The Counters Blog

HDB Flat Mystery: What Is Causing The Marble Dropping Sound From Above? 50 Modern Bathroom Ideas — RenoGuide

Painting Countertops For A New Look

But you don’t have to wait three or even two weeks to make changes if you don’t like the color — that’s one of the benefits of working with inexpensive paint in lieu of solid surfaces or even laminates. And if you’re the type that sees something you like each time the new color palettes are issued, you can repeat the whole process every couple of months — it’s quick, it’s simple, and it’s ever so easy to change with the color trends. Place all your hardware in a handy sandwich bag, so that when you’re ready to put everything back into place, you’ll easily find it! This invention helped me to quickly and easily paint those curvy legs! Below is a comparison of what the second layer of paint looked like, once applied. Let me know your thoughts on this vanity transformation! The downside of wax finishes is that they have to be redone periodically. Like anything else made of wax, it will not hold up well when exposed to much heat. There’s been no chipping or fading or anything, and our vanity has held up very well! I might have even taped off some of the harder-to-reach edges. First, pick out your booty-shakin music (yes, that’s a thing – ha!), and prep your surface. Next, have all your supplies on hand, and thoroughly mix or shake your paint before pouring any into your painter’s tray. Third, while you’re shakin’ it to your fun music and singing your heart out, start painting away. And are you wondering how we feel about the paint and wax after a few months of some wear and tear? The wax has done a great job of keeping the chalk paint prisitine! And, if you ever decide you would rather have a poly finish for more durability, you have to completely remove the wax finish first. I also have read wax should never be used on kitchen cabinets for that reason, and also because of heat generated in certain areas of most kitchens. Other readers may have different opinions if they have used wax. I just had to be a little more careful, but the vanity still turned out great! It has been oil based varnished and it worked pretty well all these years.

How To Assemble Vanity W Marble Top by community.homedepot.com

Make sure you have the sink oriented in the right direction. I mean, no instructions/photos to see how just how the brackets and screws are to be placed. The top will be centered over the vanity with a 1/2 inch overhang on each side and at the front. Mount the faucet before you install the top it’s a lot easier that way. Once you have the top installed you can finish the faucet connections and install the drain line. Place a bead of silicone caulk around the rim of the sink and set it in place before you put the top on, secure it with the brackets and screws supplied with the top. Also, do you remove the six small white coushions, on the vanity itself, before placing the marble top on it?

Bathroom Cleaning Tips: Clean Granite Travertine Marble Counter Tops by uniquevanities.com

