Just before Christmas, I had decided that our not-so-lovely kitchen needed a little makeover.  We are selling our house so the option to gut out just didn’t make sense for us.  So I had decided to put my ideas and painting skills to work!

Here are the before pictures…

Horrific!  Not something a potential buyer might be attracted to, huh?

So the obvious need-to-be changed project was the cabinets.  They are just too dark for my taste.  I started out by painting those.  I then looked into coutertops.  As you can see we don’t have a lot of countertop space, so I was thinking we would just simply replace them.  Much to my surprise, the cost to replace them was $800 and up!!!  I couldn’t believe it!  Needed a plan B because that amount was NOT in the budget.

I did some research online and through the stores.  I did find the most popular, Rust-Oleum.  However, I came across a couple of blogs of people who had actually used and tried this brand as well as regular priming and painting, but all seem to have something negative to say about the durability.  I wasn’t ready to spend over $100 on Rust-Oleum nor just paint over if it will only scratch, can’t put appliances on them, or etc.

In my research I came across Giani Granite.  It is a kit you can buy in multiple colors, and is supposed to make it look like granite.  The cost was great and it was only going to take 2 days to do.  AND they had tons of great videos and tutorials to help you apply.  They really make it dummy proof.  It comes with 4 cans and all labeled, step 1, 2, 3, and 4.   In my area, not a single store that I could find sells it.  So I had to order it online.  Only $80!!  I got the Sicilian Sand color.   I have to say, I was a little skeptical because I haven’t heard of this being used very much.  But the price was right, it seemed easy enough, so why not try it.  Worse case scenario, we were going to spend the $800 and get new countertops.

I didn’t plan on making a tutorial out of this, so I didn’t take a lot of pictures.  My instructions are very vague but I will post a link to the Giani Granite website and their tutorial below as well as a tutorial from Gail from My Repurposed Life.

1. First you clear off the countertops and clean them really well!

2. Tape off EVERYWHERE!  I taped off by my fridge, stove, walls, freshly painted cabinets, around my sink, and added plastic to the floors.

3. Add the Black Primer

So much better already!!  No more orange countertops.

4. Now is the fun part, sponge painting.  There are 3 different colors and you can practice before applying on how you want your look to be.  For my case, I started painting and was done.  Then I noticed the very first counter I did didn’t look the same as all the others!  So I tried to “fix it” and then it really looked different!  (Awwwhhhh!!!)  But then my hubby came to look at it and really liked what I did to “fix it” so I just re-painted all the countertops.

5. Sand down lightly with sandpaper that they recommend to get that nice smooth feel.

6. Apply the Top Coat.  Then you have to wait 3 days to really use them in any way.  And a full 2 weeks for them to completely cure.

And now, beautiful granite looking countertops.

The top coat gives them a really nice shine to it.  I had done this to my kitchen in November and now almost 3 months later, they still look amazing!  We’ve baked cookies on them, cleaned them, have small appliances on them, etc.  We use them like we would any countertop surface.  I did put a couple of small scratches due to a sharp surface on the bottom of our toaster (that I was unaware of) but the company had contacted me and said it’s very easy fix.  Take some leftover paint, sand the area first, re-sponge paint, then apply a little of the top coat again.  Very easy quick fix.

I really love this product and for only $80 I have to say I am impressed!

Gail from My Repurposed Life has a great Giani Tutorial on her site with lots of pictures.  She had done the same to transform her countertops as well.

For more information on Giani Granite go to http://www.gianigranite.com/learnhowcountertoppaint.html

Sondra