Here’s An Unexpected Way to Upgrade Your Bathroom Countertops for Less Than $20
Bathroom renovations can be intimidating, to say the least. If you don’t have the skill set (or the money) to completely re-do your bathroom, there are tons of ways to fake it on a budget. While paint and new hardware are popular quick fixes for a facelift, contact paper is pretty easy to use, and one Florida homeowner found a unique ways to use it.
Lizzie Darden is a creative director and commercial photographer who lives in a 1600-square-foot house in Cocoa Beach, Florida with her boyfriend Shawn, their two cats and a 19-year-old chihuahua, Roxy. Darden considers her design style to be a colorful and eclectic maximalist mix of Art Decor and Modern Memphis style. “The overall vibe I’m going for in the house is a bit of a hodgepodge,” Darden says. “I really just want every corner filled with as much color, texture, and patterns as possible.”
Two big sources of inspiration for Darden are Art Deco-style hotels and bold, geometric patterns and that really shines through in her bathrooms. “When we toured this home in person one of our favorite parts was actually the bathrooms,” she says. “There are two mid-century original pastel tiled bathrooms with matching monochromatic fixtures, like complete with sky blue toilet and towel bars and everything.”
In the condo she recently moved out of, there were similarly-styled bathrooms but they weren’t in good shape and couldn’t be restored. “We definitely saw this as the perfect opportunity to do it right this time and really lean into the kitschiness of the style,” Darden says. One way Darden leaned into the style of her bathrooms is by covering her countertops in contact paper.
In her blue and green bathroom, Darden went with a black and white terrazzo print contact paper from Samantha Santana. “I think it’s important to not stick to a strict color palette with decor,” Darden says. “I try to bring in a couple additional secondary colors through pops of pillows or small decorative objects so that everything doesn’t look too matchy-matchy.” Since the the tile, sink, and tub are are the same pastel shade of blue, it would have been easy keep it consistent and go with blue countertops, too. The risk Darden took definitely paid off because this bathroom is completely unique, and didn’t cost a fortune. Each roll of this particular contact paper costs $19.50 and, judging by the length of the counter, she probably only needed one.
If your bathroom or even kitchen countertops are an eyesore, then this is an easy, budget-friendly fix. Whether you’re renting or your own your home, a simple $20 solution to upgrade your counters seems like a no-brainer.