As title suggests…need suggestions for kitchen facelift for countertops. We have gross laminent on our kitchen tops. We rent so can’t sink a lot of $$$ on project. Any suggestions for DIY solutions?
Wait. Do you want to put new countertops in a place you rent from someone? What does the landlord think? Or is it a rental you own?
If you have a landlord and the landlord agrees you can change the counters–then check at a place like Home
Depot and pick an inexpensive one and price it installed. You can put one on top of the other as long as it is
just a second–we have done this and it was fine. Ask. You might be really surprised–if it really bad the landlord
might be willing to help.
We rent. I’d prefer not to completely replace countertops but looking to cover or refinish…if there’s such a thing…
@oregon101
The lay overs…are they DIY or do they require professional installation?
http://www.granitetransformations.com/
Lots of folks here use them in flips.
I know someone handy can put in formica but my guess is you would need permission from
your landlord. I cannot imagine that a granite transformation could be less than formica.
Is there a reason why you cannot ask the landlord for some small allowance to do this?
You cannot paint it or do anything other than some pull off contact paper.
S and DIL live in married student housing and some of they neighbors have put contact
paper on the counters. DIL thinks it looks nice but you cannot cut on it.
Is this more what you are thinking about?
Bet you could Google “contact paper on countertops” and find U Tubes.
Of course I just had to see for myself. Very doable! PinInterest has some amazing pictures of things
others have done.
Ask if the LL will let you do this:
http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/transformations/countertop-transformations
Our housing comes with hubby’s job so anything we want to do to “beautify” home comes out of pocket. Just don’t want to sink a lot of $$$ into a home we may have to leave at some point. I’m all about DIY. Just finished painting kitchen cabinets and refinishing the hardware. Thought updated countertops were needed. Thanks for the suggestions. Will investigate.
Yup, pople have been repainting countertops for decades and the samples I’ve seen look good. HGTV used to show it a lot and there are different kits out there with marble or granite styles Supposedly easy (and you could practice first.)
What sort if gross laminate?
@BunsenBurner those countertops look great!
Will need to investigate at HD. Would just be happy not to be stuck in Brady Bunch kitchen.
I refinished a bathroom counter using the Rustoleum kit referenced in post#7. It was messy and a little time consuming but otherwise easy, and I would do it again. The counter looks great. I did it by myself- my husband helped remove and replace sinks and hardware but I did the counters w/o help.
Talk to your landlord - maybe s/he will split the cost with you or pay for it. If you’ve been renting a long time and are a good tenant the LL just might make the upgrade. That is the first place to start. Corian can be much more reasonable than stone. There are also some updated laminents. If the LL allows you to pick out, whatever store you work with be sure to ask them if there are any sales coming up or promotions they can offer you. Its amazing what you can get sometimes just for asking. Recently I was purchasing a quartz for a double vanity at HD. We asked about discounts and the sales person shared with us that in 10 days all stone would be 10% off so we waited to place our order. We saved $17 a square foot. It was worth it.