The Property Brothers' Simple Home Addition Combines Luxury With Family-Friendly Vibes

There may be times when it feels near impossible to combine family-friendly with luxury in your home. Kids will be kids, and mess, chaos, and disorder usually comes with the territory. Especially with younger children, you may have resigned yourself to knowing your home may not exude the style you had in mind at all times. However, while there will always be a little clutter in a family home, the HGTV stars of Property Brothers have a solution, as usual, for combining family and luxury within your space. In fact, there are many ways that you can channel a chic aesthetic, but one of the easiest, most efficient, and functional ways to do this is by adding decorative chalkboards in busy areas like the kitchen or living room to leave notes, reminders, schedules, and even menus. Unlike Post-it notes or whiteboards, chalkboards can be used to present a more luxurious vibe and elevate or enhance your decor.

A lived-in home is a luxury in itself, but that doesn't mean you want it to appear unkempt. If you have papers and notes hanging all around, this can contribute to visual clutter and mess, which can, in turn, make your rooms feel overloaded with stuff. Busy family life is normal, and keeping on top of everything can get tedious if you don't have an organized method. That's why Property Brothers recommends hanging chalkboards in communal spaces: To aid communication while also avoiding more mess. Unlike another HGTV star's approved chalkboard wall DIY, a smaller board is less overbearing so that you can decorate around it. 

Ideal places to hang these boards are areas where everyone gathers or the rooms that people use a lot. The kitchen is a good place for notice boards, so you don't have to cover the fridge or countertops with notes, calendars, and papers. Find an empty (or sparse) wall where the chalkboard can be the focal point, and use the Property Brother's advice of hanging a framed chalkboard (or two) here. It doesn't have to be the only thing on the wall: Artwork or framed prints can surround it as long as it doesn't get lost in the fray. Try to find a framed chalkboard that brings a more stylish look to the room. If you have a big family or a lot of people living under one roof, you can get creative with options like this 5-Piece Double-Sided Hanging Chalkboard Sign, which allows you to give each person their own slide. 

Use colorful chalk to write notes and menus; you can even invest in stencils to make the lettering stylish and more aesthetic. This may add a little time to your daily or weekly notes, but it will elevate the boards and make them more attractive among your other decor, too. In the living room, you can even write the titles of movies for upcoming movie nights. Purchase chalk pens to make writing easier, or DIY your own chalkboard paint. You can reset whenever you need by using the same method you would to clean a chalkboard wall, too. If you prefer to design your frame, you can always buy the actual chalk slab and use particleboard or any other material to craft your own. Customize with paint or decoupage it, then add embellishments for extra personalization.