One of the things we did to spruce up our place recently was paint our kitchen counter.
Yes, paint.
We had 1970's faux-wood laminate counters that would have been expensive to replace so I decided that paint was the way to go. There are counter transformation kits on the market that are made specifically for this, but I felt pretty confident that we could do just as well on our own.
Here is my counter Before:
And here it is After:
A close-up shot:
We also bought a roll of wallpaper from Lowes, painted it "Tin" and created a very inexpensive backsplash.
Here are the steps to painting a faux granite counter top like this:
First, I selected a laminate sample from the home improvement store, and tried to dissect all the colors in it. I came up with about 6-8 colors. You could use a granite or soapstone sample, but I thought the laminate would be closest to the painted finish...and as it turned out, we managed to match it almost exactly!
1. Clean counters with heavy duty cleaner.
2. Run sandpaper over the surface to give it "tooth," clean off any dust.
3. Prime with Zinsser, we tinted ours gray to make it easier to cover with dark paint.
4. Roll on a couple of coats of brown color paint. Sherwin Williams latex, egshell. We used a 6 inch sponge roller to make the surface as smooth as possible.
5. Using sample "pots" of paint (Behr) from Home Depot, we thinned them a little at a time in little mixing cups. We used that laminate chip from the countertop area of home depot that had the colors we liked, and simply guessed at matching them. We probably bought 6-8 colors and ended up using only 4-5 of them.
6. Cover EVERYTHING with plastic! Even the cabinets and things you don't think will be in the line of fire. This is super messy. Cover any place you might step as you go in and out of the area, because you'll have wet paint on your soles.
7. Using large spray bottles (little spritzers made too fine of a mist, and we wanted droplets) spray layers of droplets all over. To get the right shape of dots, he had to spray pointing up, so that the drops would fall down like rain, not move sideways across the surface. Does that makes sense? That's why this is so messy. :(
We had to keep experimenting with the consistency of the paint, and the spraying technique. Tom had a sample board outside that really helped with the practice until he got the look we wanted.
8. Let drops dry as much as possible in between colors, so that they don't end up mixing and looking muddy.
9. Keep layering and layering the droplets until you get the look you want. This is a very forgiving finish in that, if you don't like a color, keep layering over it with other colors.
10. Topcoat with a clear sealer, rolling on with sponge rollers. One to two layers would be best.
Now, we never did topcoat the surface, and it has held up GREAT for over three years. It is just now starting to wear along the edges, at least down to the primer.
The counter cost about $40.00 to refinish and I absolutely LOVE IT!!! I wake up excited to go into my kitchen.
I still can't believe how great it turned out!
