As some of you may know, my husband and I have been working on a partial remodel to our little kitchen. It all started in December when Santa brought me a new refrigerator and oven.
(I guess I was a good girl this year ;)
Well Santa was sure surprised and irritated to find out that our new refrigerator was about a quarter inch to big. What difference you say does a quarter of an inch make, well in our kitchen it meant we had to remove an entire wall, top and bottom, of cabinets and slide them over to make room for the slightly bigger fridge. We decided while we were taking down the shabby cabinets to go ahead and paint them while we were at it. So our cabinets went from a dull old scratched oak to a nice rich apple red.
Old Cabinets (I know gross)
Same old cabinets painted Apple Red.
To make the old dishwasher and oven hood match the new black appliances, we used some trusty black appliance paint.
We also decided to add hardware to the newly repainted cabinets. My husband made a small template out of cardboard to make sure all the hardware was attached evenly.
That was the hardest part of our kitchen remodeling. Next came the easy part, but the part I am most excited with, our new Giani Granite Countertops! They really did make the biggest impact to our new kitchen look. First lets see what my counter tops looked like before Giani came sweetly into my life.
As you can see from the pictures, the counters were old, scratched, nicked, dented, and stained. I think the previous owners had used them as a cutting board on several occasions. We had to fill the deep cracks and chips with wood putty, then gently sand them down. If you don't have any chips or deep cracks, you will not need to do any sanding prior to applying primer. You will only need to clean counters first with S.O.S as instructed to in the Giani kit.
Clean and ready for priming.
Sanded down deep cracks that were filled with wood putty.
After step 1 primer from Giani they already look ten times better.
Step 2 sponge on Giani mineral in 3 different colors. Then sand down any peaks created by sponging.
Optional you can add veining to your granite counters with a small fine brush. There are video instructions on how to do this included in the kit.
Step 3 roll on Giani Clear Topcoat.
We will be getting a new pantry door soon too (I know that folding one is pretty shabby)
The laminate wood floors was another DIY project we tackled last year.
What a big improvement on a small budget.
Now after using the easy Giani Granite Countertop kit, in the Bombay Black, that Giani sent me to review, we have stunning countertops that look just like real granite. My husband was beat from painting our cabinets, so he went ahead and let me take lead on the countertops. I must admit, I am horrible at painting, and thought there would be no way I could paint anything resembling beautiful granite. I honestly thought my husband would march in the kitchen, and take over after seeing my work but that wasn't the case. The kit was so easy to follow, even I could do it. The kit includes all the rollers, trays, sponges, primer, minerals, and sealant you need. Using 3 different colors of mineral paint, and applying with a sponge, you end up with a beautiful real granite look. The colors in the kit are perfect, and following the technique and instructions included in the kit and instructional video, you really can't go wrong. Now that you know it's easy, and that it really looks like granite, would you like to have a chance to win a Giani Granite Countertop kit for yourself? Of course you do, so start thinking about what color granite kit you would choose.
Use the Rafflecopter form to enter the Giani Granite Countertop Kit Giveaway:
(open to the contiguous 48 states)
(choice of Bombay Black, Chocolate Brown, Emerald Green, Roma Red, Sapphire Blue, and Sicilian Sand)
For more information on Giani Granite Countertops visit our sponsor at:
www.gianigranite.com
