Welcome to Part 3 of my renovation of the “Carole” (remember, the name of our RV??)! Today, I will cover refinishing countertops & tabletops without the expense of replacing.
When building my idea boards, I found so many fun and functional ideas out there, mostly requiring replacement. Thumbs up to all of you following this path! I, however, challenged myself to stick to a budget. This meant no room for replacement. So, let’s jump in!!
As you may recall, my RV renovation color scheme is white, black accents, gray tones, natural wood accents, silver/chrome, and chartreuse accents. So, when weighing my options and skill set, paint and tile were my personal go-to’s. (Your talents may be with other materials and/or options.)
With white walls, white ceilings, planned white backsplash, textured white accents, I needed to offset and anchor some of this white with black. So, black was the color of choice for my countertops and tabletops…except one extra special project we will cover last (nightstands in the master bedroom!!).
I knew I didn’t want a perfectly smooth countertop or tabletop surface because over time, there were some nicks, cuts, and other imperfections on their surfaces. This could have been a bad thing but I figured why not just roll with it.
I am not sure if you have ever worked with chalkboard paint before but it has uses beyond just a cool writing surface for a stick of white chalk. (I actually have an entire wall of my office painted with chalkboard paint and magnetic paint-very cool!) Did you know, when you apply multiple layers of chalkboard paint, it begins to give you a textured “imperfect” surface that looks very much like soapstone. Are you loving this yet?? I applied about 4 coats with a combination of a small roller and a foam application brush yielding a perfect textured surface.
Just a quick side note. I have used the countertop paint and countertop paint refinishing kits in the past successfully. It just wasn’t the look I was going for here. Simply a matter of personal taste but the other choices do work well…if you are wondering.
Now for the top coat/sealant, you have plenty of options. Waxes, polyurethane, epoxy, to name a few. Since my countertops and tabletops were for food prep and consumption, I went with a durable polyurethane that was safe for food surfaces. I went with a Satin finish for easy clean up but I think a lower sheen would have really sold the soapstone look! I applied about 6-8 coats with a foam brush applicator on the countertops and a foam roller on the tabletops.
Tip: apply thin layers and allow to completely dry between coats to avoid bubbles in your finish.
HOWEVER, before I sealed the tabletops, I added an extra surprise. I love chess. In fact, I have managed to get my boys and my husband hooked on it. It was only natural I add a chess board to my tabletops, right??
After exhaustive searching, I could not find a vinyl chess board to “peel & stick” to the surface. I did finally find a stencil at Walmart. I purchased a 1 oz chalk paint in white for the stenciling. Since chalk paint covers so well, it only needed one coat of paint for full coverage. After adequate dry time, I sealed the tabletops with the foam roller and about 6-8 coats of polyurethane. Here is the end result!
Notice the wood edges of my countertops and tabletops? To refinish them, I gently sanded them, wiped them down with a microfiber cloth to remove all dust and debris, then applied new gel stain in dark walnut. Finally, I sealed them with a couple coats of polyurethane.
I haven’t mentioned the table legs but they were also refinished. They started out a brass color with some rusty and sticky spots. After washing them and coating them with Liquid Sandpaper, I applied multiple light coats of a Farmhouse Black spray paint by Rustoleum. It is a matte black finish that really ties into the color scheme.
A quick tip, I really should have sealed these with my matte sealer-also a spray paint application. I already have some scratches I will need to address once the weather warms up enough to paint.
A couple of bonus projects while we are discussing paint…I had some of the chalkboard paint leftover so I painted a couple of message boards on the inside panels of the kitchen cabinets. I love how these turned out and it’s a cute personal touch!
Note: I did sand down the “oops” white paint seen in the photo. Worked nicely to clean it all up.
I also refinished the bathroom mirror with the chalkboard paint for a whole new look! Check it out…
Remember that tile project I mentioned earlier? The bedroom nightstands? Well, here is the story.
After priming and painting, the past water damage was still very obvious. Keep in mind, RV’s are full of alternative materials to wood, typically, to save on cost and weight. The surfaces of these nightstands were no exception. The pressed fiberboard material had expanded on the back half due to old water damage leaving an unsightly bubbled surface once painted. Not to mention, the odds of a glass of water ending up there was pretty high, only creating more water damage and rings in the painted surfaces. (I am pretty sure I am the only person that actually uses the coasters in my household.)
I had run across the most beautiful mother-of-pearl mini tiles on Amazon and was itching for the chance to use them somewhere. Enter the nightstands! Remember that leftover white grout I mentioned in an earlier post? Well it was perfect for this tile job! I even had a little tile leftover that makes a cameo somewhere else in the RV! (Nope, not revealing it today…)
That is all for today. Next up, we will tackle RV flooring replacement. See you soon!
Be Well Solutions 