I have been renting ever since I moved out on my own. For me, it’s a better choice financially. The only problem with renting is the house isn’t really mine. I can decorate and make it my own, but my landlord does not allow us to paint or make any other permanent changes. I also don’t want to put a lot of money into a house I’m only going to be living in for a few years and won’t make a return on my investment.
The house I live in was built in the 1950′s. It has some, well, some interesting features. I won’t get into all of those in this post though.
My kitchen countertop was one thing I really hated from day 1. When I looked at the house, the landlord was doing a little remodeling and he mentioned he might re-do the countertop and sink. I was really glad because I hated that 1960′s bright tomato red cheap laminate it had on it. Not only was it just an ugly shade of red, but it just made the entire kitchen seem darker.
The previous renter had a delay in moving out though so my landlord did not get to finish the kitchen updates. This meant I was stuck with the ugly countertop. For over 3 years I have lived with this countertop and hated it.
Now that I am doing a lot more recipes and cooking posts on my blog I really wished I had my dream kitchen or at least a kitchen with a normal countertop! I know my dream kitchen won’t happen for several years but a few weeks ago I started googling how to re-do laminate countertops. I thought if I could find some extra laminate from a discount/leftover housing material shop or salvage place, maybe I could talk my dad into helping me replace the laminate at least. I think my landlord would have let me do that since I would be paying for it.
Upon my online research I came across a post about using contact paper to cover laminate countertops. I did not even realize they made contact paper in anything but clear now, but they do! They have all kinds of patterns, colors and styles of contact paper. I did not know if it would really work or not, but I figured if it didn’t, I would only be out a few dollars and a couple hours of time.
I bought some contact paper at a local big box store for $6.99 for a 40 foot roll. I first measured out the contact paper into sections to work around the sink. It was not deep enough to cover the counter from front to back so I had to do it in several different sections and applications. I messed up one time and the paper stuck to itself so it was a good thing the roll was really long as I had to start over on one big section. (Pardon the low quality images, my camera battery was dead and I had to use my Droid which does not take good indoor pictures)
I pulled about 10 inches of a time of the backing off and used a Pampered Chef stoneware scraper to push the air bubbles out. Had I thought ahead or been patient enough to wait until the next day, I would have bought a squeegee instead of using a 2 x 2 inch scraper. (At least my arms got a good work out!) I continued this process for each section. I also had a little area of a “backsplash” if you want to call it that (ha ha) to cover. That was the easiest part of the project.
I then used a box cutter to carefully cut around the edges of the countertop and around the sink and faucet. I did have to cut a couple extra little strips to fix some places I messed up when cutting, but you cannot tell. For the faucet, I just cut an oblong hole a little smaller than the faucet in the strip of contact paper. Then after applying it, I cut the excess off around the base with the box cutter.
I messed up a couple times but contact paper is easy to work with, just peel and restick. It took me a little over 2 hours to do my counter top. You cannot tell where the seams are and it looks just like a new sheet of laminate! Below you can see what it looks like now.
Contact paper is waterproof, so as long as you do not cut on it or put anything hot on it, it should last a pretty good while. I’ve had it on there over 2 weeks now and had no problems. Even if I have to redo it once or twice a year, it only costs around $5-7 a roll.
Here’s a close up from a previous post:
Everyone who has seen it does not believe me when I tell them that it is contact paper. Even when you touch it, it feels like laminate. I cannot tell you how THRILLED I am about my sort of new countertop! I know it’s not granite and it’s not my dream kitchen, but I am not embarrassed to have people over or take pictures of my recipes now. My kitchen also seems so much brighter now. If you have ugly, laminate countertops you are tired of looking at too, I hope this works out as a great solution for you as well!
What do you think of my new countertops? Is this something you have ever tried or would have thought of? I would LOVE for you to comment below and to also Pin, Tweet or Share this post. Thank you!!!
