When my husband and I moved into our first home, I couldn’t wait to remodel the kitchen first. Let me set the scene of the room not touched from the day it was built in 1979: picture dark wood cabinets (and I mean not a cute dark stain or wooden material, either) with a matching window trim, a weird vintage green colored square tile backsplash, the same green laminate countertops, and a the same green 1970s oven sitting in the cabinetry (that I literally had no clue how to use at first). Oh, and how could I forget the green and pink wallpaper that featured geese wearing bonnets.
It goes without saying that a makeover was long overdue. The summer after moving in, I spent a week turning the space into a brand new kitchen. The dark cabinets and trim were painted white (along with the backsplash), the wallpaper was removed and painted a beautiful beige, and the oven was cut out and replaced with a fresh, stainless steel oven with modern nobs (and a digital clock, thank goodness).
“But Ashlyn, did you keep the vintage green countertops?!” Absolutely not. But 4 years after renovating them, it looks like I did.
Overall, the kitchen reno that I did all by hand turned out beautifully. The room instantly felt lifted, fresh, and bright from the white paint and modern appliance. At first, the countertops added to the the lift, but there’s one mistake I made in this area that I deeply regret all because I missed one major step.
My Countertop Fail
The vintage green marble countertops had to go. Along with the cabinets, they were at the top of my list of things to tackle first in the kitchen. I was dreaming of granite countertops at the time and after consulting with a home construction expert, my husband and I decided that the $4,000 to replace them entirely was not in the budget (cut us some slack, we were newlyweds). So, I went with our next best option: painting the countertops instead.
I picked out a granite paint kit from Amazon and for a whole day, wore my back out sanding, priming, painting, and dabbing the granite pattern all over the top and sides. Literally within a day, the green countertops disappeared and were replaced with faux granite… sort of.
Here’s where it all went wrong: first, the granite pattern didn’t turn out consistent across the entire surface. When you’re responsible for creating the pattern yourself, even following the kit’s directions, it’s hard to keep the pattern consistent throughout. Some areas have more black of the base peeking through the mix while other areas look lighter with no black shining through. While it doesn’t look horrible when standing outside the kitchen, up close you can definitely tell it was hand-painted and is not real granite or granite laminate.
But, the major fail comes from not putting down a top coat of epoxy. Trust me when I say I learned from this mistake. The paint kit held up strong for a few months but after a while, cutting boards, small appliances, and general wear and tear began to rip up the paint. Horribly.
Now, I can’t wipe down the countertops without pulling up dots of paint. Plus, the green countertops have started to make their appearance again in large sections to where it looks like we need to pull the paint up all together.
What I Wish I Would Have Done Instead
Everyone knows that countertops are what makes the kitchen a dreamy place. It’s why I wanted granite countertops but settling on painting them instead to be more cost effective. Oh, how I wish I would’ve just splurged on professional replacement instead.
While it’s not a top concern for me anymore since we’re selling the house as is to my brother-in-law (sorry, Tyler. They’re you’re problem now!), if we were staying in this house, I’d wish even more we never painted the countertops to start with. In my opinion, it would have been better to fork out the $4,000 for new ones. That way, I’d have beautiful countertops with a consistent finish to truly elevate the design.
