Are the Ugly Countertops in Your Rental Bringing You Down? Here’s How to Inexpensively Refresh Them

Please scroll to the bottom for my 05/08/2024 update!

Last fall I made a list of projects to keep me busy throughout the winter—one of which was redoing my kitchen countertops. My current countertops are 28 years old, and they look every bit their age. Because they are white and worn, they are stained and scuffed. And while I am way overdue for new countertops, it’s not going to happen because I am a renter.

Because I am stuck with my ugly, dated countertops, I have to be resourceful. So, way back in 2016, I was racking my brain for a solution to this problem, and it suddenly came to me: self-adhesive paper. After a quick google search, I found a blogger who, indeed, had successfully covered her countertop with self-adhesive paper. Hot diggity dog! I was gonna get new counters!

After a lot of trial & error—mostly error—I successfully resurfaced my ugly countertops with self-adhesive paper. While I had to patch little spots here & there, that initial application lasted four years. The paper stood up wonderfully to wipe-downs and soapy water. I will say that the paper is susceptible to staining, so beware when using ingredients such as turmeric. I was also extremely careful not to set anything hot on the paper, nor did I allow any cutting directly on the counter. But these are things you shouldn’t do on any countertop surface, right?

In 2020, I redid my counters for the second time. That second application went much smoother because I had learned a thing or two. Today, as I am preparing to rewrap my counters for a third time, I thought I’d share a few tips with you.

Necessary & Recommended Supplies

First of all, in order to resurface your countertops, you will need the following: self-adhesive paper [it’s a good idea to get some extra], a measuring tape, Windex, a snap-off utility knife, and a flexible smoothing tool. I would also recommend a straight edge, tape, and some paper towels or cloths. The nice thing is that most of these are common household items.

Self-adhesive paper: The only brand of self-adhesive paper I’ve ever used on my counters is Duck EasyLiner brand, and this time I’m using Con-Tact Creative Covering brand. While these companies offer limited patterns, I have used both brands enough times in the past to know that 1) they will adhere properly, and 2) they can be easily removed without causing damage or leaving adhesive residue.

While d-c-fix offers a nice, inexpensive selection of patterns—such as butcher block and grey marble—I was afraid to try their self-adhesive paper because I had zero prior experience with it. I was so tempted to buy their butcher block print, but I do not want to run the risk of mucking up the countertops in my rental. My suggestion to you is read all of the reviews and use your best judgment.

Measuring tape: Not much to say about this. Just make sure your tape is long enough to measure the length of your longest stretch of countertop. I know that seems obvious, but sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees—well, at least I occasionally have that problem.

Windex: I have only used name brand Windex. I do not know if the off brands performs the same. It seems like they should, but I have never tried it. Again, use your best judgment.

Snap-off utility knife: If you don’t already own one, you can pick one up at Dollar Tree for $1.25. Regardless of what type of knife you use, make sure that its blade is clean and razor sharp.

Flexible smoothing tool: You’ll want something flexible—either a wallpaper smoothing tool or a bowl scraper—to help you work out the bubbles underneath your self-adhesive paper.

Some will tell you that you can also use a hairdryer on bubbles. I was curious and tested it out on a bubble. It just created more bubbles! So, Jen does not recommend this approach.

Straight edge: Some type of straight edge is recommended for guiding your cuts.

Tape: Having a roll of fairly strong tape is recommended to help separate the adhesive paper from its backing. In the past, I have used both Scotch tape and packing tape. Try whatever type of tape you have at home and see if it works.

Paper towels/cloths/rags: You will want to grab something clean & dry with which you can wipe up excess Windex.

In case you’re interested, for my tutorial I am using Con-Tact Brand Creative Covering self-adhesive paper in “Granite Rose.” See the “Notes” section further down for my remarks about Con-Tact brand.

Tips

1. If you can wrangle another person into helping you, do it! It’s helpful to have an extra set of hands when handling long sheets of the self-adhesive paper.

2. You need to ensure that your counters are clean and dry. I recommend cleaning them with Dawn dish soap diluted in hot water because it’s great for cleaning grease. Do not forget your counter edges, backsplash, and the crevices around your sink!

