The kitchen in an apartment or house is rightfully considered the embodiment of family hearth and comfort. But how much will this room sparkle with other colors if you add a hand-made touch to its design. An excellent solution for implementing this idea would be a self-made countertop.
The dining table in the kitchen involuntarily attracts the eye, so it must be beautiful in appearance and fit into the interior, but we should not forget about such qualities as strength and reliability.
Of course, the range of modern furniture stores is very wide and varied. You can choose a tabletop to suit almost every taste, however, not to suit every budget.
To save a lot of money and also make your kitchen original, you can try making a kitchen countertop with your own hands.
Preparing for work
Before you begin manufacturing the product, you must prepare all the necessary tools and materials. When everything you might need is at hand, your work will become much more productive, rational and you can save a lot of time. To do this, first of all, you should decide on the type of product that will soon appear in the kitchen.
Ergonomic countertop for the kitchen (+ photo examples)
No matter how much time you spend in the kitchen, its arrangement is very important. Here are examples of interiors in the photo, where the tabletop is chosen correctly.
Professional designers of the Decorin project offer a simple test. Bend your arm over the work surface. There should be about 13 cm between your elbow and the tabletop, otherwise you will get tired. This way you will find out what height the lower cabinets of the kitchen set should be.
The standard tabletop width is 60 cm. It’s up to you to make it wider or narrower.
The key to productive work and good health is a properly organized workplace. Inconveniences can only be tolerated for a very limited period of time. In the future, they will lead to irritability and problems with the spine.
What types of countertops are there?
There are quite a lot of materials for making a table. To decide, first of all you should take into account the interior and design of the kitchen as a whole, and also do not forget that the surface must be resistant to damage, temperature changes and mechanical stress.
With a successful combination of all these nuances, a hand-made tabletop will last a long time, while maintaining a presentable appearance.
It is worth noting several of the most popular materials for making countertops:
- tree;
- concrete;
- chipboard;
- MDF;
- ceramic tile;
- natural or artificial stone.
A fairly common option is a tile countertop. The choice of ceramics is very large and you can choose absolutely any design.
A countertop made of artificial stone will also fit beautifully and unusually into any room. This option is more economical than using natural stone. But at the same time it is distinguished by its environmental friendliness and durability.
Kitchen countertop - win-win combinations
The kitchen countertop can be in different colors. Usually it matches the color of the apron and presents kitchen facades in a favorable light.
How about a black countertop? (with photos of kitchens)
A kitchen with a black countertop is elegant. It is better to choose a set of lower cabinets in a contrasting solution. These can be light shades:
- beige;
- brown;
- gray;
- yellow;
- lilac;
- or blue.
White high-tech and minimalist kitchens with a black countertop installed look very respectable and expensive. Classic headsets in this color design look no less interesting.
White countertop in a white kitchen
How do you like these kitchens? The white tabletop seems to dissolve against a snow-white background, visually sweeping away the boundaries of space and making the space somehow unreal. This design solution is the best option for small rooms with insufficient natural light.
Small bright splashes can be used as accents. Take your favorite color and dilute the sterility of the white kitchen with it. These can be contrasting shades of napkins, flower pots, dishes, towels, and kitchen appliances. But don’t be overzealous - there should be no more than 5% bright spots, otherwise the interior will look tasteless.
How does a wooden countertop look in a white kitchen?
A white kitchen is an excellent solution for a Scandinavian-style interior. Take a look at these photos of sets with a wooden tabletop.
The interior is light, airy and at the same time warm and cozy at home. You want to be here, no matter why: cook, dine, or just chat.
The tabletop material does not have to be natural wood. You can choose an option from chipboard. In appearance it will be no worse, but in price - much more economical. With proper care, this countertop will last a long time and maintain a presentable appearance. The main thing is to remove dirt in a timely manner. This can be done using non-abrasive detergents.
Kitchen design with gray countertop
Monochrome gray kitchens are not boring. On the contrary, today it is a trend. A gray countertop in this case will be a logical finishing touch. Here, for example, is this design.
