The easiest way to Change Outdated Laminate Counter tops 5 Easy Strategies

Caught with dingy, seen-better-days laminate counter tops? We actually really feel you. If a kitchen rework has to dwell in your targets for now, each on account of budgetary causes or because you lease, there are nonetheless strategies you probably can affordably exchange your counter tops.

For help, we turned to residence life-style expert Julian Thomas. Possibly you already know him as Marfa Stewart on TikTokor have seen his DIY duties pop up in your Instagram feed.

He spilled 5 strategies to switch earlier laminate with out spending a paycheck or two. Study on for his smart ideas.

Wrap Them in Contact Paper

As a former proprietor of laminate counter tops, Thomas can converse from experience by way of making use of self-adhering contact paper. He calls it among the many greatest DIY decisions he has ever made.

“Whereas positive, making use of an unlimited sticker to a giant flooring area can seem daunting, the onerous work and endurance is value it,” he says.

Contact paper is a breeze to remove and is likely to be current in practically any coloration and pattern, so that you probably can coordinate with cabinets or change it out when the inspiration strikes (or when your lease it up).

Sooner than scouring the huge subject retailers for decisions, though, Thomas recommends buying Etsy for designs, as they’ve an inclination to produce further on-trend decisions. His current favorite is this terrazzo pattern.

“While you're at it, now would even be time to switch out cabinet or drawer knobs and pulls for an actual kitchen enhance,” Thomas says.

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Paint Them

“The final phrase method to disguise ugly laminate counter tops”—that's how Thomas describes the cheap selection of painting.

He recommends trying Pinterest or TikTok for tutorials, then visiting your native residence enchancment retailer for a paint package deal dedicated to DIY-ing a painted countertop. You can even create a faux-marble finish with paint.

Painting laminate counter tops comes with a large warning though: not solely is paint eternal (in distinction to peel-and-stick contact paper), nonetheless the course of is especially technical. You'll moreover need to use a food-safe sealant to guard every you and the counter tops from undesirable provides.

“It's vital to watch instructions to verify the meals safety of your counter tops, and to keep up them shielded from the inevitable mess accustomed to kitchens,” Thomas says.

Prime Them With Butcher Blocks

Whereas contact paper and paint every require devices and some prior DIY know-how, there are alternate options for updating your laminate counter tops even do you have to're a lot much less assured with a enterprise.

Attempt topping them with butcher blocks, for example. Merely provide butcher blocks which could be in depth ample to cowl an unlimited portion of your counter tops.

“Butcher blocks could be present in all types of sizes and kinds, and won’t be solely trendy nonetheless purposeful,” Thomas says. “Together with butcher blocks, I would moreover take into consideration together with a ramification cowl which can current continuity of the butcher block.”

Clear Them

Relying in your circumstances—possibly you're renting—the alternatives listed above won’t be accessible to you. In that case, it is potential you may as properly embrace the counter tops you already have.

“When opting to stick with laminate counter tops, I wish to suggest sustaining them clear and well-organized,” Thomas says. “Sometimes probably the most appropriate selection for a DIY enhance is the one which requires the least amount of effort.”

First, ensure that all storage choices coordinate with each other to supply continuity. This, Thomas says, is a design trick which will merely enhance even in all probability probably the most mundane areas.

Countertop space is efficacious precise property throughout the kitchen, and sustaining them filled with cooking requirements makes in all probability probably the most smart sense, significantly when space for storing is restricted.

“I'm a large advocate for maximizing the storage potential of various kitchen surfaces other than counter tops,” Thomas says.

Add a Feather Finish for Pretend Concrete Counter tops

Thomas saves this recommendation—together with a feather finish for a concrete-like look—for last for a objective. It's in all probability probably the most dedication, and by no means for the DIY shy, he admits.

“Exact concrete counter tops are very trendy, however as well as troublesome to DIY, though it is attainable,” Thomas says.

Instead, utilizing a feather finish creates the shiny look of concrete, no renovation wanted.