The Easiest, Least Expensive Way to Get a Realistic-Looking Faux Marble Countertop

Marble is as pricey as it is gorgeous, but there’s no real substitute for it, right? If you want the look of marble, you’ll just have to save up forever, or make do with something totally temporary like … contact paper, I guess? Prepare to have your mind blown.

Lovely! It must be a clever laminate, or stone faux marble, you’d guess? Wrong! Reader Megan Neugebauer created these stunning counters out of thin air, witchcraft, and something called Stone Coat Countertops.

“I used Stonecoat Countertops epoxy to create the faux marble look. Stonecoat Countertops is a product that is made to go over nearly any countertop surface!” she says.

I am astounded. Flummoxed. My partner made faux concrete counters in our last house, and I thought that was pure magic, but this!

Here’s another before photo, with a better view of the original counters.

“Our kitchen was stuck in 1994! We had white laminate countertops, dated cabinets and lots of gold hardware. Our countertops were impossible to keep clean! I was determined to find an affordable countertop solution that was durable for our family and pretty at the same time.”

This kitchen is remarkably like mine — especially the “they’re perfectly fine, I just don’t like them” 1994 cabinets — so it’s fascinating to see how another family chose to redecorate theirs.

Okay, we’ve established that these counters look amazing, but surely they took a million hours to complete, right? Otherwise we would all have them?

“It took about three hours total, over a two-day period. The first day you create the design in the epoxy and the second day you put a clear flood coat on to seal in the design. The total cost was $130. I was able to do this project by myself with the help of my husband watching our five kiddos!”

As mesmerizing as the faux marble is, it’s important to note that the beautiful cabinetry was done by Phoenix Furnishings of Arizona.

How does Megan feel about the completed kitchen? She’s thrilled!

“I love how our countertops now look like marble countertops! And so thankful we could stay within our budget! Looking back, I would have taped out kitchen cabinets better with plastic. Epoxy drips and some did get on our kitchen cabinets. I had to go back later and remove the epoxy from them.

Go for it! Make sample boards before you dive into your entire kitchen countertops. Stone Coat Countertops YouTube videos can guide your way.”

Even if you’re not considering making marble countertops yourself, I highly recommend watching the Durability Test video, in which the faux marble epoxy counters stand up flawlessly to heat, impact, screwdrivers, flames, and more.

Thanks, Megan! And if the rest of you run out and marbleize your counters, please send us photos and stories!

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before & After: The “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Real Marble” Makeover