In our home in Northern Idaho, I've been dealing with the ugliest purple formica counter tops. Since we bit the bullet and installed slab granite in the kitchen, there was little left over to also do the bath counter tops so "paint to the rescue"!.

 I used our Faux Granite Effects Stencil on the counter top in the guest bath to give it a soft new finish and wipe out every last bit of purple!

I first primed the entire counter top with 4 coats of BIN primer to cover every bit of it. Then I gave the entire counter a pale cream background color.

 I then used our stencil to create dark brown granite spots then blended them.  


I turned the stencil in a different direction and then applied light brown spots, blending as I went along.

Once the area was dry, I used a toothbrush with water down white paint to create flecks of white over the surface.


I then watered down cream colored acrylic paint (bottled craft paint) and brushed it over the surface, immediately blotting it.

I then applied 3 coats of non-yellowing varnish to give it a brilliant sheen.


The finished counter top looked so much better!

You can actually do as many color layers as you would like to create ultra realistic looking granite. Simply find a photo on the internet of a granite sample you like, examine the color of the spots in the granite and then match those colors with bottled craft acrylic paints from the craft store. The more layers of color you do, the more realistic your faux granite becomes.


To give the cabinet a more finished look, I then glued resin ornamental elements to the fronts of the cabinet doors to give them more interest.

In just one day, I gave this bath a whole new look and it was EASY!

So if you think you can't get rid of those ugly Formica counter tops, you are totally wrong!

Just do a sample board and test out your colors and application before beginning your counters. Layer each color just as you would on the counter. This will give you not only valuable practice, but lets you see just how your counters are going to look before beginning.