Home & Garden 

Advertisement

Countertop makeover

Q - My kitchen worktops need a good refinishing. They are made of laminated material, and through the years of wear the pattern has become worn. Can I paint them? - Carole

A - Yes, you can make over your work surfaces. Here's how:

1. Start by cleaning your surface well.
2. Coat the surface with a non-porous paint called Kilz or Bin, and let dry overnight. Now you have a blank canvas to start again.
3. With ordinary house paint in three subtle colours (beige, dark beige and white; sage, pale green and cream; or any colours you want), you can create a marble effect or sponge your surfaces with colours that will blend into your room's palette.
4. Let dry overnight.
5. Coat with non-yellowing polyurethane. Let dry.
6. Then add an additional four coats (dries in about 45 minutes). After the first coat, lightly sand to re-tooth the surface with just the weight of your hand, wipe clean and continue your additional coats of poly.

There are a variety of ways to sponge and or create different effects, depicted in hundreds of craft books, if that's what you choose to do. Find a look you think you can achieve.


  Related Links
• Make galley kitchen look bigger
• Kitchen island planning basics
• Kitchen decorating on a budget
• Countertop makeover
• Home & Garden Home
  Most viewed
• How to lay a patio
• Painting tiles, melamine, lino and wallpaper
• How to knit
• Bedroom makeovers on a budget
• Quizzes

RATE IT

Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon

  Get the latest iVillage news on your desktop    Sign up for more iVillage RSS feeds

© iVillage Limited 2000-2008. All rights reserved. | © iVillage inc. 1995-2008. All rights reserved.
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB