When we moved into our house, there were a few things that had been done that I half considered calling up the original builder to ask them what the heck they were thinking. Case-in-point: nice granite counters in the kitchen, nice natural stone counters in the master bathroom and Selah's bathroom....and laminate counters in the powder room, laundry room and the bathroom on the 3rd floor. Really? Couldn't make them look like the other counters in the house? So yes, it bugged me a little but not enough that we were about to splurge on granite and start ripping those ugly laminate counters out. So I started looking into alternatives. I looked into making them concrete, using the liquid stainless steel paint, and I'm sure there are a few other ideas in there I can't remember. Somewhere along the way I stumbled upon the concept of painting laminate counters in a faux granite style. Don't laugh...not everything faux is bad. I scoured the internet for good tutorials and also for the bad ones so I'd know what not to do and believe me, there are some out there that really should not be teaching people their 'skills'. I found a couple of good tutorials and bookmarked the sites until I got up the nerve to actually do this task because let's face it, this is the kind of project that can go wrong really quick and nothing says I let my 1 year old handle this project like a badly faux painted counter.
So first things first, clean the counters off with something like Windex or some cleaner. You don't want to be painting over germies and loose bits of toilet paper. Next, tape off around allll the edges. Even if you think you're the best straight line painter in the world...don't pat yourself on the back just yet. The tape is more for the final step than anything and you will want the tape. Trust me :)
Supplies I used: Kilz Primer (I had a quart of it in our utility closet from some other craft), sea sponges (I bought the Martha Stewart variety pack from Michaels), acrylic craft paint in a variety of colors (I'll go over that later on), Envirotex Lite (more deets later too), painters tape, small foam roller, and lots and lots of paper towels. I used Kilz primer and a small foam roller to go over the laminate so you have something for all the faux loveliness to stick to. Ta-ta ugly brown laminate with no character whatsoever! Make sure you open a window or run the vent while doing this because this stuff is very strong. I did 2 coats of Kilz, waiting about 10-15 minutes in between for them to dry.
For some reason, the image I took of the counters before anything was done disappeared so you get this lovely 1 coat of primer instead! On another note, I can't wait to paint over that non-descript tan wall paint. That's the color the previous owner chose for alllllll over the house (ceilings included...seriously) and we're so over it. There's only a couple rooms left now that we haven't changed.
Okay, now comes the fun part...the painting. Actually this part scared the bejeezus out of me when I did the first counter in the powder room. I bought all these paints at Michaels including the black one but a couple years ago hence the different looking Craft Smart label than the other 2. For this look, I used 2 different shades of brown, black, a light grey, a metallic gold and an off white. The ivory was way too dark for the look I was going for. These were all under $2.
These sponges were also purchased at Michaels. They were in the same aisle with the acrylic paints. I believe there were 5-6 in the package but these were the 4 I ended up using because I liked their size and the pattern they put out. Martha Stewart brand...$5.
So first I started with the darkest brown color, Raw Sienna, and created a very random pattern all over the counter. Looking at this freak show of a counter, you'd never think that it would turn out decent. I was already sweating bullets and remember texting Dan the same sentiment. It's probably a good thing I did this while he was at work while I did this. Had he seen this, he probably would've already been on the way to Home Depot to pick up the new vanity he said we could get if it turned out badly.
Next, you'll want to very sporadically add in the black. You don't want it to be over powering...just hints here and there. Next, I went over it with the lighter brown, Fawn.
Using the edge of the sponge, I tried to make 'veins' of the black in various spots. Try to make it look natural and use different edges of the sponge when doing this as well as the gold.
Next up, the light grey. Keep in mind, when you add each new layer of color, you slowly want to cover up the white primer underneath to add dimension. This is still a scary sight but if I squinted my eyes reallllly tight, I can see it coming together.
In the meantime, there was a paint thief on the loose. At first I was more than happy to let her play with the bottles I'd already used but then I envisioned her giving one a good squeeze and paint going all over so that ended fun time with the paint. She was not pleased.
On to the gold. Again, go with the same light application as the black. If you look at a real granite countertop, you'll notice that there are some colors that are mere accents and that's what you want here. Although if you like the look of a sparkling gold counter a la Donald Trump, knock yourself out :)
Final color, the ivory. Now we're getting somewhere. When it comes to the final layer, this is where you want to go over all the previous layers so they're peeking through but not completely covered up. At this point, all the primer should be covered as well. Layers people, layers!
See, not so scary anymore is it?!
Okay, now the fun part! Not really actually but I got you excited didn't I? ;) So now you get to work with the Envirotex Lite. This is the sealer that will not only give the counters an awesome sheen but will also protect it from water and other things that could ruin the paint. Plus, the counters don't look completely granite when there's no sheen to it. I bought the 16 ounce box at Michaels using a 40% off coupon ($22 before coupon) and it covered both this counter and our laundry room counter which is roughly 20"x20". Before you even think about applying this stuff, you need to get prepared because this stuff makes a serious mess. I cut a contractor bag in half and taped it around the edges of the counter and made sure it covered part of the floor too. I can't stress enough that this stuff makes a mess. Envirotex comes in 2 bottles that you pour into 2 separate containers and then mix together; I used some clear plastic party cups we had in the pantry. I found that using an unused paint stirring stick worked great for mixing the 2 together. Also, WEAR GLOVES. Did I mention this stuff gets everywhere? Also, upon reading the directions, it totally freaked me out thinking that it would set to concrete in about 5 minutes. That's definitely not the case. It's very workable for awhile. **Major major note: do not let the tape around the edges stay on for hours. Remove it after you've gotten everything covered or you'll be left with tape that is cemented onto the counter by the Envirotex Lite and it could pull the paint away and you'd be forced to touch-up the paint and buy another box of the Envirotex Lite just to cover 2 quarter sized areas. But not that that happened ;)
So when it comes to applying this stuff, you want to spread it around with something straight and stiff. I used one of my business cards and that worked great; thick enough to push it around but not so big that it got in the way.
So there you go...a nice faux granite counter with a good sheen to it for about $36 of material and no more ugly lamiate counters!
