Build Your Own Laminate Countertop – If you are between 30-60 years old, you probably grew up with a white laminate kitchen top with orange flowers on it. Or did the table top at your house have multicolored stains and gold sparkles in it? Visions of those horrible counters still send shivers down my spine!
Today’s laminate countertops are definitely not like your grandmother’s countertops anymore! Laminate is making a comeback and is being used more and more these days because of its improved design and style. Today’s laminate looks more like natural stone and because of improved printing techniques and designers creating better recreations of stone, laminate has made a dramatic comeback.
Build Your Own Laminate Countertop
Laminate countertops now mimic the look and feel of stone. Gone are backsplashes and sidesplashes with counters that slide straight in to meet the walls. This allows a beautiful tile backsplash to be installed right up to the counter. Laminate countertops create a chic look at a fraction of the cost of stone. At 1/4 to 1/2 the cost of a natural stone countertop, you can afford to choose a bold and trendy countertop and replace it 5-8 years later when it’s out of date.
Make Your Formica® Countertops Look Luxe With Unique Edging
Formica® laminate was invented in 1912 by Westinghouse electrical engineers Daniel J. O’Conor and Herbert A. Faber. They discovered that high-pressure plastic resins could be used to make electrical parts, replacing the mineral mica, hence the name Formica.
Formica originally consisted of layers of material bonded together with resin; later it was made with thick pieces of paper laminated with melamine. This tougher fabric could withstand heat and abrasion, while the paper opened up a wealth of possibilities for printing colors and patterns, which proved key to its success.
By 1930, the company began to make the shift from industrial applications to decorative laminated products. Colorful, durable and cigarette resistant, Laminate has become a popular choice for the interiors of cafes and nightclubs, as well as railway carriages and luxury ocean liners such as the RMS Queen Mary. When the US entered World War II, The Formica Insulation Company focused on military production until the end of the war.
In the 1950s, it was actually considered a luxury item. By the 1970s, however, consumers no longer wanted a synthetic material. Today, Formica and Wilsonart are the two most popular brands of laminate countertops.
Diy Kitchen Countertops That Look Super Legit
One of the reasons why laminate is making a comeback is because the new designs look so much like stone. Laminate designers can now scan a piece of a stone slab from different angles to create a large digital file. Printers then build layers with translucent ink that blend colors to create a realistic product.
Laminates now also have different textures. Matte finishes are soft with a silky finish. Embossing is another popular finish that creates small dimples like you would see in stone. Finishes like these give laminate countertops not only the look, but also the feel of stone countertops.
This is just my preference and reasons for choosing laminate, but in the end I always suggest that our customers make decisions on two facts:
My dad always taught me that no matter what you buy, buy the best quality product you can afford so you only buy it once. If your budget allows and you prefer a stone slab, then go for it. Consider all your options, the pros and cons, and then make the decision that’s right for you.
Cost Of Countertops (2022): Countertop Installation Cost
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It’s safe to say that most people spent an inordinate amount of time in their own kitchens last year, so if you’ve found your eyes drawn to your grimy laminate counters more often than usual, you’re probably not alone. .
Maybe you’ve been putting off doing anything to them because you’re a renter, or you own but don’t have the budget right now to rip everything out and put in all new countertops. But luckily, you have options that don’t involve an expensive renovation.
From contact paper to a faux marble paint job and more, there are plenty of DIY hacks out there that can help you turn your laminate kitchen counters from cheap to expensive in no time. Of course, if you’re a renter, it’s always a good idea to check in with your landlord before taking on any project that will significantly change your space – but there are still renter-friendly ways to make the $$$ look on ‘ to get a budget.
Diy Laminate Countertops: Get Marble Look Counters For Under $300
Sometimes you don’t have to think about it: A complete laminate countertop upgrade can be as simple as a fresh coat of paint. But of course, not just any guy you can find to mold under your sink is going to do the trick. For this project, you are looking for a specific product called countertop coating, which is available for less than $50 on Amazon. It’s thicker and more durable than regular paint, which will peel off quickly if you try it on your counters, but also has a much stronger smell, notes Brittni Mehlhoff of Paper & Stitch Blog. So make sure your area is well ventilated before you start, and maybe even consider wearing a respirator mask while you work.
As with any painting project, you’ll want to clean and sand your surface – look for a beveled-edged sanding pad for those hard-to-reach corners, then tape off any areas that won’t be painted. Aim for long, overlapping strokes, and expect to apply several coats, allowing them to dry completely between each one. Once you’re happy with the opacity, let it dry for three days before using your counters at all. At that point, you can either leave it as is, or add a layer of polyurethane to protect against shedding.
If you’re looking for the most temporary and tenant-friendly methods, contact paper is an excellent place to start. The material is decorative on one side – in patterns such as granite, wood grain or faux tiles – and adhesive on the other, and the application process is as simple as measuring, peeling and sticking. (Although you can and should set yourself up for additional success by intensively cleaning your counters beforehand and letting them dry completely before you get to work.)
Other useful tools for this process are a smoothing agent and pen for removing bubbles, plus a utility knife for trimming, all of which will make your contact paper counters durable for the long term. Blogger Anika of Anika’s DIY Life resurfaced her contact paper worksheets in various rental units she’s lived in over the years and says she was initially worried about how long they would last. But 10 months after installing it in her kids’ bathroom, she said it’s still very well sealed and looks identical to the day she stuck it on, even after multiple spills and @brittany_e4497 DIY countertop! An affordable way to give your kitchen a clean new look. (We’ll put up backsplash later) ##diy ##kitchen ##paint ##remodel ##fyp ♬ original audio – Brittany_E4397 Refinishing it with a faux marble look. Sure, those counter tops can be tinted up to 16 different colors. But if you’re feeling really fancy, you don’t have to stop there – it’s not too much more difficult to replicate a surface like marble or granite on the cheap. Just complete all the steps above for a fresh base coat, and then you have a few options. If you’re feeling creative, you can take a page from DIY blogger Sarah Powell’s book and use a sea sponge technique with various shades of gray acrylic paint under a coat of epoxy. The result looks almost identical to marble, and she says it’s still holding up well two full years later. However, if that process sounds like too much work, you can always break out a can of Marble Effect Spray ($9), as TikTok user Brittany did in her home, shown above. Hold it about a foot away from the surface you want to marble, then press the button to release a shockingly accurate weave of fibers that perfectly mimics the organic fracture of marble. Skim cover it with concrete. Finally, it is possible to give your kitchen an industrial edge without pouring your own concrete countertops. Full disclosure: this project is both dusty and intensive, so make sure you set aside plenty of time before diving in. You already know you start with a deep clean and a good sanding, at which point it’s time to mix your concrete. DIYer Libbie of A Life Unfolding—who refinished both kitchen counters and a bar top (pictured above) this way—recommends mixing small batches so your concrete doesn’t dry out between steps. Like Libbie, you’ll use a trowel to apply a thin but consistent layer of the concrete over every inch of your sanded laminate, then let it dry. (Note that in the bar above the photo