Instead of Replacing Her Laminate Countertops, She Covered the Existing Surface
The beige laminate covered a large part of Brittney Smart’s kitchen, running around the sink and stove before extending into a wide peninsula with a rounded edge and seating for several stools. The layout still worked and the counters remained intact, so replacing them would have meant tearing out something functional just to change the scratched, dated finish.
Instead, Brittney Smart used the laminate as a base, sanding it before applying Ardex Feather Finish over the top. The concrete underlayment went on in thin coats across the flat sections and curved edges, allowing her to keep the peninsula, sink opening, countertop thickness, and original footprint rather than installing a new slab.
Several coats, rounds of sanding, and two sealers turned the speckled beige laminate into a gray-brown counter with visible trowel marks and tonal variation. The finished kitchen looks as though the countertops were replaced, even though the original laminate never came out.
Beige laminate covered the counters and peninsula
The original countertop runs from the double-basin sink across the kitchen and forms a broad peninsula with stool seating. Beige speckled laminate sits above gray base cabinets, while white uppers and appliances surround a brown tile backsplash with a dark decorative border.
Keeping the countertop meant keeping its useful parts too. The large work surface, rounded peninsula, sink opening, overhang, and existing footprint could stay while Smart focused on the worn laminate surface.
Silicone around the sink had to come out
Preparation around the stainless-steel sink required more than cleaning. Smart removed silicone because Ardex would not adhere to it, along with loose material that could interfere with the new coating.
Scratches in the laminate could remain because subsequent coats would cover them. Grease and residue could not, since the new material needed direct contact with the prepared counter.
Sanding removes the slick laminate finish
Smart used an orbital sander with 60- or 80-grit sandpaper across the existing laminate. The coarse grit scratches the smooth surface and creates enough texture for the Ardex to grip.
The image also shows why the peninsula could be resurfaced without changing its construction. Sanding reaches across the flat top and around the curved front edge, leaving the original counter profile intact.
Ardex Feather Finish is mixed in small batches
Ardex Feather Finish begins as a dry powder mixed with water. Smart followed a starting ratio of two parts powder to one part water, adjusting the amount while keeping the proportions consistent from batch to batch.
The mixture needs enough body to stay on a putty knife or trowel. Small batches also make sense because the material begins to set once water is added, limiting how much countertop can be covered at once.
Thin coats build over the laminate
The first coats reveal the hand-applied nature of the finish. Trowel marks, overlaps, and tonal differences remain visible while the Ardex dries, rather than producing a uniform surface in one pass.
Smart notes that adding water to sections as they begin to dry can change the final color. Keeping the mixture consistent helps control those shifts, while sanding between coats removes ridges that do not belong in the finished surface.
Ardex is worked right up to the existing backsplash
The coating extends across the counter to the base of the existing tile backsplash. Ardex is worked into the narrow joint along the wall, while the brown tile and grout remain in place.
At this stage, the surface still shows trowel marks, ridges, and small rough areas. Those imperfections are addressed as more thin coats are added and the surface is sanded between applications. Smart recommends three or four coats before the final sanding and sealing
Hand sanding refines the rounded peninsula
The curved front edge needs more control than the broad countertop surface. Smart wraps sandpaper around a block and works along the radius, removing rough areas while retaining the existing rounded profile.
After the final Ardex coat, she moves to 220-grit sandpaper for a finer finish. Sanding also exposes the variation created by each trowel pass, which remains visible after sealing rather than disappearing beneath an opaque topcoat.
511 Impregnator Sealer protects the new surface
Once the Ardex is dry and sanded, Smart brushes 511 Impregnator Sealer across the countertop. Concrete-based finishes are porous, so this step limits moisture and stain absorption before the kitchen goes back into use.
She applies two coats with 24 hours between them. Safecoat Acrylacq follows as a protective topcoat against scratches and chips, with fine sanding used between coats.
Sealer brings out the variation across the counter
Once sealed, the peninsula takes on a deeper gray-brown tone. Broad trowel strokes remain visible across the surface, creating darker and lighter patches rather than the repeated speckled pattern of the former laminate.
The curved edge now carries the same finish as the top, which helps disguise the fact that the countertop underneath has not changed. Gray cabinets remain below it, while the wood floor and brown backsplash stay untouched.
Original countertop shape remains easy to recognize
From across the kitchen, the peninsula has the same footprint, thickness, rounded end, and seating overhang seen in the first image. What changes is the exposed surface, now marked by overlapping hand-troweled movement instead of small laminate flecks.
The final coating also extends across the counter beside the stove and against the existing backsplash. No new slab seams or replacement edges were introduced because the original countertop served as the base.
Laminate is still underneath the finished surface
The completed counter has a sealed sheen that catches light across the peninsula while leaving the Ardex texture visible beneath it. The effect reaches across the curved front edge, around the stove, and through the rest of the existing countertop run.
What looks like a different countertop is still the beige laminate shown at the beginning, now buried beneath the prepared, coated, sanded, and sealed surface. For a kitchen where the countertop shape still works, Smart’s project shows how much can change without removing it.