Giani Granite ~
If you are like me, you love granite countertops. Also, if you are like me, you can’t afford them. So, I have just lived without. Fortunately for me, the countertops in our home weren’t nicked or especially, they were just blue. And I am not a huge fan of blue, or laminate {or whatever they were}, so I set out to do something about it – cheaply.
Giani Granite For Countertops
Giani Granite kits come in several varieties so that you have tons of options of how you would like your counters to look. I chose Chocolate Brown.
Our kit came with…
-12 Oz. of IronCoreTM Primer-Base Coat
– 6 Oz. of Brown Feldspar Mineral
– 6 Oz. of Inca Gold Mineral
– 6 Oz. of Chocolate Brown Mineral
– 16 Oz. of Automotive Polyurethane Topcoat
– 6″ GIANITM roller arm and two roller pads
– 4″ GIANITM granite paint sponge
– 2″ Foam Brush
– Black Practice Poster Board
– ‘Paint-by-Number’ DVD for beginners
– Illustrated Instructions
The Giani Granite DVD is very easy to follow. The only thing I couldn’t understand in the directions was whether to caulk before or after. The directions seem to say to do it before doing the primer in one part and then after the entire process in another, so I assume either is fine. Luckily for me, when I went to a local hardware store to get some other items that I would need for this project {gloves, caulk, Frog Tape, etc} I found glass mosaic tile on sale for $2.33/sheet. It is generally $8.97/sheet and up. So, I will be doing the backsplash as well now. Be on the look out for that project as well.
First, we scrubbed the counter and cleaned it really well and then we taped off everything with the Frog Brand Tape. We made sure to buy this brand as this is what is advised in the video that came with our Giani Granite kit.
Next, we primed the counter. The primer is included and clearly labeled. Be sure to use the provided brush to get around the sink really good first and then use the roller for the counter. We put craft paper over a lot of the cabinets until we realized that the primer wipes easily off our cabinets with baby wipes {no, we don’t have a baby, but they are SO handy}. So, we just decided to wipe as we went after that. We don’t recommend this, of course. Please do what Giani Granite says, this is just what we chose to do.
The directions clearly state to use gloves. I bought gloves. Then I did not put them on. My bad. It washed off very easily, though, so I was pleased.
I also found this video extremely helpful. She made a couple mistakes and tells you how you might avoid them. For instance, I made sure to buy Frog Brand tape as suggested by Giani Granite, based on what I saw in this video. This entire project took me about 2 days. It really isn’t a long process – just the drying times between the coats slows you down, so I recommend this for a weekend project. I finished it today. So, what do you think?
Socialize With Giani Granite
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I’m currently house hunting and this gives me great hope in finding my dream home. The kitchen is definitely the area that needs to be updated the most (and the bathrooms UGH!). It’s nice to know there are solutions like this that will give me a nice updated look! Thanks for the post! Can’t wait to see your finished product!
Can’t wait to see the finished project. I live in an apartment and can’t but I would love to refinish our counters. You can see the cut marks from previous tenants. :0( If I could talk the managers into it I would love to do it. It would probably be all out of pocket…something to ponder.
I would love to have my counters done with that. BUT I want someone else to do it! How about coming over and doing mine? lol
I might be able to talk hubby into it. But probably not till it is warm here. We will see.
Nice new look and easy too!
This sounds really neat. It’s a great way to make the kitchen look more current without spending tons of money.
We have used this in our bathrooms and just loved it! We used sicilian sand and it’s gorgeous!
That looks really nice. Fun too. I love projects like that.
Wow, that looks awesome! Major difference. I love before and after photos and projects like this. It’s amazing that you did all that with just paint.
What a huge difference! The countertops look amazing! It was great to see what you did with the before and after.
OMG! How cool is that!!! We need to completely redo our kitchen! Nice way to save and make it look nice!
I have heard of this, I wonder how long it lasts and if it chips easily. I want to re-do our kitchen and this would save a ton of money. Last time I painted, I stuck my pony tail in the paint, that was fun to get out!
Hahaha! That sounds like something that I would do!
Dawn
I remember watching Trading Spaces and they would paint countertops, but just household paint.
Is this paint safe to put food on after it’s sealed? Our counters are so ugly, but we aren’t replacing until we can do a full remodel.
I would assume that it is food safe, since it’s specifically designed for counters, but I can’t really say for sure. They probably have info about that on their website.
Dawn
This is great, and probably saves a ton of money than purchasing real granite! Might give this a go but we may sell the house we’re currently in soon.
