Feeling Proud:How I DIY'd My Old Formica Countertop- Thoughts?
by
Laura Owen
+15
My counter top was full of stains and burns, so I sanded it all down, painted it with acrylic paint mixed with drywall paste. I sponge painted sheets of printer paper, cut them into squares, and hand painted or stenciled some with flowers etc. Glued them down to look like tiles, and coated with marine poly (not water based). I did this around 2000, and have lightly sanded (to prevent build up) and reapplied poly every 2-3 years. You could make this fit anywhere!
It looks amazing!! That's an awesome solution!! Thank you for sharing!
WOW ! Looks great!
Wow! This looks amazing! What a great refurbishing job!!
WOW!!!!!
This looks beautiful!! I'm not that creative of a painter, but scrap booking paper would work too.....Please advise what type of glue you used to glue them to the old counter tops. Your idea solved the problem of the edges being rounded off instead of a completely flat surface (and also what to do with a built in back splash).
I just used Tacky Glue (brown bottle), but I added a little water to make it more fluid. I used a stenciling brush to apply, holding the square upside down on the palm of my hand and tried to make sure I had the back surface well covered. Remember it is paper tho, so you don't want to super saturate or scrub it too much. I kept a moist sponge handy to wipe up globs, but it dries clear, so it's more about keeping it all smooth. Also need to smooth out air bubbles as you apply. I think I used a broad spackling spatula. I also used a T square to keep my rows straight....
I almost wish I hadn't painted the flowers, as I am a bit tired of the country look now. Time to do something new!
What an amazing job! The best part to me is how great it looks after years of use! Great idea!
Very creative! Looks wonderful. Great share, thanks! 😉
You are very clever. Looks great!
This looks like something I could do as a backsplash!!
Do you think this would work using contact paper or shelf liner? I would love to paint my laminate counter top but it has bubbles in it and I am afraid they will show thru even after sanding when painting but if I was able to put paper over it that would cover all of it. What a great idea!
Love this! I am researching techniques to update my ugly laminate counter top. Just wondering, is the marine poly food safe?
I always use a cutting board when preparing food. I know that wooden counter tops are poly'd too, but you'd have to verify somewhere...
It's beautiful and has a unique vintage look. It gives you colors to work with when adding other accents. I'd love to see the whole room once you've pulled it all together.
Well done Laura.
Really love it. It looks vintage and also clean which is very important for a kitchen. Congratulations!!