3. You’ll want to have a longish, elevated surface—like a decent sized table, or a free countertop—on which you can measure and cut the self-adhesive paper. Just make sure to protect the surface on which you’re cutting! Use a large cutting board or even a piece of cardboard underneath the paper.

4. I don’t know about you, but I can’t cut in a straight line with scissors. So when it comes to cutting the self-adhesive paper to length, I’ve found it helps if you use a utility knife with a brand new blade. Also, have a straight edge of some sort to help guide your cuts—like a T-square, yard stick, or level. This way you can get nice, straight cuts. [If you don’t have any of these items I mentioned, get creative and think about household objects. Do you possess anything with a straight edge—a large cutting board, or, heck, maybe even a half sheet pan flipped upside down—or a large, hardcover book?]

5. When measuring your paper, make sure you allow a couple inches of overlap on your edges. You can easily trim the excess later.

6. Once you’ve measured & cut your paper, spray the area you wish to cover with Windex. Don’t be afraid! I know it seems counterintuitive, but don’t worry, once it dries, it will stick! The Windex makes positioning your paper a breeze. Trust me, you don’t want to skip this step!

7. To easily peel the adhesive paper from the backing, 1) apply a piece of tape (such as packing tape or Scotch tape) at the corner of the backing, and 2) apply a second piece of tape to the same corner, but this time place it on the adhesive paper. Yes, the two pieces of tape will sort of be sticking together. Now carefully pull the two pieces of tape apart. Doing so will pull the backing away from the adhesive paper. However, before trying to remove the backing, read the next tip! Oh! And make sure to remove the pieces of tape before proceeding!

8. In order to easily remove the backing, tape three corners of your paper to whichever surface you used to cut your paper to length:

Next, starting with the corner that isn’t taped, carefully separate the backing from the paper like I showed you:

Now, remove the tape from the opposite corner, and carefully peel the backing away from the paper:

Now that the backing has been removed from both corners, you can easily pull the rest of it off. Just do it slowly & carefully, and you’ll be good to go.

9. Be very careful when handling the paper once the backing has been removed! If the sticky parts adhere to one another, it’s impossible to get them back apart! This is why I strongly recommend having a helper and that you buy extra self-adhesive paper.

10. Once you lay the self-adhesive paper on the countertop, the Windex allows you to easily slide it around to perfectly position it.

I recommend laying your first sheet at the back of the counter. If you have a backsplash, you’ll first apply your paper to that so it’s flush with the wall. Here are some ugly graphics to show you how:

11. I, personally, don’t wrap the corners on my counters; the curved backsplash on my counters prevent that. Understandably, you may want or need to do so. Here is an excellent tutorial on doing corners.

12. Once you’ve worked out all of the bubbles, wiped up the excess Windex, and wrapped your corners, you can now carefully trim off the excess paper from the edges. Use the counter as a guide. Again, your blade needs to be razor sharp!

13. Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed your first piece of self-adhesive paper! I hope it hasn’t involved too much swearing. Now stand back and admire your hard work before moving on to the next sheet.

Notes

I’m a bit dismayed about the quality of this Con-Tact brand paper. As you can see below, there is a stripe where the two sheets overlap because this paper is on the thinner side. In the past, I have exclusively used Duck brand and not had this problem. However, I’ll gladly take some stripes over the original white countertop.

Look at the picture below on the left, which was taken right after I finished applying the paper. Notice how the paper is not adhering to the edge of the counter. This is totally normal and to be expected. The picture on the right was taken just a few hours later, and you can see that it is finally adhering properly.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Before & After

Now, if only I could do something about the ugly cabinets…

UPDATE: 05/08/2024

As I stated above, for this project, I used Con-Tact Creative Covering. It was my first time using this product on my countertops. The past two times, I have used Duck EasyLiner, which held up beautifully for four years—both times! However, I cannot say the same for the Con-Tact Creative Covering.

Within less than two months, the Con-Tact Creative Covering is already coming up from the corners and has ripped on the counter edges in some places [please see photos below]. This is on top of the thinness of the paper I mentioned above in the “Notes” section.

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for longevity & durability, I cannot recommend using Con-Tact Creative Covering to cover your countertops.