How to Faux Finish Your Formica Counter Tops to Look Like Granite

The inside of my home was pretty plain when I moved in and I've been dying to do something about it! Now, come on.....I'm a stencil designer... I can't even force myself to have a plain home for too long! Because I took all spring and summer to improve my yard and gardens, it took until now to begin to work on the inside.

I began in my kitchen. This was a room I didn't want to even hang out in! Blah and boring!

I started out with the cabinets,  staining them to a luscious dark coffee color. That change alone changed the feel of the room, giving it a much more elegant feel.

Do you see those plain counter tops? They needed a new color and textural view. I made mine look like real granite with just primer, paint and varnish!

It's easy to do. Click the link to see the detailed, step by step!

How to Paint Formica Counter Tops

There's something about a plain kitchen that just makes you want to stay out of it! And I had no desire to be in mine.

It was just so boring!

But I had a vision in mind.... Deep, richly colored cabinets, granite counter tops, a beautiful floor and stenciling. (What else? I'm a stencil designer! Gotta have stencils!).

The first order of business was to stain those light cabinets. They needed re-finishing anyway. Even though they are only 6 years old, the varnish had begun to come off the doors.

I tried a new product I really like: Minwax Polyshades. The thing I loved about it was that the product not only stains but also seals with polyurethane at the same time! Any time I can save a step, I'm thrilled!

All I had to do was lightly scuff the surface with sand paper. No stripping needed (another thing I loved!).

I didn't even remove the doors to apply this wonderful finish.

This change alone just thrilled me! Ah, but more, much more was yet to come!

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for beautiful stencils and plaster molds, plus tons of decorating ideas and tip to help you make your home a more pleasant place to live

Victoria Larsen's Plaster Molds Get Attention from Glo Magazine

I've always loved it when our products get featured in a major publication!

Glo Magazine included us in their "DIY's That Instantly Change a Room" article!

It's easy and a lot of fun to create plaster wall art using our Plaster Molds.

For instance, choose a medallion mold and cast it in plaster of paris.
Create a wall hook by simply unfolding a paper clip. Bend it in the the shape of a "U".
Crimp the ends to create hooks then insert those ends in to the wet plaster leaving about 1/2" of the closed end of your hook protruding from the wet plaster. Once dry, this will serve as your wall hook.

Once the piece is totally dry, prime the piece and then paint it a pale color. Wall paint or craft paints are perfect for this.
Mix a deeper shade of the same color with translucent wall glaze and paint the piece with this mixture.
Now, using a dry terry towel, wipe off all the excess, leaving the darker paint in the recesses of the design.
This brings out the beauty of the piece.

Hang groups of different pieces on the wall to create a collage of ornamental plaster.
It's beautiful!

Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for more great ideas plus tons of plaster stencils, painting stencils and plaster molds to help you create the beautiful home you've always dreamed of.

Kathy Van Gough, a talented artist and friend to our business for many years had the insight to develop a new product line for her business. The Van Gough line of Chalk Paint.

I'd heard of chalk paint before but had never tried it until now. All I can say is WOW! What an easy paint to work with! It slides on like butter on warm bread, the coverage is spectacular, the bonding superb, the colors are delicious and her beeswax sealer is to die for!

Chalk paint was one of the first forms of paint man ever developed and why it was ever replaced with anything else is beyond my reasoning.

Chalk paint has seen a resurgence of popularity over the years and faux finish artists all over the world swear by it's performance. I now see why.

A favorite application is on furniture because of it's bonding capabilities and Kathy's color line is modern and beautiful.

I personally fell in love with her tinted beeswax sealer. This product is a fabulous alternative to varnish. Not only does it thoroughly seal your painted surface, but you can use it as (what I call) a "detail rub" for raised plaster stenciling.

Rubbing a deeply tinted beeswax over your raised stenciling does two things at once. It seals the surface and the design but also brings out the intricate detail of a raised plaster stencil design. I used her French Caffeine Beeswax and am now HOOKED!

Here I used it over our new Raised Plaster Preston Frieze Stencil. See that bit of shine? That's the beeswax as it has sealed the surface. See all that dark detail? That's the tint of the beeswax. LOVE this stuff!

So if you are thinking about throwing out that old table, re-doing your cabinets or thinking about a new wall treatment, visit The Van Gough Chalk Paint website and check out the gallery for fabulous ideas. Then visit our website at Victoria Larsen Stencils for the designs you crave to make your project truly beautiful.