As you can see, the gray palette is rich and varied. There are a lot of interesting shades that look modern and stylish. At the same time, a special atmosphere of calm and regularity of life is created in the kitchen. Kitchens decorated in an industrial style look good in this color scheme.
Due to its neutrality, gray easily “gets along” with other unexpected colors. How do you like this interior?
Concrete countertop
This product is distinguished by its monumentality and durability. Knowing how to make a concrete countertop with your own hands, you can get a strong, durable and reliable kitchen table.
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First of all, you need to take care of a strong frame, since such a tabletop is quite heavy. You will need a high-quality wooden beam 50*40 or 50*50, as well as even boards for formwork.
The beams must be cut into fragments of the required length, taking into account the height of the future product. Using metal corners, vertical posts are attached to the floor. The racks adjacent to the walls are fixed with anchor dowels.
Decoupage
A huge advantage of decoupage is that it does not limit your imagination and allows you to change the tabletop beyond recognition, with little effort. An
old tabletop at a table can be changed beyond recognition if you approach the matter creatively. You can make a creative thing with your own hands if you use the decoupage technique. Decorating the surface of a table using this technique does not require any special skills or abilities - anyone can do this work with a minimum of tools.
For work you will need:
- PVA glue;
- Pictures;
- furniture varnish.
To decorate your table, you can purchase ready-made pictures for decoupage, sold in any craft store. But motifs cut out from paper napkins or pictures from magazines and books are quite suitable.
You can design a drawing on a computer and print it out - this way you can see the whole picture in advance and decide on the drawing before starting work.
Stages of work:
- Before work, thoroughly wash the old countertop and treat it with any degreasing agent - a swab moistened with alcohol will do;
- Dilute the glue in a ratio of 1:1;
- Moisten the selected motifs with it and glue them to the tabletop. The composition is created based on your taste, the main thing is not to overdo it with the number of motifs, otherwise the tabletop will look tacky.
- Carefully straighten the glued pictures - there should be no bubbles under them;
- Wait until the tabletop is completely dry;
- Cover the dried surface with varnish;
- Wait for the varnish layer to dry and apply a second coat;
- To prevent new decorations from being erased from the tabletop during wet cleaning, repeat the varnishing operation 3-4 times. For ease of use, the varnish can be purchased in aerosol packaging.
This hand-made table design will be in a single copy. This will make the interior design unique and memorable.
Important : using the decoupage technique, you cannot decorate the surface of the working area, as it is subject to intensive use and is often washed with chemicals. Design using decoupage technique is suitable for dining tables, table tops and window sills.
We also recommend watching the video instructions:
Formwork
After installing the diagonal braces and horizontal lintels, you can begin assembling the formwork and base for the table.
It must be remembered that after pouring the concrete solution, the formwork will need to be removed, so it should be made taking into account the fact that the canvas must remain intact. For the same purpose, you can cover it with polyethylene, which will also prevent concrete leaks onto the floor.
Countertop finishing
Although this process is final, it does not become less important. The appearance of the table directly determines how it fits into the interior.
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Preparation of material
Epoxy resin can be combined with various materials, since there are no special requirements for their physical properties. Only the use of powdery and liquid substances that can form suspensions is not allowed. Usually the tabletop is decorated with wood, metal or plastic. A kitchen countertop should not only be beautiful, but also environmentally friendly, so wood is the most suitable option.
Not everyone can choose the right wood. If the step-by-step instructions determine the sequence of actions, starting with the preparation of the epoxy mixture, then the preparatory work, as a rule, is rarely considered. However, this stage should be given due attention.
It is necessary to understand that a bright wood pattern with a clearly defined outline of the fibers will look more interesting under a layer of transparent resin.
At the same time, the wood must be dry, since moisture will form small bubbles in the area of contact with the epoxy, which will significantly affect the appearance of the design. The ideal option is a slab, which is a longitudinal cut of a tree trunk of arbitrary thickness. To preserve the natural picture, the saw cut is not processed or trimmed. The presence of bark or knots will only add originality to the picture.
