The Second Studio Countertop Is Finished!
On Saturday, I finally tackled the project that I’ve been terrified to do and have put off for months now. I wasn’t scared of this project because it was difficult, or because it required skills that I thought were beyond my skill level. Nope, I was terrified because the last time I did this project, it absolutely destroyed my skin for months.
If you’ve been around for a while, you know that the project I’m talking about is the DIY countertop that I made out of laminate flooring. I don’t know why my skin reacted like it did to the dust created from cutting and sawing these laminate flooring boards, but it was awful. I shared more details here.
The countertop turned out great, though, and after doing the 20-foot countertop on the mural wall, I had just enough laminate flooring left to do the countertop in the office area of the studio. Here’s how the 20-foot countertop turned out…
So naturally, since the cabinets in both sections are the same, I wanted the countertops to be the same also. But I dreaded this project so much because of the fear that I’d get the dust on my skin again, and have to go through that misery again. All of my safety precautions seem to have worked, though. I haven’t had any pain or itching so far. I don’t feel like I have glass shards imbedded in my skin. So that’s good!
This countertop posed another little challenge. The countertop needed to extend 1.25 inches beyond the front of the cabinets, which meant that I had this very small return on each side.
In order to make the countertop as seamless as possible, the pieces attached to the front edge of the plywood needed to be mitered on the top edge, and the top pieces of laminate that sat against the front edge pieces also needed to be mitered to fit against the front edge pieces.
Note: I went into much greater detail about this project the first time I did it. You can see the step-by-step instructions here: Long DIY Countertop Made With Laminate Flooring.
This countertop was different from the first one in one small way. The other countertop sat between two walls perpendicular to the countertop wall, so the project was very straightforward. But because this countertop sits between two tall cabinets on either end, the plywood base for this countertop stuck out past the cabinets 3/4-inch. This means that I had to cut the ends of the top front pieces so that the front 1/2-inch would accommodate the mitered edge pieces that would wrap around that little corner, while the rest of the side edge of the front top pieces would fit inside the two cabinets.
I’ll admit that it took me a very long time to figure this out. Most of my time was spend trying to figure out an easier way to do this, but I finally realized that there was only one way to do it. The nerve-racking thing is that I didn’t have any boards to spare. I had just enough to cover this countertop with nothing to spare. So if I made a mistake, I’d be up a creek.
I managed to get it right. Using my table saw, I cut the front edge and one side at a 45-degree angle, and then went back with my table saw blade set at 90 degrees and cut off all but the front 1/2-inch of the mitered edge on the side of the board.
Here’s another look at the cuts from the bottom of the board…
And here’s the top view…
So with this top front board in place, you can see that the front 3/4-inch sticks out and wraps around the cabinet with a 45-degree mitered edge while the rest of the board hugs the cabinet.
You can see that my cuts left little tiny cracks between the countertop boards and the cabinets, so I used the same paint-and-caulk mixture to fill in those cracks, as well as the tiny cracks between the boards. I took one of the boards to Home Depot and had them color match one of the many colors in the laminate boards. I mixed it with the same DAP Alex Fast Dry caulk that I always use.
Here’s a better look at the crack before I filled it…
I just used my finger to smoosh the caulk/paint mixture into the cracks, and then wiped off the excess with a wet rag. Here’s what it looked like after. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close!
After finishing the countertop, I spend about 30 minutes prepping and re-cutting the trim for the window. I reused the trim that was on there previously, so I had lots of 16-gauge nails to pull out (and those things don’t want to come out!!), and then I had to recut the boards to fit the new height of the window, which was just a little bit shorter due to the height of the countertop. I still have a lot of finishing to do on the window trim. None of the window trim has been wood filed, sanded, caulked, or painted yet. But look at that pretty countertop!
I’m so pleased with how this turned out, and I’m thrilled to be done with it!
To cut the boards, I didn’t buy one of those bunny suits. Instead, I just decided to cover myself from under my eyes to my feet with layers of clothing. So the only areas that were not covered were my forehead and my hands. But someone left a comment saying that their allergist said to make sure to protect all of your membranes — eye drops in eyes, nasal spray in nose, lotion all over skin, etc. So before suiting up with layers of clothing, that’s exactly what I did. On the areas of my skin where I had such a bad reaction last time — face, neck, and chest — I coated my skin with castor oil, which is the thickest oil I had on hand.
So after coating myself with castor oil, layering up on clothing, making sure everything that could be covered was covered (except my hands and forehead), and turning on a very powerful fan to blow the dust away from me as I cut them, I got all the boards cut, and then immediately stripped down, put all of those clothes in a plastic bag, and took a cold shower. All of that effort seems to have worked. I did all of the cutting on Saturday, and today (Monday), I’m still not feeling any discomfort. So I’m hopeful that I got through this project unscathed.
And just check out the little returns on the corners. I’m really so proud of how those turned out.
