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Faux Granite Kitchen Countertops

by: ArthurSneddon
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Do you find that you spend enormous amounts of time in your kitchen? When we stop and think about it most of us would agree that a surprising amount of time is spent in the kitchen. Many of us can not afford a property with a separate dining room and instead we have a dining table in the kitchen. When you look around do you see an old fashioned kitchen in need of repair or replacement?

Unless we have a brand new kitchen, most of us would agree that we would love to indulge in a kitchen specially designed to meet our needs. Maybe a breakfast bar, or a large countertop to prepare food. With the amount of kitchen accessories and gadgets available it is possible to create a fully coordinated design with everything matching. Maybe we would like to have real marble floors or granite countertops. Most of us have a few ideas on how we could improve our kitchen.

Many people choose to have granite countertops in their dream kitchen because it looks great, every stone is unique, and the material is highly suitable for use in the kitchen. Granite is extremely difficult to damage or scratch and proves extremely durable. The countertops also remain cool which means the surfaces are perfect for the preparation of various types of food.

Sadly such wonderfully designed kitchens can cost an arm and a leg. Most of the better designs are often very expensive indeed and far beyond the budgets of most. Of course much of this cost is because of the high quality materials used for countertops and kitchen units. Other pricing factors include the cost of built in cookers and other electrical good. Even your choice of flooring materials can have a profound effect upon the overall cost of a new kitchen.

If you find a designer kitchen to be beyond your budget then it is possible to change the look of your kitchen quite radically for a fraction of the cost by renovating your existing kitchen units. Often such units are of a standard size and shape meaning that replacement doors and fittings can be purchased separately from the shell. Simply by changing the doors and the countertops you can create a brand new looking kitchen with the minimum of cost and certainly less fuss.

If you have a really small budget it is amazing how far you can make the smallest amounts of cash stretch with just a little thought. If your cupboards look fine then maybe only your countertops need replacing. If you can't afford new ones you can refinish both facings of doors and cupboards and also countertops. Using various techniques and different types of paints you can create the most beautiful patterns such as wood grain. One of the best ways in which to improve a kitchen for a minimal cost is to create faux granite countertops.

Creating a faux granite effect is great fun but it is important that you understand the basic stages and how natural granite looks. The first thing you need to do is clean the surface and apply an oil based primer. After allowing it to dry you then create the base color/coat with a water based paint. After this is thoroughly dry you can then start to create your faux granite using different colored water based paint and various materials to create the veins and other patterns. When the whole surface is bone dry you can protect it with about 3 coast of a water based Polyurethane gloss varnish which will also help create the effect of polished granite.

The really great thing about creating your own faux granite countertops is that you can choose your perfect design. You have no reliance on mother nature. You can choose to go with natural granite colors such as dark olive or gray background colors with secondary colors of light olive green and black or various shades of brown. If you fancy something a little more radical you can use any color combination you like even bright colors, whatever takes your fancy.

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If you are looking to find out more information about countertops you might like to read about our faux granite countertops  

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