Painting the Countertops

With a title like that it is hard to tell what this post could possibly be about huh?  What can I say, I like to keep you guessing!  Our kitchen has pink countertops.  I have mentioned it a time or two, but until recently I didn't bother doing anything about it.  Here is a true before picture. 

Pink counters, pink blinds, old carpet...it was pretty stellar.  Needless to say, the carpet was the first thing to go.  We ripped that out as soon as we could, and continued the laminate flooring from the living room into the kitchen as well.  Aside from that, we weren't ready for a full kitchen reno, which is what this will need, so we just left it at that. 

UNTIL...I just couldn't take it anymore.  Haha, I am home with the boys all day - and eventually the pink started to give me an eye twitch.  AND THEN! I happened upon a clearance cache of Rustoleum Countertop Transformations paint.  The color is Cobblestone, which I might not have picked if there were more options, but for $5?  I'm good with Cobblestone!

The paint needs a few days to cure, so I did this on Thursday night before we left for a short camping trip - that way no one was tempted to rush it and start using the counters before the paint had cured.  I gave the counters a good scrubbing, then a light sanding with fine paper.  After that, and two coats of paint (which is SUPER fumey by the way...so watch that if you don't have good ventilation)...we were left with this...

Yes, the backsplash is still pink, one step at a time people!! Overall I am really happy with the result, especially for a $5 can of paint.  This is obviously not a permanent solution to the kitchen, at some day in the distant future we want to completely replace almost everything...but still! It is a step in the right direction!The color turned out to be a little more grey than the can implied, but I actually prefer it to the picture on the can.  Go figure.

The finish of the paint dried very smooth and glossy - it is a think paint, so it sort of smoothed itself as it dried.  You can see in the above picture, however, that if your counter top has a flaw (in this case the seam is warped in the corner) it will definitely still show. 

So far, it is great.  Easy to wipe down, and much easier on the eyes!
Posting a before/progress picture like that always cracks me up.  I think of before and afters as these amazing transformations, but in reality it's just one little step at a time around here! I figure it will be fun for me to look back on these when it is all said and done.