Mimi Sue's Cottage

A home is much more than a house built of lumber, brick, or stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. We are responsible for the homes we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage. There will be calm and wind, sunlight and shadows, joy and sorrow. But if we really try, our home can be a bit of heaven here on earth. Thomas S Monson







Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Countertops on the Cheap

I love a lot of things about my house but one of the things I love the most is my pantry. It's like a walk in closet for the kitchen. It has lots of storage and I wanted a place where I could plug things in and leave them plugged in like the food processor. It's so much more convenient when you need to use it. Our kitchen countertop is Corian. I love it but it was a little pricey so the mister came up with something, well, cheaper. First he cut a sheet of melamine that he found in the cull wood at Home Depot to fit the top of the cabinets. Then he took a dollar store vinyl tablecloth, wrapped it around the melamine, and stapled it.
I used this for the past two years. It cleaned up well, it was bright and cheery. We got a lot of compliments on that countertop. It was a dollar store tablecloth and it started to get a little ratty looking so I found something a little higher end... some oil cloth.

We wrapped and stapled and voila!

A new countertop. It looks a lot better with our new floor too.

I think the whole project probably cost us $35.00. The most expensive part was the oil cloth. I like it so much I think I'll be doing something similar in our laundry room.



32 comments:

Angie said...

Sooooo cute! I am jealous of that great walk in pantry and adorable checked floor!

GRAMS said...

Very cute. I wish I had a walk in closet in my kitchen or my bedroom for that matter.

Nanette Merrill said...

It really is so cute. I do this with our big 12 foot kitchen table. Except I can't use oil cloth because it isn't wide enough. I have to use thick vinyl/faux leather. It works out so well though. We use those upholstery round decorative nail things and my table is oval so it really is fairly easy to do. I get a new one every year or so. I have a red one on my table now. It is perfect.

Lewaina@cliffsideranch said...

I LOVE IT! WHAT A GREAT IDEA! ....maybe if my wheat grinder was out and plugged in I would use it more.....but then again, I don't use my Bosh nearly enough and it's always out and plugged in! LOL
What a cheerful place Mimi's cottage must be!
Enjoy your day.
Mercy

Julie Harward said...

You guys are awesome...to dare to do that and I love it!!! what a great idea for this kind of place..it looks so good and it would be fun to change every now and then! Come say hi :D

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

That turned out great! I love the way it looks with your flooring.
Penny

Lisa said...

Mimi~you're a brilliant woman. Red polka dots is one of my favorites. I love how you surround yourself with happy things. A woman after my own heart.

Brenda said...

I LOVE it--so charming and fun! I'm a fan of red and white polka dots! What a great idea!

Nola said...

That is PERFECT! It just screams cottage; not only is it beautiful, it's thrifty, too. Pat hubby on the back, he did a good job.

Gayle said...

Did you get your oilcloth at Wimpole Street? They always have such cute ones to choose from and the price is right! Looks adorable!

Kathleen Grace said...

Oh my goodness I LOVE IT! The pantry and the oilcloth countertop. I need to look around and see where I can use this idea!

Susan said...

I love the oil cloth counter top......who woulda thunk?

★Carol★ said...

I love your pantry, and what a great idea for the countertop! I wish I had a pantry, but we live in a very old house with no closets, and no pantry!

Just a bed of roses said...

Leave it up to you!

Kelee said...

Great idea Mimi Sue! Why the heck not????????

Excellent thinking outside of the box...and give Mister a kiss for me! He did well!

love, kelee katillac

cherry said...

I love it...it is bright cheerful and oh so cottage! Cherry

Robin Johnson said...

What a fantastic idea. Love it. It looks great in your room and of course I love the colors (my favorite combo: red and white)

Simple Home said...

What a great idea, and it looks so nice. I'd love to have a walk-in pantry. Thanks so much for the kind comment you left on my anniversary post. I'm so glad to hear of the miracles in your life too!
Blessings,
Marcia

Anne Fannie said...

I love it! So bright and cheery!

Ann

Donna said...

I love it, Mimi! It looks great, and a great idea too.

Diane's Photography said...

I love this look, I would have never thought of that myself. It's great, cheery and fun! I love friends that are more creative than me so I can copy their creativity haahaa...love it Sue!

The Cottage Look said...

WOW! What a great idea. It will work perfectly in any room in the house. A great idea for a changing table in the nursery or how about a gardening spot?

You can use this idea in any room where clean-up needs to be fast and furious.

Thanks for the inovative idea, I can't wait for more.

Unknown said...

Hi Mimi Sue - Red counter top and floor - EAK what a treasure! I wanted to let you know that I have posted information about our summer tag swap and have added your name as mentioned by Joyce. If you are still interested, please let me know. We are so happy to have you join us! Have a lovely weekend ahead. Elizabeth

Ginger said...

I love your walk in pantry. That is great that you can leave things out and plugged in. So much more convenient. What a great idea for a countertop!!! The pattern looks perfect with your floor.
You asked if you could see my house from the freeway. No you can't. I can see the freeway from my back pasture though. I guess because of the cars moving. We are about a mile and a half from the #62 exit.

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

That's so funny, as I was reading I was thinking oilcloth would be good and there you go! SO CUTE!

Love it with the cute floor!

Manuela

cindy-stitches-n-stuff.blogspot.com said...

You are so dang clever Mimi. Love your counter top. I love every thing you do. How is you Family Room working out?

come visit
cindy@stitches

Christie Bryant said...

This is amazing! I love your floors too! So, so envious!

Carey said...

I love this idea and my favorite color. I may have use this idea.
Hugs,
Carey

The Gathering Place said...

How fun to have a walk in pantry! I love the idea of using the oil cloth, too. Thanks for sharing!
JoAnn

Maryjane-The Beehive Cottage said...

LOVE what you are doing! I must get some oil cloth to! Great idea!

Lallee said...

The mister's idea will now be copied from coast to coast. I love it!

Elyse said...

hi mimi,

first-time visit. the oil cloth looks great!

xo
elyse