You CAN update those ugly formica countertops without breaking the bank!

I have enjoyed taking many classes over the years, everything from cake decorating to International cooking, tole painting to glass cutting and most of them were great for the moment but did not linger long on my "to do" list.  However, the knowledge that I have gained over the past few years in the world of concrete has been something I am still intrigued with and continue adding more and more information into my brain whenever I have the opportunity. 

I started out making simple concrete leaves and then moving onto giant concrete bird baths.  You can be so creative with this media and can create simply magnificent things.  I have taken several classes in the concrete overlay system and it has been interesting to compare differant products and their unique characteristics.  I will admit, I now use a combination of 4 differant company products to produce my finished pieces but it works and I love the results, as well as my clients loving it too. 

My son has been working on a 102 year old house located on the South Hill in Spokane.  It has so much personality, about as many quirky architectural features as it has major problems due to age and neglect from the past owner.  This big old rambly home has been converted into 4 apartments, all which have quite a personality in themselves.  We have now completed 3 out of the 4 units and I will take you on a little tour of apartment #3 just to show you how, with a little imagination, a little money and a whole lot of elbow grease and downright hard work this project has become the poster child for turning TRASH into TREASURES.

The first sight for sore eyes was the kitchen.  One counter had old vinyl glued on, along with the other one having brocken formica that really dated the entire kitchen.  The great thing about concrete overlay is that it is not like solid poured concrete that weighs so much that the underneath cupboards need to be powered up to endure the weight.  This overlay consists of 3-4 very thin layers of a special polymer concrete mixture and it gives the look of solid concrete without the weight.  With the colorants and then epoxy finish, along with a protective topcoat no one would ever know the differance.  You can apply it directly over formica, MDF, tile, whatever the substrate is that you are working with.  This also saves alot of time and time is money! 

I enjoy working on these older homes as the old world charm can be captured so easily with the interesting architecture.  In less than 3 days I finished these countertops and offered an updated look to this small but adequate kitchen space.