Why NOT to paint Formica! :)

Most of you know that Michael is an exceptional handy man. In fact, "handy man" does not even do him justice. He has completely and entirely remodeled two of our three bathrooms. And by remodel I mean that he has taken them down to the studs and rebuilt it (electrical and plumbing included). Below are pictures of the 1/2 bath that he remodeled

Before we moved in ...

After he finished ...

The third bathroom has not been fortunate enough to receive his attention just yet and it absolutely drives me crazy (not that he hasn't remodeled but the bathroom in and of itself drives me crazy). Picture lots of mirrors on every wall and door, 70's pea green tile, and a brown/wood-like Formica counter top with some sort of bleach stains.


A few weeks ago I decided that I couldn't take it any longer. I guess you could say that I snapped. I'm good at decorating NOT remodeling (this project reinforced such a statement). We have full intentions of remodeling it in the coming year so I didn't want to spend a lot of money. However, I felt that it needed a face-lift of sorts.

I have a friend who painted her Formica counter tops. I know what you are thinking - trust me, I KNOW what you are thinking. But I figured a $10 can of paint might be worth it. If nothing else, I figured that I could at least get rid of the grotesque counter top. I claimed this project as my own - and it was all downhill after that. Needless to say - white paint on a brown Formica counter top is not a good combination.

Heck, any paint color on any Formica counter top is not a good combination. Now I know! It took multiple coats ... and then began to peel off when I removed the tape. AWFUL!!! I managed to temporarily salvage it but, as Michael says, it's just a strange texture for a counter top! LOL. Nevertheless ... what's done is done.

So ... I painted the cabinet and counter top, as well as bought a new shower curtain and towels. It's not great but for under $100 it's a much needed improvement. If nothing else - we now have extra motivation to actually remodel it completely! :)