And I think the countertop itself turned out beautifully!
So these cabinets are almost finished. I still need to finish up the window trim, order a shade for the window (now that I can take the measurements with the trim attached), cover the cracks between the cabinets and wall with some little trim and get that painted and clear coated, and then gold leaf and install the sconces. Oh, and the doors and drawers still need their pretty jewelry! I keep forgetting about those door and drawer pulls, but they’ll add the perfect finishing touch. It’s coming along!!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Nicely done…those returns look good! Such a tiny piece to cut accurately. Details matter.
It is beautiful! It’s wonderful you haven’t had a reaction like last time.
Kristi you did a great job, countertop looks perfect and best of all you didn’t injure yourself accomplishing this dreaded task.
👍
What a wonderful job…looking awesome! I’m sure you are so happy to get that done…and hopefully still unscathed! Things are really moving along…I bet you could put one day aside to move into all your new storage areas, and you will clear the floor, boxes of supplies, and most everything except for your little desk drawers. THAT alone will make your studio incredible. I know there are still lots of finishing touches you are planning, but they will go so much faster, and be more fun than this work, for sure! I think very soon we will see your list of last items to finish…and it won’t be TOO long! I love everything – the counters are perfect!
Kristi, you are a genius! Everything is beautiful. I love reading your posts.❤️
Awesome!! Love your skills!! ❤️
Always impressed with the details you give each project. Beautiful work!
Tell us more about the process of color matching caulk. Never knew that was possible.
Yes, how is that done? What is your paint-caulk ratio?
And is there a product that you can fill with the colored caulk so you can squeeze it out to get a thin bead?
See my comment below for the mixing process. As far as squeezing it in a thin bead, the only thing I can think of is using paint decorating bags and tips. I don’t decorate cakes, but I’m sure there’s a tip that will make a tiny bead like a caulk tube. If I needed to do a small bead of custom colored caulk, that’s what I’d try!
I did this the same way I cook. I don’t measure anything. I just start throwing things together until it looks, smells, and tastes right. So I didn’t exactly measure anything here, either. I just squeezed out a really big blog of white caulk, and then poured a little paint over it and mixed. I took in one of the boards to Home Depo and had them color match a dark color in the board, but I wish I would have gone darker. Just remember that the white caulk will lighten the paint color. I didn’t keep that in mind, so the caulk is a little lighter than what I’d like.
You are amazing!! What a beautiful job you did!!!love everything you did and the details!!!
What a gorgeous countertop!! This post is so timely as I am installing an IKEA laminate countertop right now. I’m going to try your caulk+paint trick for the cut laminate side that meets the wall. I taped the laminate when I made the cut but the edge is not smooth, this trick may be the perfect fix.
So glad that you didn’t get a reaction to the dust this time! I was nervous of the tiny dust particles coming from the laminate counter so I wore a mask and so far I’m good.
Thanks, as always, for you tutorials and blog!!
Good job!!!! You inspire us with your talent, knowledge, and dedication to completing the tasks!!!
Kristi,
How did you know, or come up with, the little returns on the corners? Was it because you wanted the countertop to come out an inch farther rather than it even with the cabinet fronts? This does look good. I like the way you have done this.
I wanted this countertop to extend past the drawers the same amount that the other countertop extended, so that necessitated the returns on the ends.
Oh, okay. Now I see. Thank you.
Really beautiful!
So beautiful!
You have a gift that I don’t have and have often wished I would be able to do things like that! Painting yes, never hired a painter! Saving us a lot of money.
You do such beautiful work! I’m getting so excited for the finished room! So happy for you to not have to go through that pain again. Have a wonderful week.
Just a wonderful job…..as usual!! I’m so impressed with your skills.
You are a super woman. You did a fantastic job on the counter top. Just a few more hours or days, and you will be finished. It looks so pretty. I just can’t believe one small woman did all that wonderful work by herself. You are so talented.
What are you going to do next?
Kristi. You’ve certainly got this!
Oh my gosh, it looks so dang good. I love the colors so so much, the pictures are stunning!! Counters look great, I’m so glad you didn’t have the skin problems again!
In case you are ever cutting laminate again there is a great tool (less than $200 to buy or it can be rented) that cuts the planks effortlessly with no sawdust. It is designed specificly to cut laminat. It reminds me of those big paper slicers with the big handle to pull down. You just set in the board and pull the lever and it snaps cleanly with no sawdust at all. Much quicker than a saw as well. I guess I missed your post about your first counter or I would have mentioned it then to save you all the trouble this time.
It all looks terrific and I so envy you that studio.
That’s impressive! No one would guess that it’s laminate flooring. Really excellent, cost effective solution.
The way you fashioned that front countertop board is sheer perfection! You did such a great job! I am mightily impressed with you and amazed at your skill. Way to go!
Really impressive work on the countertop!! And so happy to hear no allergic reactions this time. The area turned out beautifully!!