Faux Granite, Painted Countertops

One of the first things I wanted to tackle when we moved into our house was the kitchen.  Everything about it screamed builders grade and I couldn't stand it.  The cabinets were a honey oak with brass knobs, the countertops were regular ol' laminate, the floors were vinyl, and right in the middle of all of that was a brass chandelier.  I knew we weren't going to have the money to renovate the entire kitchen for at least a few years, so I immediately began looking for DIY, budget-friendly solutions for the builder's-grade blues.  Within a few weeks of moving in, I started my first DIY kitchen makeover project of painting my countertops!

You might be thinking, "What?!? Painting your countertops?  Is that safe for your food prep?  Will it stand up to the daily use?"  At least those are a lot of the reactions I received from friends and family when I mentioned my idea. But, I had found the idea during one of my many internet searches for budget-friendly kitchen reno ideas and it sounded like the perfect way to jazz up my laminate without spending a fortune on that Corian countertop I had fallen in love with at Lowes.  Plus, I figured it couldn't really hurt considering I hated the stained laminate countertops we already had.

In my research, I had seen where some women bought all of their own materials and painted their countertops themselves.  Being new to the whole idea, I decided to go with a product called Giani Granite Paint for countertops (check out their website here).  They offer several different color schemes and allow you to paint almost any kind of countertop. I went with the Silican Sand kit for $79.95.  Looking back, I think I could've done some more research and gotten all the materials I needed to paint the countertops myself (probably for half the price), but since I was already a little nervous about doing my first DIY project in our new house, it was nice to just hit "Place Order" and have everything I need arrive on my doorstep within a few days.

I started by cleaning all of my countertops and taping off my sink, walls, and cabinets to make sure I didn't get paint on anything but the countertops.  The kit comes with all the tools you'll need for the application (roller, sponge, and "how to" CD).  It also comes with some paper to allow you to practice, which was a life saver for me!  I really wish I had taken a picture of my practice sheet because it was definitely...interesting (yes, that's the nicest word I can think of to describe my first attempt).  

I learned during my practice that I liked it best when I let the paint dry between layers; this allowed for distinguishable colors and layers instead of a more blended look.

You start by applying what they call IronCore primer all over your countertops.  Once the primer has dried, you start applying the different colors from your kit using the sea sponge they provide you.  As you can see in the picture, when you first start it looks like a child's sponge-paint art project.  But, once you get a few layers and colors on, it really starts coming together.  I preferred a slightly darker look than the Silican Sand examples I had seen online, so I tried not to cover up all of the black primer.

If you peruse through the pictures of others that have used the Giani paint on Giani's Facebook page, you will be absolutely amazed at some of the things people have done with it.  I tried to read up on how to get the veining and more of a true-granite look, but quickly realized that I am just not that talented.  But, I still feel like mine turned out great! The absolute best part of this project was that you can't really mess up.  There were a couple areas that I didn't like the look of so I just let them dry, blotted on a little bit more black primer and then redid the colors.  

The hardest part of the whole project was applying the top coat.  I watched the CD on how to do it multiple times and thought I had it down pat.  But, when I went to apply the top coat, I encountered several issues.  First, even though I had enough paint to do my entire kitchen and island with one kit, I didn't have nearly enough top coat and ran out before I was done.  Second, even after watching the CD, I could not get the top coat to go on without showing streaks once it dried.  Since I ran out of top coat while doing my island, I ended up sanding down all of the countertops (just the layer of top coat) and going to the store to by some Minwax polyurethane to apply on top instead.  While I didn't end up with streaks in my top coat with the Minwax, I didn't end up with nearly the amount of shine as the top coat that I originally got from Giani.

Overall, I am very happy with the project!  Like I said earlier, I think I could've gotten similar results by buying some acrylic paint and a sea-sponge, especially since I ended up using my own top coat, but it was still a successful project and I'm glad I took it on!

Close-up of the Countertops: Before and After

What do you all think?  Would you ever paint your countertops?

NOTE:  I completed this project in November 2012 and I have been living with my painted countertops for a year now.  I very excited about how they have held up!  We have not had any chipping and they look as good as they did the day I finished the project.  I clean my countertops with soap and water and on occassion have even used stronger cleaner and have had no problems.

The Long Lost Blogger!

