5 Brilliant Ways to Reinvent Your Hideously Ugly Countertops

Can’t stand your countertops but don’t have the funds to tear them out and replace them with the materials of your dreams? You’re in luck, because there are a handful of DIY projects out there that free you up from being stuck with what you have while you save up for that gut reno.

Your ability to transform your countertops into an entirely different-looking material will, of course, depend on the type of material you’re starting with. Read on to see if any of these projects will work in your home!

The folks at Assortment Blog used a surprising substance — chalkboard paint! — to get the look of soapstone on these kitchen cabinets. The actual countertop is a furniture-grade plywood with a two-inch edge band, which was painted using a slightly rough sponge roller. It’s sealed with paste wax.

Buy: Krylon Chalkboard Paint, $22 for a quart

This countertop from A Beautiful Mess got painted with an actual concrete material, which was way easier than pouring a new concrete counter from scratch! Read up before you do this, because this product has been around for a while and people have all sorts of ideas on how to increase durability. For example, Sarah’s Big Idea has some thoughts on top coats and making the material last.

Buy: Ardex Self Drying Cement Based Feather Finish, $31 for 10-pound bag

Marble is still going strong in the world of kitchen design, as is the price of installing marble. With some paint kits on the market (or some experimentation), you can achieve very convincing faux marble, as seen here on Gorgeous Shiny Things. She mixed her own colors, but you can buy a kit to get the same look. She also provides an update one year later.

Buy: Giani Countertop Paint Kit, $80

Faux granite is also possible using paint kits or even contact paper that looks shockingly real, as you can see here on The Handyman’s Daughter. It has its limitations, however: Installing without bubbles can be difficult, and you’ll never want to cut on the actual surface. But if you are looking for temporary solution, this isn’t a bad one.

Buy: Decorative Heavy-Duty Self-Adhesive Film, $13 per roll

Here’s a faux bois laundry room countertop, seen on Little Green Notebook. The key to this project is just some paint and a wood grain rocker, both of which are affordable.

Buy: Marshalltown Combination Graining Tool, $13

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Genius Ways to Reinvent Your Hideously Ugly Countertops