How to decorate a countertop: decorating methods, materials and ideas from designers

Old furniture often turns out to be sturdy and of good quality. But it is not necessary to throw away the object loved by the whole family – it will be possible to “breathe new life” into both grandmother’s locker and great-grandfather’s table. Self-decor of the countertop will not be difficult if the right materials are purchased..

There are many ways to restore kitchen countertops.

Features of countertop decor

I often find furniture to be strong and of good quality. But it is not necessary to throw away the object loved by the whole family – it will be possible to “breathe new life” into both grandmother’s locker and great-grandfather’s table. Self-decor of the countertop is not difficult if the right materials are purchased..

To update, modify an old product, no special design skills are required – the desire is important, the presence of an interesting idea. “The price of the issue” depends on the chosen technique, the materials used. Sometimes the table is still very strong, it is a pity to part with it, but it does not fit into the interior – then it needs to be modified.

In order to breathe new life in old furniture, special design skills are not needed..

How to choose a decorating technique

There are a great many ways to decorate the kitchen table – the choice depends only on the imagination of the master, the degree of wear of the structure, the desired result. Most often, a wooden table is simply stained. A product that has many curved-angled parts is difficult to paste over with film or tiles – it is easier to paint. To implement complex options, you should see the corresponding master classes.

Decorating an old table with a ceramic hob.

Where to start restoration, decoration

Before starting work, the surface must be carefully prepared:

fix loose connections;
wash with household chemicals;
remove stickers, pictures;
remove unnecessary accessories;
remove the remnants of old coatings – varnishes, paints;
clean up all existing cracks, chips;
sand with sandpaper.

Before proceeding to decorating the surface, you need to thoroughly clean and polish the countertop..

Main steps

The first stage of registration is the preparation of the workplace, the necessary tools and materials are purchased. After that, the product is inspected, everything superfluous is removed from it, and the primary primer is applied. After the table is dry, you can proceed with the chosen finishing technique..

Decorating the table with polystyrene for painting

Polyfoam is a cheap, lightweight material purchased at the nearest building market. Parts of the baguette, corners are used, which are glued to the ends, table legs, facades, using glue. Sometimes the place where the countertop meets the wall is decorated with foam. The finished product is partially or completely painted with gold, silver, any other paint.

Customized table design can be obtained using paintable foam.

DIY designs

When there is a choice, what is the best way to decorate the countertop in the kitchen, choose a mosaic, decoration with self-adhesive film, coffee beans laid under glass. They also use the craquelure technique, painting on wood, decoupage with napkins, simple surface staining.

Decoupage

This technique allows you to decorate the design with drawings, pictures, photographs located on special decoupage napkins.

Progress:

wash, clean the structure of all unnecessary;
apply an acrylic primer;
dry;
apply PVA glue;
attach a napkin with the selected image to the surface;
align carefully so that there are no bubbles;
varnish the item.

Decoupage countertops can be easily done if you have the ability to draw.

Painting

If you have certain skills of the artist, the table is decorated with any pattern, picture. If such skills are absent, stencils will come to the rescue – they are cut out independently from cardboard or self-adhesive film. The surface is pre-sanded, putty, painted in a suitable color. After drying, the template is fixed, through which paint is applied using a tampon, brush, spray can. Next, the template is carefully removed, the picture is dried, varnished.

Painting on the table.

Craquelure

Craquelure finishing creates the effect of a very old thing, all the paint on which is cracked. It is not difficult to create such an effect: the surface is covered with paint, and, without waiting for it to dry, a layer of craquelure varnish is applied. The latter is purchased in an art store or made independently from PVA glue with egg white, gelatin.

Updating the kitchen table with caraquelure technique.

Tip: to make the effect more noticeable under the varnish, two layers of paint are applied – the second after the first has dried.

Stickers

Decorating the table with stickers is the most “lazy”, short-lived decor option. For work you will need:

vinyl film;
squeegee for smoothing;
sharp scissors;
stationery knife;
long ruler;
rags.