As you may have noticed, it has been a really, really long time since I shared my last (and first) DIY project with y'all.  In July 2012, I was so excited about the purchase of our first house and all of the possibilities it had to offer.  I jumped head first into starting this blog because I just couldn't wait to share all of my ideas with blogland.  But, reality hit (really hard) once we moved in and I couldn't keep up with work, life, projects, and blogging.  I stepped away from the blog (not like I was stepping away from much since I only had two posts under my belt) to keep my head above water.  Well, I must say that time flies by so, so fast!  I can't believe as I sit here typing that it has been 15 months since the last time I wrote a blog post.  I have so much to share.  And, while I may have stepped away from blogging, I have been documenting all of our projects with pictures and I am going to try to catch you up over the next several weeks!   

First, let me start at the beginning!  Here is our house!  We got the keys on August 24, 2012 and as I already said, we have been busy, busy, busy trying to transform it from house to home ever since.

Our house was built in 2001 and had one owner before us.  The previous owner was very minimalistic.  She didn't decorate, upgrade, or paint anything.  We were essentially given a blank canvas!  Since this is our first house, we moved in with very little furniture and what we did have was hand-me downs.  So, as you read my blog over the coming months, keep in mind that this is our first house and we are still very much building up our collection of possessions, from furniture all the way down to the little nick-nacks.  I love every improvement we've made over the past 14 months, but I realize that we still have a long way to go...and that is so exciting! 

Decoupage Glass Tabletop

As part of my patio furniture renewal project, that you can read more about here, I decided that I didn't want to just re-paint the metal on the table and chairs.  I wanted to make the patio set unique; I wanted to make it stand out from the typical patio furniture they sell at the big box stores.  And, I was able to achieve this by decoupaging the glass top with fabric.

I think it turned out pretty good!  But, when I first started Mission: Patio Furniture Renewal, the word "decoupage" wasn't even in my vocabulary.  Read on for details about how I got here!

Robert Allen Alexa Shadow fabric

Like most of you DIY'ers, I spend a lot of my time on Pinterest perusing ideas.  Naturally, this is first place I looked for ideas on up-styling our glass tabletop.  I found a pin where Nicole, on her blog Parlour, described how she decoupaged an old table with fabric (check her post out here).  This is where I first learned about the art of decoupaging.  I had a yard of Robert Allen black and gray fabric that I'd been dying to use.  But, my project was a little different from Nicole's and I couldn't find any other blogs where someone had decoupaged the underside of a glass table. After some investigative work, I found a few youtube videos of women adhering scrapbook paper to the underside of clear glass plates.  I figured I would just play it by ear, combining the technicques Nicole used for her tabletop and the techniques described on youtube for decoupaging glass plates.  Here goes nothin'! 



We started by laying the glass down on top of some cardboard so that the bottom-side was facing up.  I laid the fabric out on top so we could cut it to fit, leaving about an inch of overhang on each side.  I then removed the cut fabric and wiped the glass down with rubbing alcohol to make sure there wasn't any dirt on there that would prevent the fabric from fully adhering to the glass. 


Once the glass was prepped, we were ready for Mod Podge.  Usually with decoupage you are adhering smaller cut-outs and you put Mod Podge down in the one small area where each cut-out is going to be placed.  Since we were planning to adhere one big piece of fabric, we needed to completely cover the glass with Mod Podge as quickly as possible so it wouldn't dry before we got the fabric down.  So, we dumped small puddles of Mod Podge across the glass and Joe and I each used a paint brush to spread it out as quickly as possible.  As soon as we had completely covered the glass, we put the fabric on and smoothed out all of the wrinkles. 

We let the Mod Podge underneath start dry some before we coated the back because we were scared we were going to wrinkle the fabric.  After about 15 minutes, we coated the back of the fabric with Mod Podge.  Then, we brought it inside to let it dry.  I have to admit, I was starting to get a little nervous.  As you can see in the picture, we could definitely still see the Mod Podge through the glass even after it had been drying for 5 hours!  But, don't worry, it does eventually all dry clear.

The next day we used a razor blade to cut off the extra fabric and cut the hole for the umbrella.  We ended up putting a total of 4 coats of Mod Podge on the back (letting each coat fully dry in between) to ensure that our fabric would be protected from the weather.  I made sure to pay extra attention to the edges to make sure the fabric was sealed and wouldn't be able to let moisture in.  Then, just to be especially sure that our new fabric tabletop would be weather-proof, we sprayed the back with several coats of Rust-oleum Clear Polyurethane.

