Budget DIY Kitchen Redo - Part 2, Beadboard and Countertops

If you've been following my Budget DIY Kitchen Redo and have read Part 1, you'll remember the 90's style oak kitchen cabinets have already been painted and glazed.

Not long after the cabinets were finished, the oil rubbed bronze cabinet hardware arrived. I found it on eBay. The handles were only$1.39 each, and the knobs were $1.03 each. I would have spent three times as much if I bought them locally!

The Beadboard

breakfast bar before

The lower part of the breakfast bar and cabinets were very plain, so I ordered some paintable beadboard wallpaper and applied it to the sides of the breakfast bar and lower cabinets. It was prepasted and was very easy to work with.  I truly love this stuff!  You can buy it here.

After the beadboard wallpaper was installed, I attached the two corbels ($10.00 for the pair on eBay) to the front of the breakfast bar with Liquid Nails adhesive. I then added quarter-round trim to the top edge of the beadboard, to give it a finished look. I also filled in the cracks on the breakfast bar and around the corbels with caulk. Everything was then painted and glazed to match the cabinets. What a difference, as you can see in the photo.

The Countertops

countertops before

I wasn't crazy about the laminate countertops with the faux oak trim, pictured above. Since granite was definitely not in our budget, I thought about painting them. I searched online and found Giani Granite Countertop Paint . The photos of the finished painted countertops looked great on the company website, so I ordered the Sicilian Sand™ granite painting kit for $39.95.

countertops after applying the primer

The kit came with an instructional DVD, which I watched a couple of times before I began the process, which was actually really fun to do. First, I taped off the surrounding areas to protect them from paint splattering. Next, I cleaned the countertops with a degreaser and allowed them to dry. Then, I applied the primer and allowed it to dry according to the directions. Once the primer was dry, I began the painting process, which involved applying three colors of paint in a specific order using a sea sponge. The final step of the process is to apply two coats of the sealer. After the paint was dry, I applied one coat of sealer and allowed it to dry overnight before I applied the final coat.

countertops after

I was amazed at the result! It definitely has given the countertops the look of granite, which you can see in the closeup photo on the right.

I'm currently working on the walls and the backsplash and will be posting pictures here when I am done.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks to Susan of Between Naps on the Porch, for hosting Metamorphosis Monday, Cheri of It's So Very Cheri for hosting The Knock Off Knock Out Party and Kimba of A Soft Place to Land for hosting DIY Thursday. Be sure to visit their blogs for great ideas and for links to other participant entries.