Avoid cleaning products unless the label specifies it is safe for natural stone. Considering the light-duty cleaning that is typically necessary on a vanity top, you can generally dilute the product in a proportion of 1:1 with tap water and it will still perform flawlessly. The over-spray could spill onto the marble surface and may damage it. Even if you over-spray it, nothing bad is going to happen to your marble. Contrary to what your perception may be when you hear the word sealer, sealers for stone are all below-surface products and will not alter in any way, shape or form the original finish produced by the factory. They will only go inside the stone by being absorbed by it (assuming that the stone is porous enough to allow this to happen) and will clog its pores, thus reducing its natural absorbency rate. Also, contrary to what you may have heard, there is no blanket rule when it comes to sealing natural stone. Granite is indeed more porous than marble and will stain if not protected with a good-quality impregnator-type stone sealer. Consequently, while it is true that real granites need to be sealed, there are many other stones being sold as granite that are in fact much denser than granite that do not need to be sealed. At the other end of the spectrum, some other “granites” are so porous, that no sealer will do a satisfactory job at sealing them 100% or for a long time. In fact, in some instances, “weird” problems that may appear to be etching on “granite” countertops turns out to be that the residue of sealer left on the surface of the stone (nothing went inside it) was being etched, certainly not the stone. No sealer in the entire world will do anything to prevent this. If the surface of the stone did not darken it means that the stone is perfectly sealed. To illustrate the point, let’s take, for example, a piece of common fabric. Therefore, if we spill some liquid onto it, the material will absorb it. As with the fabric example, when it comes to natural stone there are stains that are in fact stains, and there are “stains” that are actually discolorations that are due to something else. The space in between these molecules of minerals is mostly what determines the porosity of a stone. Some of them are extremely dense, therefore their porosity is minimal. Some other stones present a medium porosity, and others at the very end of the spectrum are extremely porous. A true stain is a discoloration of the stone produced by a staining agent that was actually absorbed by the stone. All those “stains” that look like “water spots” or “water rings” are actually marks of corrosion (etches) created by some chemically active liquid (mostly – but not necessarily limited to – acids) which had a chance to come in contact with the stone. The chemical will attack the stain inside the stone, and the absorbent agent will pull them both out together. As we said before, the chemical must be selected in accordance with the nature of the staining agent. Apply the poultice onto the stain, going approximately ½ over it all around, keeping it as thick as possible (at least ¼). Leave the whole thing alone for at least 24 hours, then remove the plastic wrap. Once the poultice is completely dry, scrape it off the surface of the stone with a plastic spatula, clean the area with a little squirt of stone safe spray cleaner, then wipe it dry with a clean rag or a sheet of paper-towel. That is, it leaves a mark of corrosion that looks like a water-stain or ring. Trying to remove the “stain” by poulticing it would be useless exercise, since it is not a stain, no matter what it looks like. In fact an etch mark can be effectively compared to, and defined as, a shallow chemical scratch. It would be like trying to remove a hole from a doughnut! You are actually facing a full-fledged, though small in size, stone restoration project! If it is polished marble or travertine or onyx, then there’s hope. If it’s a cleft-finished slate (rippled on its surface), then nobody can actually do anything about it, other than attempt to mask it by applying a good quality stone color enhancer. In such a case, first you remove the stain by poulticing (hydrogen peroxide), and then repair the etching by refinishing the surface. Use place mats under china, silver or other objects that can scratch the surface. This includes glass cleaners to clean mirrors over a marble vanity top or a liquid toilet bowl cleaner when the toilet sets on a marble floor. They will not offer protection to the surface of the stone, either. This will help prevent possible accidental spills of staining agents from being absorbed by the stone. With that said, however, keep in mind that a vast majority of stones marketed as granite are not true granite. Some may even develop problems related to the sealer, if sealed nonetheless. In these instances, once the sealer is professionally removed, everything is fine. The deriving (surface) damage has no relation whatsoever with the porosity of the stone (which determines its absorbency), but is exclusively related to its chemical makeup. For some stones that are more porous than others, one application of sealer/impregnator may not be enough. On mercantile granites that need sealing, at least two applications are recommended, with at least two hours in between applications. To find out if your stone is perfectly sealed, spill some water on it and wait for approximately half an hour, then wipe it dry. The fact is, however, that not all discolorations are stains. On the other hand, if bleach is spilled on that same fabric, a discoloration will occur, but it can hardly be defined as a stain because it is actually a permanent damage to the dye that originally made the color of the fabric. All other (less noble) stones are the composition of many crystals, either of the same mineral, or of different minerals bonded together. What this translates into is the fact that the absorbency of such types of stone is so marginal that (by all practical intents and purposes) can be considered irrelevant. Because of their inherent porosity, many stones will absorb liquids, and if such liquids are staining agents, a true stain will occur. Other “discolorations” have nothing to do with the porosity (absorbency) of the stone, but rather are a result of damage to the stone surface. Anybody with no experience whatsoever can make their own homemade poultice. Cover the poultice with plastic wrap, and tape it down using masking tape. If you decide to use a paper-towel instead of talc powder, make a “pillow” with it (8 or 10 fold thick) a little wider than the stain, soak it with the chemical to a point that’s wet through but not dripping, apply it on the stain and tap it with your gloved fingertips to insure full contact with the surface of the stone. A scratch is something missing (a groove), and nobody can remove something missing. Same thing with a scratch: you must actually remove whatever is around the groove, down to the depth of the deepest point of the scratch. If the etch is light (the depth is undetectable by the naked eye, and it looks and feels smooth, then a polishing compound for marble will work quite well without requiring the experience of a professional and no specific tools are needed, other than a piece of terry cloth. For example, if some red wine is spilled on an absorbent polished limestone, then the acidity of the wine (acetic acid) will etch (corrode) the surface on contact, while the dark color of the wine will stain the stone by being absorbed by it.

