Countertop wise

I was sitting in my kitchen the other day and all of the sudden I could not take it anymore. I had to figure out some way to rid myself of my hunter green counter tops. I began to research counter tops, and the only thing that was in budget was painting them. I love to paint so this was a great find. As you will see there are a few dangers in this process but overall I am super happy with the quick fix, low budget, fabulous transformation of my kitchen. Here are a few helpful hints.

Painting countertops

     1. Sand your countertops with medium grit sand paper
       2. Prime (I used regular kilz primer.
       3. Choose your color and paint. 2 coats will most likely be needed. The finish does not matter at this point.

4.   4. Using minwax poly. Cover your countertops 3-5 times with good coats. This is the protection for you countertops.

Tips:

-For each of the different paints that you are using, make sure that you let every coat dry fully. For the last coat of poly, let it sit for a full 24 hours before you put everything back in your kitchen.

-I used a small roller and it worked really well! It puts a very even coat on the space.

-Disclaimer: I did this as a quick fix. I fully plan on replacing my counter tops with butcher block at some point, but I honestly could not look at the Hunter green countertops anymore.  They aren’t my dream countertops, but this is a great transition until the butcher block is in reach! (more on butcher block when the time comes to replace)

-The downside: I have had them painted for about 2 months now and there are certainly signs of wear and tear like small stains and edges that are coming up. I will also say that I have been very careful not to slide things across them, which has helped maintain them. Overall, I am extremely happy with the results. The overall feel of the kitchen is just refreshing. All I need to is to learn how to cook so I can hang out in there more!!!

Painting the cabinets:

I used Sherwin Williams Ivory tower. This is my favorite trim color. I have used this trim all over my house, and the kitchen cabinets as well.  It really provides some continuity and ties the rooms together in a light way. If you choose to use this color, don’t freak out when you open the can. It does not look white, but I promise it is the perfect color. While of course I LOVE white, I think that since there is so much trim in the house it is nice to go a little more subtle, and some thing to consider it is that your trim can get dirty really easy. Also, to maintain a clean and attractive home, make sure that you use high gloss paint. High gloss is a great way to add some shine to your space. When considering the finish of your paint know that the more gloss you have, the easier it is to clean.

Hardware:

My kitchen has a lot of drawer pulls and knobs. In fact, there are WAY too many for me to be able to afford to replace them.  So… I found a spray paint that I liked. (insert picture) I went to Home Depot and told them that I wanted something that was close to oil rubbed bronze. I took all of the hardware off and began to spray paint them.

When you are painting your hardware, make sure that you do a few short sprays, around 6 inches away from the thing that you are painting. This is to prevent dripping on the hardware. As far as set up, nothing to it!  Just find a level place and make sure to place some cardboard or newspaper underneath.

The most important thing to remember… USE THE RESOURCES YOU ALREADY HAVE! The reason that I was able to do this cheaper is that I had plenty cans of paint in my basement from previous projects. When I buy a can of paint I not only think about the project I am currently working on, but future ones as well!

Here are a few pictures of the process. 

 yucky green countertops! Now you understand why they had to go.

Here is the bright gold hardware. Since I had so much to replace I decided to try spray painting it with an oil rubbed bronze-ish spray paint from Home Depot.

Perfect!  The oil-rubbed bronze look I was trying to achieve came out great!

ahhhhhh. much better.