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layering tombow markers

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a peek inside my process

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painted kitchen transformation

Ok friends, I've got a fun kitchen update to share! Those who have been following along for a while will know that I really enjoy finding creative and budget friendly ways to transform our space. And as much as I love DIY home projects, this was supposed to the year that we actually renovated our kitchen counter tops! We had white quartz countertops picked out, we scheduled the work and then we discovered that a nest of rats had somehow found a way under our house and completely eaten our heater ducting which meant we needed to get it all completely replaced and it wasn't cheap! We had to make the decision to put our little kitchen renovation on hold because of our budget.

I gotta say, I spent a good day feeling bad for myself simply because I've waited 6 years to replace our old, 1980's laminate counter tops. When we first moved in they were a "lovely" shade of green until three years ago when I couldn't take it anymore and painted them with Rusto-Oleum countertop paint in a light ash color. 

While it wasn't my first choice for a transformation, it actually brightened things up and have held up really well for the last few years.

But over the summer we thought it was time to actually invest in the type of counters that we wanted until we hit our budget road block with our heating system and had to change our plans. For about a day I was bummed, I might have even shed a silly couple of tears but then I snapped out of it and decided to follow through with a little budget friendly kitchen renovation only using paint!

Today I wanted to share this transformation with all of you because I think it is important to share inspiration when it comes changing things up when you don't have the money for your dream home, updates and renovations. With home decor shows, home decor Instagram accounts, big budgets, fancy home updates, I just want those of you out there on a budget to see that it is so possible to create a fun transformations on a budget with simple supplies! Ok here we go!

There are all kinds of countertop paint out there and because I already had experience with another brand, I knew that it is so possible to paint your countertops and have it hold up really well. But I was looking for was something that would look more like stone- my dream is to someday have a white with grey quartz counters and my huge dream would be marble countertops. I've always known that there are a variety of techniques that can be used to paint surfaces to look like marble, quartz or granite with acrylic paint and I could use these techniques but I needed paint that was made for countertops. And in my search that is when I came across Giani Paint Kits (not sponsored). Giani makes a variety of countertop paint kits that can be used to create a granite look. I knew immediately that I could use the kit and hack the process to create more of a marble like affect for our counters!

We have tons of countertop space space so I ordered two of the white diamond countertop paint kits. I also ordered two cans of another shade of white called Pearl Mica (that has a pearl like look to it). 

The first step was to clean our counters, tape everything off and then apply the primer which is black. This process was quick and took me about one hour and then I let it dry overnight.

The next step was to build layers with a sponge. This is where I went a little rogue in the process and I began with color Pearl Mica that I had purchased separate from the kits. Since this process is all about layering shades of white, I wanted a "pearly" like affect that would show through in small ways (at least this was my thinking).

I cut up my sponge (which comes in the kit) into different shapes and sizes. For the first layer I went super thick and sloppy! Something to keep in mind if you want to create more of a marble look is to sponge that paint on in a specific direction. After hours of studying photos of real marble, it was pretty clear that there is veining in that stone and those layers of white sponged paint needed to move in the same direction as the veining. I kept a photo of a real marble countertop in front of me for reference and to help with the process.

You cannot tell in the photo but once dry, this layer of Pearl Mica almost had a metallic like affect to it.

I painted the layer of Pearl Mica first thing in the morning and by the afternoon I was starting on the second layer of sponge painting with the color Quartzite (this color comes in the kit)

Once this layer was dry, I went right back into the surface with another layer of White Limestone (which comes in the kit). As you can see, the more layers you add the more white it will be and will cover up that black primer but will still have flecks of grey showing through which begins to create the look of stone.

After the layer of White Limestone was dry, it was time to create veining on the surface! I've painted countless murals and surfaces but this process made me nervous! I used the color Greystone which comes in the kit and is supposed to be used for sponging and creating flecks of grey within those layers if you are going for a granite look (again this is what the kit is intended for). But I went rogue and ended up using the color Greystone for painting the veins.

I started by painting a really distinct line  (all going in the same direction). 

Then, using a small piece of my sponge I dabbed and dabbed and dabbed those lines until they were blurry and more subtle.

While this process ended up being really easy, it was tedious and time consuming but so worth it!

A trick for creating more of a real marble look is to continue those veins over the edge of the counter.

After I painted veins all over the entire counter and the backsplash, I went over it all with a really light sponged layer of White Limestone- this made those veins look a little more subtle.

The last step was to roll on a protective top coat and the cool thing about this top coat is that it has tiny little flecks of glitter in it. Once dry, the surface is super shiny but also has the faintest little bit of sparkle to it. 

I wanted a super shiny counter so I actually ended up applying second layer of topcoat.

The last step in our little kitchen transformation was to paint our cabinets and luckily Gianni also makes cabinet paint.

I used the color Tidal Haze and you guys this paint was amazing- it took two coats and the quality and color is really nice. We replaced out door cabinet handles and pulls and called the project complete!

When I set out to make the best of our budget and situation, I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I am so happy with the results! We have been living with out new counters for over a month now and I can say that so far they are very durable and easy to clean. For a few hundred dollars and about a week's worth of work, I was able to completely transform our kitchen with paint.