DIY Kitchen Countertops

Do you love a good DIY? I've got your step-by-step guide to the ultimate DIY countertops!

I love a good DIY! I'll be honest and tell you that I don't do a ton of them and when I do they are relatively small scale projects. To pull off a great DIY you'll typically need creativity and patience. Today I'm going to walk you through the process of my DIY kitchen countertops!

I purchased my first builder-grade home and have loved everything about it!...except the countertops. I picked out my lot in my neighborhood, the floor plan of my home and all of the finishes inside and out down to the doors, floors and paint colors. I also chose cabinet colors and countertops in the bathrooms and kitchen, however in the building of my home, the wrong countertops were installed! I was really disappointed and I spoke at length with my builders but they insisted these were the countertops I had chosen and they were not willing to work with me to make any change orders. I lived with my countertops for a while but knew I couldn't leave them this way forever. The problem with installing new countertops (merely for aesthetic and cosmetic purposes) was since this was a builder-grade home I didn't want to invest in too many high-end finishes. I feared the house wouldn't appraise if I ever decided to sell it and had invested too much into upgrades. I had already paid for several upgrades in the building process, a lot on a cul de sac, modern paint colors (grey + white over the standard cream + tan) hard flooring throughout the house (as carpet was standard) and a screened in porch (base package was just a concrete slab for a patio). My style is light, bright and airy and these countertops were anything but!

I had seen the concept of contact paper wrapped counter tops on several social media platforms and decided to give it a try. I read several articles on this DIY, I watched youtube videos and I read reviews on the contact paper I had chosen. It seemed like an easy enough process for a very budget friendly DIY, so I was determined to make this my solution to my ugly countertops.

The kitchen is the heart of anyone's home but it is especially in mine! Now don't misunderstand, I am not a gourmet chef (lol) I'm sure I use my kitchen far less than most, but my home is open concept. The entryway flows right into the kitchen, living room and dining room, which all share common areas. If I'm sitting on my couch I'm staring at the kitchen and if I'm sitting at my dining table I'm staring at the kitchen. So having a clean, organized and aesthetically pleasing kitchen was important to me!

Necessary Supplies

Before you begin this project there are a few supplies you must have. I bought two rolls of contact paper and only spent about one hundred dollars. The project took two half days to complete (Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon). I will link the exact contact paper I used through Amazon at the bottom of my post. You can shop the paper directly through my link! You will also need a pencil or pen, a yard stick or tape measure, scissors, a staple gun, hammer, safety glasses, caulk and a box cutter or exacto knife. You will need a device to smooth the paper out and remove bubbles, I used a putty knife, you could use something like a credit card but I tried that and it was too flimsy for me. You will also need all purpose countertop cleaner and a towel to prep your countertops.

Step by Step Process

Start by cleaning the surfaces of your countertops to remove any dust, dirt or food crumbs. Let dry throughly. I used a towel to wipe away any excess cleaner. Next, measure the areas you are going to cover and cut your paper. Don't forget to leave a few extra inches for wrapping the corners and the lip on the underside of the countertops. After you've measured and cut your paper, roll it back up into a cylinder. It is easier to work with this way.

You will likely need an extra set of hands for initial install of the paper. My dad helped me. After you get the initial piece of paper stuck down you can easily do the rest without a partner. You and your partner will peel about two to three inches of the paper away from the backing and attach it top of your surface. This is very important, do not pull too much of the paper away from the backing or the paper may fold over on itself and it is very hard to separate it if this happens. Keep the remaining paper stuck to its backing and rolled in a cylinder. You will use your smoothing device to gradually press the paper to the countertop and push the cylinder out towards the edge of the countertop. It is very important to have patience and move slowly. The slower and more careful you inch your way down the less bubbles or imperfections you will see on the paper. Also, if you mess up a section, the paper is very forgiving, you can just lift it and re-smooth the section you are trying to fix. Just remember to not let it fold over or stick to itself, you will run into problems if it sticks to itself.

Once you get to the bottom the counter, cut away any excess paper and backing, fold over and stick your paper to the bottom lip of your countertop. Because my countertops are laminate, the underside was pressboard and the contact paper didn't want to adhere to it well so that's when I used the staple gun. I stapled the paper to the bottom lip of the counter. You will use the hammer to flatten your staples if your staple gun doesn't get them flush to the underside of the countertop. If you have harder surface countertops like granite you will not have to staple the paper to the underside of the countertops.

Special Circumstances

You can do this project on countertops that have a small backsplash (like mine) or countertops that don't have a built-in backsplash. Even with my small backsplash, I still only used one piece of contact paper and started at the very top of my backsplash, working my way down. I believe this is more favorable than cutting two pieces of paper and meeting them up at the bottom. You want to press firmly into the crease where the backsplash meets the countertop to get a tight crease covering.

On the far right side of my kitchen I have a side-backsplash ("side-splash"). For this area I did cut two separate pieces of paper. I measured and cut one strip of contact paper to cover that entire "side-splash" and then covered the rest of the countertop like usual.

You will want to use caulk anywhere there is a seam, where you are meeting two pieces of paper, between the wall and your paper and around the sink. The caulk gives it a more finished and put together look. You can see gaps and it looks unfinished if you don't caulk the seams. Don't be intimidated by caulk! I had never used caulk before this project and I had no problem with it. You want to slide it on, wipe over it with your finger to press it in the seams then wipe up any excess with a damp paper towel or rag. See the gaps in the paper (left picture below) versus (the picture on the right) where the caulk has been applied.

The process of installing the paper around the sink was easier than you'd think! You want to press the paper firmly in the crease where the sink and the countertop meet. Use your smoothing device to crease the paper tightly. You want to leave about an inch of overhang of paper and press this firmly to the sink. You will cut the excess contact paper off with an exacto knife or box cutter. See the video below.

After you have made the cut, peel off the excess paper and then caulk the seam.

There were two tricky parts of my contact paper install. The first was this corner where my countertops turn. The second trickiest part of this DIY is mastering the corners of the countertops. My dad helped to measure the corner pieces. The measuring and cutting of this part of the project was the most frustrating by far (lol). We cut the contact paper diagonally for install so the two pieces would make a naturally occurring seam that matched the diagonal seam of my real countertops underneath.

The corners of the countertops are tricky and require some trial and error. I would actually advise you installing a tiny piece of paper at the end of your countertop and practicing or playing around with the corners before you install the entire large piece and then mess the corners up at the very end. Your method will vary depending on if you have rounded or pointed/squared corners. For rounded corners you can use a hairdryer to soften the contact paper and make it more pliable. However I did not find this necessary. I made straight up and down cuts and wrapped the paper around the corner until it laid natural again.

Countertop Care

The contact paper is made out of heavy duty PVC and is highly durable. For best care of the contact paper, treat it just as you would any countertop. Use a cutting board when cutting and wipe up liquids that could stain before they sit for an extended period of time. You may sit mugs, bowls and plates from the microwave on your paper but don't sit hot pots or pans from the stove or oven on the paper, this could cause your paper to melt. Use a pot holder or trivet for hot bakeware. I clean my countertops with my favorite non-toxic, plant based, all purpose cleaner, Thieves (contact me if you are interested in Thieves cleaner).

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Because of it's budget friendly cost and high impact on design this is my favorite DIY I've ever done! If you give this a try make sure to tag me on social media and use the hashtag #happyasahomebodyinspired!

Shop the Supplies

You can shop the supplies for this project through the linked pictures below. When you shop through my direct links below your purchase is supporting my blog at no additional cost to you! Thank you for your support!