Redo your ugly, laminate countertops for under $10 with Contact Paper! ceoofmeinc.com/redo-your-lami…#diy #householdtips #kitchen #decor
— Misty Kearns (@ceoofmeinc) January 15, 2013
Linking up at: Mercy Ink’s Heart & Home, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Happy Hour Projects, Create & Inspire Party, Six Sisters Stuff,Tutu’s Tea Parties, Miss Information, Cheerios and Lattes
That is impressive! I never thought to use contact paper to change a counter top’s look!
Thank Maribel! Me either! I can’t believe I looked at that ugly red counter for 3+ years when there was a such a simple and cheap solution, lol!
Misty Kearns recently posted..Register for (in)RL Conference! Building Community, Encouraging Women, Connecting in Real Life
This looks amazing! I never would have known it was contact paper! I rent as well, and this just made me start thinking of awesome possibilities! Great Post!
xo
Ange
Thanks Ange! Be sure to share your pics with me if you decide to try this. I was amazed how well it worked and how great it looks!!
Misty Kearns recently posted..Living an Intentional Life #iBloom
looks awesome Misty!
April recently posted..Big changes for the new year… {that don’t involve dieting}
Thanks April!
Misty Kearns recently posted..Motivating Monday Link Up! Jan 14 2013 #motivatingmonday
What a brilliant idea, Misty – I LOVE how it turned out! I had no idea laminate was EVER offered in that color – wow!
Adrianne at Happy Hour Projects recently posted..Polymer Clay Gift Tags For Valentine’s Day
Thanks Adrianne! ha ha I know that red was something else… I mean I like the color red but not that ugly bright tomato red and not all over my countertop! lol! Now that I don’t have to decorate my kitchen in red I’m having fun finding fabric for new curtains and other new decor pieces too!
Misty Kearns recently posted..Register for (in)RL Conference! Building Community, Encouraging Women, Connecting in Real Life
Love it!! We have solid counter tops but this is a great way to spruce up the space.
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Wow! What a difference. That is amazing. Do you find you have trouble with waterspots? We tried redoing a bathroom counter with contact paper and it just did not look great. Yours turned out amazing!
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Ashley, so far no problems with water spots. I did this a little over 2 weeks ago and it’s been fine. I do try to make sure to wipe off any water around the faucet especially when I use it though.
VERY COOL! What a great idea! Im going to have to keep an eye out for some laminate to do mine
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That looks fantastic. I would not have thought of using contact paper.
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I am so glad I found this post today! My counter tops are so ugly and this is something I can actually afford to do!
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This is very interesting… I have those 1960′s LIME GREEN counter tops in my house. Do you think it’s going to leave a bunch of stickiness if you have to pull it up? and I wonder how long it will stay down with water getting on it from the sink. I love how it looks though.
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Hey Jackie, I don’t know if it will leave sticky residue or not, that part I am not too worried about because I know my landlord will finish remodeling this house when I move out and will remove the old countertop for sure then. However I would think some Goo Gone would get rid of any sticky residue if that was an issue. So far so good, I just wipe down /dry any water that gets around the faucet when I use it. Contact Paper is supposed to be waterproof so… I’ll try to remember to post/comment again in a couple months.
Great job, I would have never guessed that’s contact paper!
thanks Gianna! I know it’s amazing!
Misty, I can’t tell you how tickled I was to come across your blog on Redo your ugly, laminate countertops for under $10 with Contact Paper! I like you am a renter. We live in an old farmhouse built in the 1940′s and it has the ugliest laminate countertops I have ever seen! Since we first looked at this place I wanted to replace those hideous countertops, but being on a tight budget just hasn’t allowed us to replace them! Thank you, thank you, thank you for this fantastic idea! I can’t wait to head out to the store tomorrow to find some contact paper. Who’da thunk there could be such an easy and economical way to change your countertops! Your counter tops look amazing by the way! I am sharing this all over the internet! I hope you don’t mind! Beautiful job and keep these awesome ideas coming!!!
