I've finally started doing some renovations to my kitchen which I'm pretty dam excited about! I really have done nothing to it since I moved in except change the handles from very ugly wooden ones to silver ones. Here's an idea of the before.
You may remember a while ago the lovely Nicole from Making It Lovely kindly did a photoshop mockup for me to have a look at what it would be like with new benchtops and a few other little changes.
So, with that in mind I looked at my options. New benchtops in Australia aren't cheap, but another option for the interim was White Knight Laminate Paint. I'd never really heard of anyone using it on benchtops but I did some research and found people who had used it along with another product by White Knight, Bench Top Clear. I thought I couldn't stuff it up too badly, so I'd give it a shot.
So, preparation is key! First of all, everything needs to be well and truly cleaned and sanded lightly. Taping up is one of my least favourite jobs!
Then, a laminate primer is applied. This just goes on with a brush and is dead easy.
Once primed you're ready for the first of two coats of laminate paint. I chose the colour Spicey Pepper, but they have heaps of colours. The can says to apply this paint with a brush, which I did for the first coat. The paint is very forgiving so brushmarks aren't a huge problem, but after a light sand in between coats I chose to do the second coat with a gloss roller. I was much happier with that finish.
It almost looks like a granite bench...if only! Once it's all dried for about 24 hours, the Bench Top Clear is applied. This is all done with a roller and gives a nice protection to the paintwork. This needs about 7 days to really harden up, and it also takes away the glossy look.
So, here it is!
I could almost leave the cupoards grey, but I won't. I've started painting them all white so hopefully I can get that finished soon. I'm pretty happy with it. For under $200 on paint, it's a pretty dramatic change for the time being. I can't see it lasting more than a few years, but when I have new benchtops put in, I also want a new oven and sink so it's a big expense.
So, there we go. Part One of the renovation done!