How To Refinish A Bathroom Vanity Naturally No VOCs by healthextremist.com

I could afford to redo my whole bathroom but, that can be very expensive. I thought that would really change the look of the bathroom to make it look modern. It can also be harmful for your health as the paint continues to off-gass releasing chemicals into the air for up to 5 years after it’s applied. I thought that would look great with the bright white counter top and floors. Most com mercial wood stains are oil based and are made of polyurethane. You can choose nearly any color and they can color match as well. I love the medium gray color that a lot of people use in new bathrooms and kitchens. Plus, it would contrast nice against my white counter top and floors. It would have been easier to just buy a new one, but they are so expensive. Put the new handles on the vanity doors and then put the doors back on the vanity. I can’t believe how great my bathroom looks now just from refinishing the vanity. The problem with refinishing bathroom vanities is that when you use wood stains or paint, it will leave your house smelling of harmful fumes. Polyurethane has a very strong odor and is very bad to breathe. The chemicals continue to off-gass in the air for years, which is why it’s so harmful to breathe. The hardest and most time consuming part was sanding the vanity. I got the great look of a new bathroom vanity by just refinishing the vanity for much less. Use a paint brush or roller to paint the vanity and all the doors. I waited about 2 hours before applying the second coat of paint. It will be great to have everything match and the bathroom will look more complete.

Twine: How To Update A 70’S Bathroom by twineinteriors.blogspot.com

You can also use water blaster to help you clean faster and easier! With multiple rooms to choose from, you are sure to find a plan that will fit your individual style. Keep up the wonderful work and if you want more info about this topic then visit here. And here is a cell phone picture of the new tile we put down for the floor…but you can see the beautiful linoleum we had before. And thank goodness there are countertop paints out there now! Is it standing up to th abused issued by kids and regular daily use? This remodel was not planned and took over a year, working on it all bit by bit. I never blogged about it because we never replaced the floor…it was hideous. What brand are they and are they tiles or the peel and stick kind? Your bathroom is sooo pretty with what you had to work with. I have awful bathroom countertops and would love a cheap fix. You can paint it on cultured marble like we did in the bathroom, or on laminate or on bare wood, which we did on both in our kitchen. It’s a long process and kinda a pain, but so worth it for a cheap upgrade! It actually momentarily made me feel happy seeing it there in your post!

One Carrara Marble Bathroom: Four Colours by mariakillam.com

When you have this much tile in a bathroom, it often looks the best when the wall colour simply relates to the existing colours or neutrals in the tile. I like that the taupe floor was repeated in the framed mirror above the sink and in the roman shade. And everyone says they had no idea they would get so much! The trim is presently a true white (not sure exactly shade). So how does one decide when to use a contrasting wainscoting and trim color and when to keep it all in the same color? The first picture with white doesn’t seem to have any windows and the room has all the charm of a hospital ward…haha! I do like black and white together (maybe white walls and black window trim, etc. The white looks like a true white and does not make the toilet look dirty. Wonder if they changed the paint colour during the paint job or if they updated at a later date during other renos. The watery blue looks terrific in the other bathroom photos but it is seems too bright for the hotel bath. It was the best way to take an earthy floor tile and make it work with blue grey marble. Looks a little less like a clean/dirty combination is happening. No one is ever on their phone because there is absolutely no time to be bored. Why is my course the most expensive course about colour in the industry? I see you saying how great the blue trim and wainscoting are in the above bathroom. I think white is harder to make work in a home than people think. I am just not a big fan of the white walls and blue trim here. I also like the way that the blue is repeated in all of the casings. Painting the walls white would change the feel too much to stark/cold. So, if the marble is bossy, is a predominant color, what if we take a step back and ask if this marble is the right choice to start with. But the funny thing is… the bathroom in my room was painted a grayish-white, kind of in-between your first two images.