My husband and I have been slowly updating our '90s house, on a very limited budget. After painting our kitchen cabinets and adding our homemade island, our kitchen was starting to look how we wanted it. Except for the counter tops (which we thought were white until we painted our cabinets and found out they looked very yellow next to the fresh white paint!). We couldn't afford to replace them completely and were excited to come across Giani's Faux Granite paint kits. They were still about $80 a kit...a good bit of change for this frugal girl.
After a lot of research, I decided to follow a few other brave souls and use craft paint instead, which brought our cost down to about $30 total! I put down 2 coats of primer, then sponged on 5 colors of craft paint (this part was a little nerve wrecking) and topped it with 4 coats of polycrylic. It took me only a day and a half and the results were FAR better than either of us expected. While I know it isn't granite, it's amazing how close it looks to stone. For the small price and little bit of effort, this was a great solution for our kitchen.
*****Update*****
I should have added more information on the process, so here is a little more detail:
I sanded the surface lightly and wiped the dust off. Then I taped off the walls, cabinets, and my sink. I didn't want to remove the sink (too much hassle!), so I taped around it. I got a little primer underneath because of how thin primer is. So I had to go back and remove that with paint thinner. So be careful on the edges of the sink.
Next I primed the counters with 2 coats of bin primer, white. I used really cheap bristle brushes for this, but watch for any hairs that might come out into the primer.
After the primer, I prepared to sponge paint. I used small sea sponges and did one color at a time. I used black, chocolate brown, light grey, country twill (light tan), and parchment (an even lighter tan). Most were FolkArt brand that you find at the craft stores, some were an off brand. I used smaller sea sponges to get in the corners and around the sink.
I did one color at a time, and did the whole surface one color then the next. You can do small sections at a time and not let the paints dry in between, this will help blend the colors. But I didn't want the sections to look different across the counter tops so I did one at a time.
After all my colors were down, I lightly sanded to make them a little smoother. Then I put on 4 coats of Minwax Polycrylic with a foam roller. I let dry 2 hours between each coat.
I took off all my tape immediately after the last coat of poly so that it wouldn't peel off my paint. Be very careful pulling the tape off and use a razor in the dry spots so you don't remove any paint.
I have only had these about 3 weeks, but they have held up fine so far! I don't put hot pans on the counters, or food. I wouldn't do this on any counters though. The counters have a little bit of texture to them, not completely smooth like real granite. But I think it adds character and interest to them.
I am still in love with the new counters and am so happy I was brave enough to try it! Anyone can do it, it is really that easy. I completed mine in a little over 24 hours. I primed Friday night and painted during the day Saturday. The sponging itself only took about an hour or so to do.
Here is the tutorial I based mine off of: http://lifeoflaurenlou.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/finally-the-kitchen-countertop-post/
Questions on this post
Have a question about this project?