Countertop creativity

In 1997, when we purchased our new home, color trends leaned more toward the cooler spectrum.
Grays and blues were popular at the time, and for several years later.
So, when I was choosing the color of my kitchen countertop, I went with a speckled blue laminate, which looked lovely next to the ultra white walls... and coordinated well with the indigo (blue) carpet.. . . .
 yeah, I know...what was I thinking?

Fast forward to 2006 and the trend had swung back to warmer, more natural colors.
We purchased light brown carpet and painted our walls a light tan, except in the kitchen, where I opted for a creamy white.
We bought all new furniture and hung sage green curtains and valances. Beautiful!
That's when I ran out of money.
So, what to do with that blue countertop?
What an eyesore.
Since my kitchen is right next to the front sliding glass door, there was no way around it.  Something had to be done about the blue countertop that was staring me in the face every day.

I started researching faux finishes on the internet.
I gathered all of the info I could, then I was ready to begin.

About that time my husband was working out of town, so I knew I could get away with disrupting our kitchen for a couple of weeks.

Here is a picture of my countertop today.

 Here is how I transformed it from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.
You can do it too!
1.  Use semi-rough sandpaper to rough up the
clean counter.  Wipe with tact cloth to remove all
sandpaper dust.
2.  Tape the edge of walls and around sink
with blue painters tape.
3.  Use mini sponge roller and apply one
coat of a good primer that will stick to a
slick surface. Let dry.
4.  Paint a neutral base color. Let dry.
5.  Mix a darker color with faux glaze,
four parts glaze to one part paint.
6.  Use a damp sea sponge to dab glaze
randomly onto countertop.  Let dry.
7.  Mix a coordinating color with faux glaze,
four parts glaze to one part paint.
8.  Again, use damp sea sponge to dab
glaze onto countertop, barely overlapping
the original glaze.
9.  Add one more glaze as desired.
10.Take off and apply the tape between
each color.
11. Leave alone to dry and cure at least
a week, preferably two.
12. Wait for the compliments, cause
people will think you got a new countertop!

Here are some close up pics.


















The colors I used are
as follows: Ivory base, reddish medium brown glaze,
light brown glaze, and black without glaze.

 My kitchen was basically not useable for 3 weeks,
but it was totally worth it.
I spent about $40 in paint supplies at The Home Depot.