Unfortunately, we don’t all have the money to completely renovate a home when we move into it, or even to renovate our home of many years, meaning we’re often left with unsightly furnishings here and there, the most common of which are kitchen countertops.

One of the more expensive aspects of any kitchen design, countertops are not easily replaced, so no matter how much they make us recoil in disgust, we just have to make peace with these ugly surfaces… or do we?

We may not be able to afford some brand new, top quality countertops to replace our unsightly old ones, but we can afford a bit of paint. And with a bit of creativity, we can use it to give our countertops a much-needed makeover, but what style to go for?

Here are some top ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Paint Laminate Countertops To Look Like Granite

Laminate countertops serve their purpose and keep renovation costs low, but they’re not the nicest material to look at. The good news, however, is that you can easily paint laminate surfaces to look like granite.

It all starts with a block coat of matte black paint over your existing laminate. Then, you’ll use off-white or pale gray paint to mottle the black surface, creating a hyper realistic granite effect before sealing it in with some clear gloss and perhaps even some epoxy.

The beauty of this transition is that granite has many appearances, so as long as your application of lighter paint doesn’t look too contrived, it will look like the real deal.

This means you can’t really make mistakes during the painting process, so if you’re nervous you’ll do something wrong, this might be the perfect option for you.

2. Spruce Up Granite Counters By Painting Marble Veining

Of course, not everyone’s a fan of granite, and as it’s one of the most common countertop materials, you may already have a ton of it in your kitchen and home at large. Not to worry, though, as you can also give granite an upgrade using nothing but paint.

This time around, you’ll be transforming your mottled surface into an elegant and wholly realistic slab of marble.

Of all the countertop materials, marble, with its pale coloring, is perhaps the most decadent, and you want to communicate that simple decadence with your paintbrush. Thankfully, this is one of the easiest to execute paint jobs listed here today.

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Pick up some off-white paint, not the creamy off-white, but slightly dulled, gray white. Coat your entire granite countertop with this shade, then use a few different shades of darker gray to weave the veining in, and if you’re feeling confident, some subtle clouding too.

3. Paint Over Textured Laminate To Create The Illusion Of Black Stone

Oftentimes, laminate is ever so slightly textured to give it a more realistic appearance, but the colors and sheen often betray its not-so-well-kept secret. However, by switching the color up, you can often make use of the subtle textures to create a much more true-to-life stone look.

Black (or near black) is your best bet for this sort of procedure, paired with some very dark gray highlights, as it emphasizes the textural elements of the surface and provides a chic, smart finish.

Now, if your laminate isn’t textured, but you’d like to give this look a shot, why not just texture it yourself by dolling out some light intentional damage across the surface. It might take a while, but it should be pretty easy, and then you can paint over it to form something entirely new.

4. Instantly Transform Dark Countertops With Painted Golden Veins

Cards on the table… the countertop in the above picture isn’t actually painted, but it provides some off-the-wall inspiration if you want to get a little experimental with your DIY countertop painting endeavor.

As previously discussed, black stone isn’t hard to mimic. Simply apply a block coating of black paint and embellish with subtle gray clouding. Then comes the real magic — Golden veins flowing higgledy-piggledy through the stormy surface.

It’s a bold choice, but that’s exactly what makes it such a smart one. The showy gold veins draw the eye, making sure no one ever looks too closely at the rest of the surface.

Even if you haven’t done the best job with the black and gray, the gold will add another level of intrigue and realism that distracts from the weaker aspects of the project.

Having said that, it can be surprisingly difficult to paint the gold lines in a manner that looks neither too orchestrated, nor too messy. My advice is to map the veining out in pencil first, then simply follow the lines with your gold paint.

5. Apply A Fresh Coat Of Matte Black To Laminate Countertops

For a really easy job, forget about golden veins and gray clouds. Grab some high quality matte black paint, coat your old laminate surface, and be done with it.

You’d be surprised how much of a faux wooden aesthetic you can introduce simply by avoiding gloss and perhaps giving the surface a few passes with high grit sandpaper before applying the paint.

Is it the most impressive countertop makeover? No, not by a long shot, but if you’re sick and tired of seeing your old laminate countertop and you need a quick, easy solution, this is it.

I know black isn’t suited to all kitchen spaces, but for those looking for a striking, modern look, you’ll be happy with the results.

6. Pale Stone Finish Paint Guarantees Amazing Results In Minutes!

Here’s another easy yet highly effective option — The pale stone look! You can actually buy stone-finish spray paint that will take care of all the intricate details in a matter of minutes.

Depending on the original color of the countertop, though, you might need to lay down a pale primer layer just to be sure you get the desired effect.

Pale stone fits in with most design aesthetics, but it works particularly well when there’s either a high contrast, i.e. dark cabinetry, or zero contrast, i.e. light cabinetry.

The only really jarring combination might be a faux pale stone countertop with particularly honeyed flooring. Yellowish wood just doesn’t play nice with this finish.

7. Paint A Wooden Effect Over Laminate Counters

Who said you have to paint your countertop to look like stone, ay? With a clever approach and a few different shades of brown and tan paint, you can make a laminate surface look like genuine, high quality wood.

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The key is using what’s called a graining tool, a little handheld device with some seemingly random lines carved into the curved underside. When you run this nifty invention along wet paint, rocking it back and forth slowly as you go, it drags super realistic grain patterns into the paint.

You can even pick up paint that contains a high percentage of wood fibers, so when it dries and you run your hand along the surface, it genuinely feels like real wood too.

8. Paint A Soapstone Pattern To Create Trendy Countertops

Soapstone is another highly attractive, easy to mimic material. Again, you’ll be painting your entire surface black then using various shades of white and gray to add some natural looking variation to the finish.

Much like granite, the pattern of the highlights in soapstone varies dramatically from specimen to specimen, so you don’t have to worry about copying one very specific look.

Even so, I’d recommend checking out lots of pictures of genuine soapstone and noting down the type of highlights you think look best, so you have a rough idea of the approach you’ll take.

Some soapstone looks a little bit like slate with marble-esque veins running through it, while others have more dispersed highlights that look a little bit like flour spread over the surface, as shown in the image above. Others still offer a mix of both. Which style you lean into is entirely down to your tastes.

9. Paint Your Countertops Faux Concrete And Save Yourself A Lot Of Mess!

If you’re leaning into an industrial aesthetic in your kitchen, you’ll no doubt be intrigued by the idea of concrete countertops.

Considering how abundant and easily crafted concrete is, you’d be forgiven for thinking you could pick up an actual concrete countertop for next to nothing, but, sadly, you’d be wrong.

You’re still looking at hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for such a surface, which may be well beyond your budget. But get this, using some Venetian plaster, black latex paint, Chelsea gray paint, and some gunmetal gray paint, you can give any countertop material a genuine concrete look and feel.

The key is to mix the gray and black paints into the plaster itself, so over the years, if the surface gets scratched or chipped, it won’t just show bright white beneath. It’ll just become more and more textured and realistic as time goes on.

Final Thoughts

There are so many options when it comes to painting your countertop, you’ll be amazed by how realistic the results can be if you get the process just right.

You can always keep saving for the genuine artifact to complete your dream kitchen, but in the meantime, why not replicate it on a budget?

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