Yes, We Painted Our Countertops, And You Can Too!

Read this step-by-step tutorial of how we transformed our master bath countertops from a 90s nightmare into an updated dream.

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Let us start by saying, that our house is 100% builder grade, with some good efforts on the previous owners' part to make some small updates. However, for the most part, our house hasn't been updated much since it was built in 1996.

So, since we moved in, our house has really felt like just that: a house. Rather than a home. And while we would love to just gut a lot of the rooms and make them more ours, our budget just doesn't allow for that. So we have to get crafty.

Our master bathroom had been especially challenging. It remained pretty much untouched since we moved in Summer 2017. As you can see in the photo, we tried some different paint samples in the room, but otherwise, we hadn't done much in the way of decor or repainting.

To be honest with you, for the longest time this room felt like a real bust and something we'd have to just save up for until we could totally gut it. The countertops were an ugly yellowed, white-and-speckled mess that never seemed to look clean. But there was no way we could afford to totally replace them.

That's when we started looking at alternatives. We had both seen blog posts about painting countertops, whether it be with spray paint or a kit, but were very hesitant to give it a try. After finding the look we were really going for, we settled on a Giani Countertop Paint Kit in White Diamond.

After watching several videos from Giani and reading numerous blog posts from folks who had used it on their own countertops, we finally took the plunge and started. We highly recommend doing the same if you're considering taking this on. Here's a look at our process to complete this project:

First, we scraped all of the old caulking off our countertops where the tile backsplash met the counter, as well as around the sink. The Giani instructions included said to use rubbing alcohol to remove the small particles that are left behind. This worked pretty well overall.

Then we deep cleaned the counter. Several times! I used a mixture of vinegar and dawn to remove the grime.

Next, we prepped the counter for painting, and taped everything off. We covered our vanity with brown paper sacks we had on hand.

After taping everything off, it was time to prime the sink! This was probably the scariest step because the primer is black. And there's no going back from it! Here's what our sink looked like after the primer:

No turning back now!

First we used the smaller foam brush to go around the backsplash and each of the sinks, then we used the roller to coat the rest. After allowing it to dry, it was time to make our faux-granite dreams come true.

While I didn't take pictures of this, the process was pretty simple overall. We used paper plates to pour a little bit of the paint on. Then, after cutting our sponge into three pieces, we worked in 2 foot sections to dab on each layer of paint while they were still wet. Here's the finished product without the top coat:

You can see our little paint station set up in the background that we used for each of the layers. We decided to use two layers of the white limestone for a lighter look.

After waiting for the counters to dry, we used a 600 grit sanding block to get rid of any accidental clumps of paint. Once sanded, we wiped down the countertop with a damp cloth to get rid of any dust. Then we put two of the included topcoats on. The topcoat has a nice shimmer to it, which really makes the countertops pop!

Here's the finished product!

After painting, Kirsten's dad was nice enough to caulk around the sinks and the backsplash. This really added a nice finished look to our counters.

The kit says that the countertops should cure for 2 weeks before heavy use. We were still in the midst of redoing our bathroom, so we didn't use them for about three weeks after we finished painting them. However, being back in our bathroom for about a week, they've held up nicely. In a future post, we'll let you know how they're still holding up!

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Have you ever painted your countertops using a Giani Kit or a different method? How did it go? Let us know in the comments!