Cheap Tricks to Makeover Old, Ugly Countertops

Have you priced countertops for your kitchen lately? The prices can astound you! But don't let that keep you from sprucing up your present countertops with a little bit of ingenuity. Use these cheap tricks to makeover old, ugly countertops:

1. Use Heavy Duty, Washable Wallpaper to Cover Up the Ugliness
You can transform your old, unsightly countertops into attractive surfaces by using a roll or two of heavy duty, washable wallpaper. First, you'll need to make sure the counter is completely clean and free from food spills and soil. If it's made of traditional Formica®, you'll need to use some fine sandpaper to roughen up the smooth surface. Wipe the dust off, then wash the entire countertop with a strong solution of vinegar and water. This acid in the vinegar will remove any grease or oil. Rinse the surface well with clean tap water.

After the countertop has dried, apply a layer of heavy duty, washable wallpaper to it. After you've finished, let the wallpaper dry completely before you use it.

The beauty of using wallpaper as a cheap trick to makeover old, ugly countertops is that it's relatively inexpensive. It's easy to apply, and you can change it anytime you want to renew the look of your kitchen. I used this easy trick myself a couple of times with 100% success.

The downsides of using wallpaper- even the thick, washable type- is that it won't hold up well if your countertops aren't used with care: sharp knives will easily slice through the paper and if you scrub it too harshly, the paper can easily tear, for just two examples.

2. Use Leftover Flooring Tile to Spruce Up Your Old Countertops
When I re-tiled my kitchen floor with a butcher block pattern, it brightened up the whole room. (It looked so good that my sister-in-law bought the same pattern and put it down in her dining room.) But when I looked around the room and spotted my old countertops, I knew I had to do something about those too. I got an idea when I realized I had leftover floor tile.

So I went to work using a cheap trick to makeover my old, ugly countertops. After the countertops were cleared, I washed them off with a strong solution of vinegar and tap water. My countertops weren't made of Formica®, so they weren't shiny and smooth. Therefore, I didn't have to sand the surface first to roughen it up. I just applied the floor tile on my counter just as I had put it on my floor.

However, one extra thing I did do after I was completely done with the job, was to carefully apply waterproof grout. I put the grout in between the cracks, then I wiped off the excess with a damp, clean cloth. I also sealed the edges of the floor tile to help hold them in place. I allowed my "new" countertop to set undisturbed for about a day before I began to use it again. That gave the grout sufficient time to dry.

If you don't have any leftover floor tiles around the house to makeover your old, ugly countertops with, you can visit your local home supply center and ask about discontinued patterns of tile you can use.