Thrifty interior designer shares hack to get marble worktops without buying new kitchen
AN interior designer has shared how to achieve the marble-effect look on kitchen worktops at a fraction of the price of replacing them.
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Interior designer Jennifer Laura transformed her dark brown granite-effect worktops to the fashionable marble effect which has now become highly-sought after by homeowners. She shared the process on TikTok, videoing herself giving the worktops a quick paint job before adding some extra simple touches.
The two-day process began with Jennifer scraping off old caulk with a razor blade and wiping the countertops with a lacquer thinner. Then, she wiped them down again with Isopropyl Alcohol.
She then sanded down the worktop to make sure it was a smooth base.
She then sprayed the lines with water and dabbed with an angle brush to soften the lines.
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Jennifer recommends leaving some lines darker than others as this helps it look realistic. For darker lines, wait 30 seconds before spraying with water.
Then, she went over with a sponge and white detail paint to add some faint texture.
She finished the look with epoxy resin, and after an hour, removed the tape which was around the edges of the worktops.
The next day she used white acrylic caulk to fill in the seams. The worktops were left to fully cure for seven days. Then there was an extra few hours to clean up and fix any problem areas.
Jennifer was delighted with the finished results. She said her worktops look “perfect” and “glossy”.
She used a £99 DIY marble kit from Amazon to create the glossy marble look.
Writing on her blog, she said it is crucial to calculate the square footage of your worktops to make sure the kit will cover the entire kitchen. Each kit covers 35 square feet, so if your countertops are larger than that you may need more than one kit.
The kit comes with specific instructions for the type of surface you are painting over.
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She also says it is important to use tape and drop cloths as painting the worktops will be messy. She says you should protect everything including your sink, appliances and floors.
Jennifer's videos have received more than 10 million views and viewers have rushed to copy the impressive hack.
The £99 kit Jennifer used can be found here.
Those who don’t want to use paint can buy white marble effect laminate from B&Q costing £92 for 3000mm or self-adhesive film costing £6 per 680mm.