Insufficiently dried wood will inevitably lead to cracking of the tabletop or its unpredictable warping in the future.
After selecting the wood, you need to plan how it will be laid out inside the future slab. One option is to imitate a river. To do this, two boards are laid at the base, and a space is left between them, which will subsequently be filled with tinted resin. The planks are adjusted to each other or laid on the slab in a chaotic manner. Interesting options are obtained by using round dies formed by cross-cutting the trunk. If desired, the boards can be polished, trimmed and compared edges, and made into shapes using a router. In this regard, there are no clear instructions, because everything depends on capabilities and imagination.
The next step is very important. Wooden elements need to be treated. If the boards are processed, they should be sanded and dust particles should be thoroughly swept away. But in the case when the bark is left, its integrity will have to be ensured. Pay attention to the condition of knots and wormholes. Pieces of wood that have begun to rot should be removed immediately. The relief is cleaned with a brush.
Expert opinion
Oleg Vasiliev
Master of making furniture and interior items from epoxy resin. She creates unique items to order in her own production.
Ask a question to the master
You cannot do without a sufficiently powerful vacuum cleaner or blowing with compressed air. Tree bark itself is a rather fragile and non-solid material. At the same time, it is very porous and when left on a slab as a decorative element, it almost completely has to be impregnated with epoxy resin. Otherwise, cracking from the main mass is inevitable.
Treatment with stain helps to emphasize the design. The fiber structure becomes more contrasting. As an option, burning wood with a blowtorch is considered. To prevent remaining small particles of chips and dust from getting into the resin, each element is coated with a layer of primer. In order to save material, it is permissible to prime with a thin layer of epoxy resin, but you need to prepare just enough of it to cover all the elements. It is still too early to prepare the main composition.
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If there is a complex terrain, you will have to do some more preparatory work. All cavities, pores and irregularities are filled with liquid resin. The filling areas are heated to allow air to escape from the cavities. If this procedure is neglected, then when pouring the base layer, an air bubble may form, and getting rid of it will be much more difficult.
After the cavities are filled, the surface is sanded again and the element is coated with a thin layer of resin. Any additional manipulation increases the production time by several hours. Manufacturing requires planning according to your schedule, as it may take several weeks for one countertop.
Epoxy countertop
If the main thing when choosing a material for making a table is such qualities as uniqueness and inimitability, then an epoxy tabletop will be an excellent solution; making it with your own hands is not as difficult as it might initially seem. This material is incredibly easy to use, and also has an affordable price and functionality.
An epoxy countertop will be an incredibly durable product that is not susceptible to chips, scratches and other damage.
Moreover, the resin can be used as a coating for a ready-made countertop made of stone, wood or other material, or as an independent base.
Having considered many options, assessing the pros and cons, it becomes much easier to choose the material for the manufacture of the future product.
Knowing how to install a countertop with your own hands, you can not only save money, but also purchase an unusual, extraordinary and completely individual piece of furniture that will last for years.
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Types of epoxy resin worktops KER 828
1. A tabletop made without a supporting surface.
Or so they call countertops that are made entirely of epoxy resin. That is, we do not pour the resin onto any support - a piece of wood, an old table, etc., but pour the resin directly into the mold. Thus, our finished product will be a monolith of hardened epoxy resin.
2. Table top made with a supporting surface.
In this case, resin is poured onto an already prepared surface - chipboard, an old table, furniture, a piece of timber, etc. In pursuit of interesting ideas, many craftsmen pour entire dioramas, creating interesting conceptual products. Ready-made countertops of this format look very lively and interesting.
3. Combined type of tabletop.
Another interesting type of filling countertops with epoxy resin. As a rule, it is used when the base, which is filled with resin, is not a whole product, but is significantly supplemented with epoxy raw materials, creating bizarre shapes. For example, this is what a tabletop may look like, the monolith of which is enclosed in a wooden beam or the like.
