If your kitchen needs a face lift, but a full renovation is out of the budget, consider using flexible vinyl for kitchen countertops to revive your space. Sheet vinyl for counters is inexpensive, available in a wide range of colors and patterns and is so easy to install you can do it yourself even if you've never tackled a home improvement project before.
Why Update Your Kitchen Counters?
Your kitchen countertop sets the tone for the rest of your kitchen. It's large, gets a lot of use every day and its color should be the jumping off point of the rest of your kitchen palette. So if it's tired looking, scratched, peeling or just really outdated, you may want to consider replacing or updating it.
In addition to gaining an entirely new kitchen look at a fraction of the cost, updating your kitchen counter also allows you to do the following.
- Change the color scheme of the kitchen, including the wall and backsplash color
- Replace an old kitchen sink and faucet with newer models
- Pick up a color from the counter to change outdoor hardware on your cabinets
Best of all, a new kitchen counter gives you a sanitary, scratch free, stain free work area that can make your whole kitchen feel new again.
When to Use Flexible Vinyl for Kitchen Countertops
There are a lot of kitchen countertop choices on the market today. If you're planning on replacing the entire counter, or you currently have a tile counter in your kitchen, flexible vinyl is not for you. If, on the other hand, you want to give your kitchen a fresh new look without the expense or inconvenience of replacing your counters, flexible vinyl for kitchen countertops is a great choice.
Sheet vinyl is applied directly to any flat, clean and existing kitchen countertop. So if you have old, peeling laminate or scratched and stained solid surface counters, you can apply flexible sheet vinyl right on top. This allows you to get a brand new counter in a matter of hours, saving on the contractor costs as well as the removal and disposal costs of your old counter and on the material itself.
Choosing and Installing Flexible Vinyl
Sheet vinyl for kitchen counters is really a very thin, flexible form of laminate. It comes in rolls large enough to cover your counter, its edge and a 4-inch backsplash in one sheet with no seams. This gives you a clean workable surface.
Sheet vinyl comes in a wide range of colors, both solid and patterned to look like stones such as granite. Choose a color or pattern that will give you options for wall color, sink and faucet color and backsplash tiles. These components are often the least expensive parts of a kitchen renovation, so changing them with your counter will give you a complete kitchen update for much less.
Once you have your vinyl, clean your existing counter well. Remove any loose edging from around the counters by pulling it away completely. Measure your counters, taking into account any edging, backsplash and sink cutouts and mark an area on the floor nearby with these measurements.
Spread out your vinyl on your floor template and cut it to fit with a pair of scissors. Make all your cuts now; once the adhesive is in place, you'll need to move quickly.
Paint the adhesive onto your existing counter, covering all areas where the vinyl will go, including edges and backsplashes. Apply the vinyl from the furthest corner inward, smoothing it with your hand as you go. Once it's flat, use a rolling pin and apply pressure to the counter to move out air bubbles and bond your new vinyl to your old counter. Drop in your new sink and faucet and you can start using your new counter immediately.
Do It Today
Giving your kitchen a facelift with flexible vinyl for kitchen countertops as your starting point is easy and inexpensive. A little paint, some new cabinet hardware and a new sink and faucet and you've got a brand new kitchen. Why wait? Update your kitchen today.