We put everything back together and we were finally done with our first DIY project!  We can't wait to display our renewed patio furniture set at our new house when we close on August 15th!!  Until then, we'll just have to enjoy it at our rental.

Materials Used:

• 1 yard of Robert Allen Alexa Shadow fabric
• Rubbing alcohol
• 2 16 oz jars of Mod Podge (we didn't use all of it, but we definitely needed the second jar)
• 1 can Rust-oleum Clear Polyurethane

UPDATE 10/30/2013:  In my absence (see most recent post), I have gotten some questions about how the decoupaged glass has held up.  The first time I had it out in the rain, the Mod Podge underneath the glass turned white again, like I first showed when it was still drying.  After some investigation, I realized that even after applying Mod Podge to the back side of the fabric, moisture was leaking in from the edges.  I got some water-proof silicone and applied it all the way around the outside of the table where the fabric ended to seal out any moisture.  This worked and I am proud to say that we are still using this table on our deck today!

Renewing Patio Furniture

So, Joe and I have anxiously been awaiting for August 15 to arrive (fyi: that's the day we close on our first house!!).  As I kind of talk about in my "About Me" section, our house is a typical builder's grade house that has had no additional work done to it.  I have been scouring Pinterest like there is no tomorrow collecting ideas for DIY projects that we can start when we move in to make the house more our style.  Well, August 15 feels like an extremely long time to wait and I got impatient!
Joe inherited a hand-me-down patio set from his parents a few years ago.  It served it's purpose by giving us a place to sit outside, but after sitting in the weather one too many months the paint was faded and coming off the metal.  And, when I say the paint was coming off, I mean that it was basically a powder and it would smudge off anytime you touched it.  As a new homeowner, I want my new house to be as perfect and cute as possible, but I also need to prioritize what I spend my money on.  A few weeks ago, Joe and I decided that we wanted to buy a beautiful new sectional for our great room (pics will be posted when we move in).  So, the cash for a new patio set was absolutely out of the question.  Enter: our first DIY project!












The first step was removing the mesh fabric from the chairs. This was very easy and just involved taking out a lot of screws. The fabric was held in on the top and the bottom by slats that screwed in to the metal of the chair. Taking the tabletop apart was also just a matter of removing a few bolts and screws.

After removing all of the fabric and separating the glass from the tabletop, since we don't yet have a garage (come on August 15), I laid down plastic and put everything in the middle of the yard.  Before I could start spray painting, I needed to get all of that old paint/powder off.  I used a few sheets of 180 grit sandpaper to rub down all of the metal surfaces to remove any rust and any loose paint.  After sanding, I wiped the tables and chairs down with rubbing alchohol just make sure everything was clean and dirt- and dust-free.

After I did all the dirty work, Joe decided to come out and help me with spray painting!  (I'm just kidding...he was working on an exam and I impatiently started without him, so he came out as soon as he finished.)  And, just to give you an idea of how new I am to DIY projects, I originally bought only one can of spray paint and clear enamel each for this project not realizing I would actually need 4x that amount!  At least Joe got a good laugh!  After I went back to Wal-Mart to get more spray paint, we began painting the table and chairs.  We put about two coats on (I say about because I wasn't good at keeping track and I think some got more and some got less).  Once the spray paint dried, we put on two coats of sealer to make sure the chairs were water-proofed and had that pretty, glossy look.

We reattached all of the mesh fabric to the chairs once everything had dried (we allowed 24 hours). And, voila! It looked like we had a brand new patio furniture set. 

But, I still wasn't happy because I thought the glass top still looked rundown and, after all of that hard work, there was nothing that really made our patio furniture stand out from the store-bought stuff. So, I decided to makeover the glass tabletop. But, you'll have to wait for the next post to see that because it is still in the works! (And I promise to post better "after" pictures once I get the tabletop finished.)

Materials Used During This Project:

• 180 grit sandpaper
• Bottle of rubbing alcohol
• 6 cans of Rust-oleum Metallic Black Night
• 4 cans of Rust-oleum Crystal Clear Enamel