The fastest and most affordable method of updating furniture can be considered stickers..

The upper plane, the facades of the product are leveled, degreased. Next, you should “cut” the film, leaving allowances of about five cm on each side – these parts are wrapped on the ends, paying special attention to the corners. The surface is carefully smoothed with a squeegee, but if “bubbles” are formed, they are pierced with a thin needle. The film is fully adhered in two to three hours.

Tip: to make the product look more original, films of several colors, with different patterns are purchased..

The sticker allows you to effortlessly waste time to update any surface.

Mosaic

The mosaic countertop looks luxurious and expensive. Mosaic happens:

from Venetian glass;
smalt;
from porcelain stoneware;
mirror;
natural stone.

Porcelain stoneware mosaic countertops.

The easiest way is to paste over the table with mosaic, small tiles of which are fixed on a grid, silicone, paper. Single fragments have a square, polygonal shape, different sizes. The surface to be shaped is primed, after which the tile glue is applied with a comb spatula, but if the tiles are glass, the glue base becomes transparent. Gluing is done from the front edge – the most visible part of the structure. When working, they periodically “check” with the building level, carefully smooth out each fragment so that no voids are formed under the tiles. Next, the ends are pasted over, the grouting is performed.

The mosaic technique can be made from the remains of ceramic or tile tiles..

It is not necessary to buy a mosaic in a hardware store – you can use shards from broken dishes, shards of ceramic tiles, pieces of CDs, phonograph records, mirrors, colored glass, etc..

Under glass

Almost anything is used to create a unique picture under the glass surface: coffee beans and beans, cardamom and acorns, beads and plastic caps, wine corks and buckwheat, kinder surprise hippos and broken glass. It is important to take into account that the table decorated in this way will become slightly higher..

Glass dining table design.

How it’s done:

the structure is cleaned of paint, dirt;
a wooden, metal frame 5-15 mm thick is glued along the perimeter of the top;
if the countertop is large, you will need to make several partitions;
the product is painted, dried;
decor is glued inside the frame – forest “gifts”, small dried vegetables, beautiful grains, miniature toys, etc .;
using rubber glue, thick glass is glued to the frame – preferably tempered.

An easier way to decorate is to apply a pattern to the tabletop, followed by gluing the glass. The thicker the latter, the more voluminous the picture appears..

Materials, tools

The main materials that are useful for any finishing method are PVA glue, transparent varnish, wood primer. You will also need brushes for paints, glue. When the product is very loose, it lacks any parts – this must be corrected. Then you need carpentry tools, fasteners. Old coatings are removed with a metal spatula, dirt – with household chemicals. Even with certain types of design, a ruler, scissors, patterns, a square, a building level are useful.

Before you start decorating the table, you need to prepare the necessary tools and materials.

Styles, colors

The structure being designed, when it is ready, should fit well into the existing interior. For a Provence style kitchen, light colors and floral prints are suitable, a high-tech countertop is easiest to decorate with silver self-adhesive foam. The classic table is painted by hand in white paint, the product is in the Baroque style – pasted over with mosaics of small colored ceramic tiles.

Decoupage technique for the restoration of a classic table.

Accommodation options in the interior

A freshly decorated kitchen table does not have to be placed in this particular room. It will be an excellent attribute of the living room or bedroom, hallway or nursery. The table is built into a new kitchen set, if the style allows it, in a corner or near a free wall.

The newly decorated table should be left to dry for a few days..

Additional tips from designers

To create the decor of any countertop with their own hands, they are guided by the advice of professional designers, who recommend using only environmentally friendly, odorless materials. Finishing elements should not fall off the product. The design itself will become a bright room accent, attracting all the attention to itself. It is important that the item fits well into the interior..

The countertop decor should match the overall style of the room..

Conclusion

Any aged item can be updated by fitting it into the interior that has changed during the next repair. It will be much cheaper than purchasing new, similar furniture. Beautiful decoration of the kitchen table is easy to do with your own hands, using simple tools, materials.