See? Yuck. And you can see where I left some paint while cleaning a roller once...oops.
I found this laminate countertop paint at Home Depot. It's $22. Compared to new countertops, that is fabulous. We did have to spend a little more buying foam rollers.
We rolled them before we went to Phoenix for a few days during Christmas break. We literally put the kids in the packed up car with a movie, rolled the countertops, and left for Phoenix.
Here it is as we're getting ready to leave.
And here it is now.
Honestly, I don't love it. I was almost in tears walking out of the house thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?!" We're going to do it again, and do a darker brown. This brown kinda looks blah with the walls and cabinets. After all this, I found out that Lowes sells darker tints of this paint.
BUT, it is a huge improvement. And it's growing on me.
There are some definite tips and tricks that we will be applying to our 2nd coat.
1 - Wear a gas mask and vacate the premise. I am not kidding, this stuff will kill millions of brain cells. Which is maybe why I went ahead with the project even though I didn't like the brown.
2 - It takes three days to dry, and that is no exaggeration. Unless you can barricade off part of the house for a few days, you need to leave.
3 - Remove the sink, it's worth it. Then you can roll straight into the hole and it will look much better than hand painting against the sink.
See? The bubbles stayed, and the roller wouldn't have done this.
4 - Sand your countertops. You think they are smooth and flawless, but believe me, they aren't.
5 - Foam rollers, worth every penny. They will create a more even application of the paint.
6 - They suggest a 2nd coat, although not necessary. I think it's necessary.
We also did the bathrooms. They were the first color we tried, but it was too gray for the kitchen.
Our bathroom before.
After.
Ignore the awful color the walls look in that picture, they are much more beautiful than that. I still haven't shown my painted bathroom yet I just realized. Maybe I'll get to that soon.
Check out the little soap holder I got from World Market.
I love him.
Downstairs bath.
After.
We'll be re-rolling the bathrooms too, but with the same color just to even it out.
And then we'll probably have to paint the kitchen to give more contrast with the counters and cabinets. And so it goes...
Give me your honest opinion, love it or hate it?
11 comments:
I really do love it. I like the light brown in the kitchen- wow! It really lightens up the room. Dark would look good too. The bathrooms are amazing. Is the finish shiny? Love the sheen in the photos. The gray is such a good gray to. Great photos too!
love the gray...
and i think a darker browm in the kitchen would be better but LOVE it already more than before!
i need to hang out with my craft friends more so that my ideas can become actual things to look at. :)
wow it looks so much better! It really does!
I like the gray in the bathrooms, but i think the kitchen would look even better darker-
-or painting the walls...but paint the kitchen walls and you'll end up painting the entire downstairs like me!
I really like the gray in the bathrooms. It looks great.
I agree with you on the color of the kitchen, you may need a little more contrast.
I'm super impress though with your skills. I wouldn't even be brave enough to attempt something like this.
Katie, I am so glad the counters turned out! I showed joseph and he is now so excited to do the ones here at his parents house. I will have to get advice on colors :)
Barf. That is exactly what I thought of every time I walked into your kitchen ;)
I am really impressed!
Hurray! you've done it again! I think I like the color because your kitchen looks much bigger and brighter! Also the light color makes the counters less noticeable and the cabinets and widow treatment, door Etc. really PoP! congrats!!
Seriously Katie? It looks awesome! I cannot believe what a difference it makes. With the edges/top/back splash all the same color it looks like it is solid surface instead of Formica. Yes, you should totally paint the kitchen to give some contrast to the cabinets/counters. Maybe blue? I would try painting the walls before re-doing the counters because it seems like it would be much easier! BTW I love the red pantry door!
That is awesome. I never would of thought about a paint for countertops. Looks good Katie. :)
Wow, I never would have thought of painting the countertops, but it looks great. I agree with some of the others. I prefer more of a contrast so if you do go darker, I think that will look good.
I know this would probably be a lot more work, but if you don't go darker on the countertop, you could always paint your cabinets. That would be fun and turn out super cute too.
Katie, I must be kinda late in commenting on this post, but you blog faster than I can keep up :) I think the counters look sooo much better. I LOVE the gray in the bathroom. (everytime I see things with birds on it I think of you) I actually really like the color in the kitchen, I don't know if it's because the before was so awful, but the light brown definitely looks better. I wish paint could fix my counter tops!
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