Wow, I can’t believe how much of a difference it makes. I love how cost effective this alternative is to granite!
I’m so there with you-love granite but it’s just too expensive. I’m worried about making a mistake with the kit. Tell me I’m wrong?!!
wow this looks really nice. I like granite counter tosp too. I would try this kit. It would save so much money by doing it this way. I never knew they had kits out to do this. thanks for showing us how its done
I love all the photos included in this review, it really helped it all come alive! I hope I get to see your added backsplash too! I think the after shots on this much better than the blue before ones!
Yes, I am thankful for my home, but the 90s blue had to go, lol. 🙂 I am almost done with the backsplash and will be posting that soon. 🙂
Thanks for posting this! It looks great.
Are you kidding me? This is amazing! I know my parents paid a lot to get theirs to look like this and I didn’t realize it could be done so easily! Wow! I have to bookmark this for sure!
That is a huge transformation- and looks great!!
WOW! That looks great – who knew?
That is awesome. I am really liking how nice it turned out!
I can’t get over how fabulous that turned out. Great job!
Wow! Those are really beautiful – without the expense and maintenance of granite!
Those are really beautiful! I have considered redoing my counters like this, you are pushing me in that direction! Lol.
This turned out beautiful and does look just like granite! I might give this a try in my kitchen!
We used this very same kit, and everything looked amazing at first, but now I notice it is pealing off like crazy everywhere..I guess I have to reapply!
We did ours about a year ago, and haven’t had any problems yet. However, we did do several coats – more than it said to do, because it took me a long time to get it the way I wanted. Perhaps that is why ours has lasted so long.
Amazing! Definitely an improvement…. Now I don’t have to worry about how the kitchen countertop looks like when we’re house hunting. I now know that I can change it. Thanks!
You did an amazing job! We did the garage floor once and it looked just as great!
An entire garage floor! Wow, that sounds like quite the undertaking! How long did it take to finish it?
That looks wonderful! I wish I saw this before I purchased my granite countertop 🙁
Amazing…I never would of thought you could paint your countertop. Looks very very nice! You did a fantastic job!
Thanks! I had no idea you could do that either – and it is WAY easier than it looks. 🙂
The counters look so much better now that you made them look like granite. I also like how easy it seems to make counters look brand new and special.
wow great job, it really looks like granite!
WOW. That is stunning. I can’t believe that’s painted. I swear to you when I read the title and saw the picture I had to look twice. Amazing job and tutorial!
Thank you so much! It was really fun to do. 🙂
wow- those countertops look awesome! great job 🙂
Wow that looks really good. I’ve been thinking of doing that to my counters although my kitchen really needs to be gutted and redone. Thanks for sharing.
I think that part of the reason that these “granite” countertops look so good is because you have artistic talent. I tried faux granite walls and they did not turn out as nice as your countertops.
Oh gosh, I am so sorry that yours didn’t turn out the way you hoped. I haven’t heard of the faux granite walls before, but you may have had gravity fighting against you, too. Painting on a flat surface seems to me like it would be much easier to prevent paint runs. One good thing about paint, though – you can always let it dry and try again.
Some work but looks wonderful. It really updates and freshens your kitchen. I love the look and much cheaper than buying granite.
That’s amazing! I’ve got to do this soon. My kitchen needs a makeover so badly!
I would really like to do both my cabinets and counter tops in my kitchen. My house was built in 1975, so very out of date. the previous owners painted the cabinets- right over the varnish and all without sanding or otherwise preparing them. After a few years, they started to peel and look awful. I am just recovering from water damage and have brand new flooring, so learning about Giani is perfect timing for me! Never even considered being able to paint counter tops!
This is a wonderful and looks like the instructructions would be something easy to use while dong this project.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this would work on my horribly ugly yellow-beige tile counters. BUT: I’m thinking it will be just the thing to re-do the bathroom counters. Someone who lived here previously really liked to smoke in the bathrooms, as evidenced by the multiple cigarette burn marks along the counter edges.
Oh that is so gross. Sorry about that. Yes, this is probably just what you need for your bathroom. I feel like I saw some tiled counters painted with this, too. You may want to check them out. I can’t remember if I found those pics on their website or on Google, though.
It looks beautiful! I’ll keep this in mind when I finally tackle a countertop project.
I love these kits. It is a wonderful way to rejuvinate old and boring to new!
Can we have done up close, after a year of use pics on this? i ‘m just wondering how well it’s held up!
I will try my best to remember to do that for you later. 🙂 Please remind me if I haven’t done it by the weekend.