Contacting my Kitchen Counters

Our new place is amazing, but it does lack a little in the personality department.  Especially the kitchen.

It's a great size and the layout is practical, but it's just a little...

Bland.

One of my least favorite things about it is the countertops.  They're just soooooo borrrrrrring.  Plus, they've withstood some abuse from previous tenets, but not without some battle scars.

Gross.

Interestingly enough, while searching Amazon for hole-in-countertop-fixer, I came across something way better.  Something that solved my hole problem and my boring problem.

Contact paper.

Yes, contact paper.  Something that had never occurred to me to use for countertops.  This particular paper is thicker and seems to be much more durable than normal contact paper, so I trusted the reviews and gave it a shot.

I was not disappointed at all.  As a matter of fact, I've been super impressed by how great it's been.  The seams in the paper are basically invisible thanks to the pattern and it's held up to a lot of abuse from us.

Doesn't it look great?  And the best part?  It's removable!  So when I'm ready for a change or we move out, no one will ever know it was there.  Except you guys, of course.

Ready to give it a shot yourself?

Here are some tips:

• Buy extra.  It took about 3 and a half rolls to do my countertops, and I have a little left over in case something messes up over time.  It's always a good idea to have a little extra. :-)
• Don't wrap it around corners.  Instead, cut a separate piece.  This makes it look more natural and keeps it from peeling off so easily
• Use a smoother.  Just trust me on this one.  If you've ever used contact paper before, you know having something to smooth it with is a necessity. 
• Use an Exacto knife to cut off your excess.  This is also true for any contact paper application.  It just makes it so much easier!
• USE POTHOLDERS.  Don't sit a sizzling hot pan on this stuff.  We haven't experienced this yet since we always use pot holders out of habit, but I'm sure it will probably melt.  It is just plastic paper after all!
• Clean it just like you would your regular counters.  It's held up to everything I've thrown at it so far!

If you're interested in giving your own counters a super simple and cheap make over, here's a list of the products I used.  (Disclaimer: These are affiliate links, but I have used these products and love them!)

               

There is this print as well, and I'm thinking that my bathroom might need some purple countertops:

But I haven't completely settled on that yet. ;-)

Want to Pin this for future reference?  Here's a cuter Pin!

I hope my cute "new" countertops will inspire you guys to give your tired counters a little love.  Even you renters like me!

Until next time!