Paint Granite Countertops to Look Like Marble

One of my very, very brave design clients decided they were tired of their busy  and dated granite countertops. The granite was over 20 years old, and they were looking for a lighter brighter look. They weren’t interested in spending huge money to replace them all, and the client is a talented interior designer in her own right, so she decided they would try to have their painter paint their granite. It was so much cheaper than new countertops! I know, that seems so crazy right? But why not? I mean, people paint laminate all of the time why not granite counters? You can see the finished result at the end of the post!!! They  decided were going to do the prep, base coat, and  end project epoxy sealer and  brought me in to paint granite countertops to look like marble.

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There is a video of the full transformation of the painted granite countertops in this post. If you’re interested in how the marble technique is painted, I have a video on that at the end of the post. You can also see how we transformed an old sewing table into an island with a marble slab.

 

Find granite countertop paint kits here

While their old marble wasn’t bad by any means, and of course were in great shape, the color was very early 2000’s. The client really liked the simpler, cleaner look of marble. They decided to paint their granite countertops to look like a white marble with gray streaking. There is a granite counter tops paint by Giani (linked in this post) that comes in a paint kit you can use. They have kits not only for making countertops look like marble, but also if you want to paint another countertop of hard surface to get the look of granite like a bathroom, tile, a tabletop, coffee bar area or even a backsplash in a bar area or sink area. This is a good option on a tight budget to upgrade for the cost of paint and supplies. Priming and prep and using the correct type of sealer  are going to be the key to the success of this project.

There are granite countertop kits you can buy, but since they wanted a custom colors, they decided to put everything together on their own. Painting old granite countertops It’s really a great idea, because as granite colors go out of style, there has to be some solution to upgrade them other than spending huge money to replace them. Especially if you buy a home  where the existing stone countertops are an awful color. I’ve seen some pretty ugly stone.

Faux Granite Paint can also give you the look of newer granite patterns as well or painted soapstone or slate

The Downside to painting granite is that after painting, it needs to be treated more like laminate countertops than a stone countertop in regards to cleaning, care, staining and heat resistance. No more placing hot pots and pans right on top of the stone surface.

They went through the steps of first sanding to remove the glossy surfaces on the countertops, painting a good primer (like kilz) with a roller and then painting with base color of white paint, and then a top coat of paint. It immediately brightened up and simplified the kitchen. The Giani countertop paint kit includes all of the supplies, just make sure to follow all of the instructions for proper adhesion and durability so they can stand up to the moisture and heavy use, especially around the sink area.

Looking for the best white paint color to paint your kitchen cabinets? Check out this post.

Adding the marble veining when painting granite countertops to look like marble

After the paint had cured for a few days (and they did an amazing job with the base coat!) I popped over and painted the marble pattern. It took me about 3 hours to paint both countertops with a think brush and various gray paint shades ranging from light gray to dark to give depth to the veining. I have used a feather for marble paint techniques, in the past, but now prefer mixing up my brushes.

I used a multi-surface paint to paint the marble. You can see this video of the marble-painting technique here. I’ve created faux marble a few ways, including paint poured faux marble on this table top.

Once I finished the painted marbling, they did a topcoat of epoxy over the entire surface. I’m really pleased with how it ended up and I know they are thrilled with how they look! Granite countertop paint kits can really give a whole new look to your kitchen! I’ll share the finished project once they have the epoxy completed and the kitchen is back together.

The painted faux marble on the granite countertops really change the kitchen! The only downside to the top is that they won’t be able to treat it like granite, but more like laminate such as not putting hot pans directly on the surface, etc. and a good sealer is going to be so important to prevent stains and scratches. However, you can get a custom look for a few hundred dollars, so it can’t even compare!

I can’t get over the lighter brighter feel and it’s such a lovely kitchen! The other thing we did was change out all of the light bulbs for bright white instead of a yellower bulb.

The light bulbs in your space can really make a difference, especially with darker shades of paint, or whites and off whites. Those little changes make a big difference in the look of your kitchen as well!