowing it won’t be exactly the same as the original takes off the stress, and I really enjoyed creating something that I wanted for a much better price! Free is just my style!

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