Aww, thanks so much Suzanne, so happy I could help you out as well! I know I can’t believe I looked at those ugly red countertops of mine for 3 years when there was such an easy and cheap solution! Thanks so much for the kind comment!
Wow, the countertops look great! I love that you came up with such a wonderful way to refurbish the counter. They are so expensive to replace. Besides, I wouldn’t know how to do it anyway. We just moved into a home that we are buying. It’s kind of a fixxer upper. I would love to update my kitchen but I have bigger fish to fry, such as the florescent green dining room, lol.
Im disappointed, I typed out a nice long comment, hit the wrong button and lost my comment, oh well. I’d love for you visit my blog at http://www.mommiesandbeyond.com
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Thanks so much Shanna, will definitely check your blog out! sorry for the delay in replying, I don’t recall seeing your comment, I must have approved it on my phone and forgot to come back. (and sorry you lost the comment the first time you typed it, I have done that more times than I can count!)
Misty Kearns recently posted..Motivating Monday Link Up – Feb 11-2013
Wow, that looks really good. You could’ve fooled me, from the pictures; it really looks just like laminate.
That’s amazing Misty! My husband just put down a new floor and we want to change the countertop and stain the cabinets but money is so tight. This would be great and won’t set us back. I am going to show him this. Our counters are terrible but at least our floor is beautiful. thanks for the post.
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Thanks Bertha! I hope it works as great for you guys too! It’s a great short term solution until you can get a real countertop! Thanks for the kind comment!
That is CRAZY awesome!!!!!!! It made such a difference and it looks easy enough to do.
Thanks Jenni!
Misty Kearns recently posted..Motivating Monday Jan 21, 2013 #motivatingmonday
OMGosh!!!!! I would have never thought to do that. It looks great and makes such a difference. I totally have to try this.
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Hi,
You have some great ideas and we would like for you to share with our readers too. We are hosting our first link party tomorrow and we would like to invite you to link up with us. We have a fun blog to co-host with us. Hope to see you there.
Thanks!
The Busy Bee’s,
Myrna and Joye.
http://thebusybhive.blogspot.com/
Thanks so much I will definitely come link up!
So cool!! I really need to do this!!!!
Wanted to let you know you were featured on I Freaking Did it Friday today! I hope you come and link up again!
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Awesome, thanks Kelley! I will definitely be back. I actually was on your site early this morning looking for the post but it wasn’t up yet. Thank you so much!
Awesome post.I like this post.Thank you very much share this post with us.
That is awesome! I love it! Great way to do a re-do on the cheap!
Erin
Thank you!
Misty Kearns recently posted..Dealing with Procrastination #ibloom
WOW I’m impressed! That looks awesome, and if you had told me it was contact paper and I didn’t see the in-progress pics, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Amazing!
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Thank you! I know it’s pretty crazy. Even up close it looks just like laminate!
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No Way! I am seriously amazed! This is awesome and I must try it—on something, maybe my laundry room countertop for starters since it’s so small? LOL
Thanks so much…I have ugly white counter tops and u just gave me an excellent idea!…BTW your counter top looks so much better now than the red one….:-)
We’ve been redoing our kitchen, and I’ve seriously been thinking about painting my counter tops with a faux granite look and sealing them. My counter tops aren’t bad per say, they are pretty new but I hate the color! They look sandy during the day, but PINK at night. And I’m just having a hard time justifying painting something that is brand new.
Then I was reading something about contact paper, and thought ‘hmm, I wonder if that would work on my counters?” So quick search, and I ended up here! I am SO GLAD I came across this post! This would be a great way for me to see if it’s worth changing the look, without spending a lot of money, or ruining the existing counter tops, and so much less work involved!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I just have one question. Are the seams noticeable, since it wasn’t wide enough for your counter?
You are welcome, glad you found the post & it gave you a less permanent idea to try.
The seams are not noticeable unless you run your hand over it you might feel them but just looking at it, you cannot see the seams. I did use a lighter colored contact paper with a random fake granite pattern – so the seams might be more noticeable on a darker or solid colored contact paper?
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