iVillage logo
Search iVillage
Home & Garden
Food & Drink
Work & Money
Travel
Beauty & Fashion
Diet & Fitness
Health
Entertainment
Relationships
Pregnancy
Parenting
Horoscopes
Mamma Mia!
Get in the mood for love
Wake me up when it's over...
Gwen yawns through tennis final
Boom, shake the room
Check out The Orgasmatron
Home & Garden 
  |  Interiors  |  Kitchen  |  Countertop makeover
Advertisement
Topics
Interiors
Kitchen
Bathroom
Living room
Dining room
Bedroom
Family room
Kids' rooms
DIY
Gardening
Remodelling
Pets
Property
Home making
Photo galleries
The rose garden
Food & Drink
iVillage shopping

Hot stuff
Vote for a good cause
Olympics 2008
DIY problem solver
How to lay a patio
Interiors in pictures
Free newsletters
Competitions
Special offers
Newsletters
sign up for FREE!




 
Promotions
De-clutter your garden
Turn your garden into an oasis of calm and enjoy the summer
Transform coffee breaks
A sprinkling of Latte Creations makes an everyday coffee break extra special

Countertop makeover


question
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

answer
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.
Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon