Danika found herself in a spot that many renters and homeowners can relate to — her countertops were dated, and a "real" renovation wasn't in the cards. Fortunately she has some impressive painting skills, and her kitchen has seen one good-looking makeover.
While in my mind "faux" can often immediately go to "tacky," these results prove that categorization to be unfair. Danika says she worked as a decorative artist for twelve years, and her handiwork here is impressively realistic. She anticipates that the finish on the countertops should hold up for about five years — just in time for a full kitchen overhaul. (She has also used the technique to turn her Ikea Docksta into something a little closer to a Saarinen table.)
Check out Danika's blog for more pictures and step-by-step directions, or watch her video tutorial for creating the effect. She might be a professional, but she swears it's easy.
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That's fabulous! I love seeing frugal fixes on AT. Great job!
Seriously good painting skills. Very impressive. I don't think that's a solution I would choose, but I have to commend her on her painting.
girl got skills!!
I don't think I have the skillz for this, but it's eerie how much this kitchen looks like my mom's. She had to move back to her condo which is very very early 90s. Terry if you had chosen another solution, what would it be? Any one else with other suggestions? The cabinets are wood but ugly, and the laminate countertops are (shudder!) creamy taupe. Yuk.
Well done! (as is the color correction for the 2nd photo)
That is really amazing.
I had to do a serious double-take - this is awesome! I even like the way it contrasts with the wood (veneer?) cabinets. Very nice work!
Wow! It looks great!
nice job!
home body: the "before" photo was taken at night and the "after" photo was taken in the daylight. it's amazing how natural light just makes everything look better....
Wow, I was so prepared to hate this! The words faux and marble usually make me cringe, but this actually looks FANTASTIC! Way to go Danika!
Nice work!! So much better.
Thanks everyone! And thanks Apartment Therapy, what an awesome surprise! I just wanted to let you know I updated my post with new close ups so you can get a better view. Hope it helps! I want to paint my cabinets next!
(Oh, and yes. That first picture was shot at night with lousy light.)
This looks fabulous! And where did you get that tea kettle from? Love it.
I love the cooktop.
holy CRAP thats awesome!!!!!!!!
Victoria, I got it at Homegoods. And Joe, EXACTLY! (And its long wearing lipstick;)
Reminds me of early Debbie Travis stuff.
although this looks amazing...you probably have to be very careful not messing up the surface, afterall it is paint.
Its like wearing a fake Louie or Chanel bag...looks "real" from far away, but tears apart easily.
I was also prepared to hate this, but this looks AMAZING!!! It's obvious you're an artist with tons of experience. I don't think just anyone could pull this off (I've seen some AWFUL faux marble attempts), so this is quite a treat to see these fantastic results.
@loquaciouslaura - Think of something like Deco-Poz by ecoprocote. (I'm not affiliated with them, just considering the treatment for my own laminate countertops.)
Danika, that's beautiful. Like others, I clicked through to see what a mess of attempted faux marble your countertops are now, but I LOVE it! I went into dreams of the same for mine, with white cabs to match now, etc., but have little faith in my own painting abilities.
It's amazing how this paint job makes the cabinets look surprisingly modern. WOW.
Danika, this is amazing - partly because of your artistic talent but also because you knew what the space needed. So inspiring.
@loquaciouslaura...we had our ugly and damaged laminate countertops resurfaced. I believe the product was Miracle Method (?). You can see the before and after on my blog.
WAIT.
WHAT!?
SERIOUSLY?
She painted this. She PAINTED this. WOW!!!! I was picturing some sponging technique or something equally gross. This is AMAZING!!!!!!
Great work!!!! Off to your blog I go!!
Well... you did sponge... but not in the way I had imagined this might have been done before seeing the AFTER. LOL.