Installing a new countertop doesn’t have to break the bank, especially when you can build one in one weekend. Making your countertops and tables is a fun, easy, and affordable way to breathe new life into your home and give it a bit of your funky personality. Depending on the type of aesthetic you want to bring to the table, you can choose from various materials, designs, and colors to build your countertop. Endless options exist if you’re looking for anything from glow-in-the-dark epoxy to classic ceramic tiles.
The Butcher Block Countertop
This countertop is a classic DIY project you can complete in one afternoon. Simply use hardwood pieces glued together. Cut the wood to a consistent thickness, glue it into several sections, and then glue the final sections together. Even out the tabletop and round it to give it a finished look.
Live Edge Maple Slab
The live edge slab is a piece of cured wood that will give your home a rustic, natural feel. These raw wood edges look great in a farmhouse-style home. Because the slab might not be symmetrical, it is an excellent option if you want something unique to tie into your home and make it feel like a cabin.
Ocean-Inspired Epoxy
If you feel inspired by looking at the ocean, you can make ocean-inspired epoxy. This is a great way to use a combination of blues and greens. You can also use different colors to make the countertop look like ocean waves, with different hues of blues. Add subtle shades of yellow and brown to add a bit of sandy shore.
Reclaimed Bamboo Wood
Build a countertop from reclaimed bamboo wood from old pallets or furniture in your basement or thrift store for an eco-friendly, traditional design. Bamboo countertops are also incredibly durable, so they’re a good option if you want something lasting for years. You’ll press the bamboo together using a non-toxic adhesive.
Go Colorful With a Painted Wood Countertop
This is a fun DIY project you can do with your kids. Try using wood like cherry or hickory trees and painting it with bold colors and patterns. There are no limits to creativity here! This is a unique way to incorporate your and your family’s personality into the countertop. You can turn it into a table for the kids or a living room.
Poured Concrete
This is a fun project that uses custom-built mold and concrete. These versatile and durable countertops look great in a bathroom or kitchen. You’ll want to sand it to finish it, and once you remove it from the mold, put it on display! This sleek aesthetic goes well in homes with a minimalist design.
Glow in the Dark Galaxy Epoxy
Using epoxy to make your countertop is an excellent way to get creative. For a cosmic effect that’s out of this world, add metallic, glow-in-the-dark pigments to your countertop. You can use microbeads to make the background look like planets and stars, plus comets shooting across the sky. Utilize dark hues of blues, purples, and blacks.
Marble Epoxy
There’s nothing classier than a marble countertop. You can easily mimic the look of marble using epoxy resin and pigments without going out and buying a marble countertop. All you have to do is level the surface and apply the epoxy in different layers. This creates a marble effect that looks great in bathrooms and kitchens.
Travertine Limestone
Use a creamy beige limestone countertop to introduce warmer, softer tones into your space. You’ll get that natural stone, modern, sleek look with travertine. This is an excellent stone to use if you have an unusually shaped space or countertop in your home. Travertine is easy to cut into nearly any shape, so that you can get pretty quirky!
Transparent Epoxy with Inlays
Using a clear resin, embed different objects like stones and seashells to create a transparent epoxy with inlays. If rooms in your homes have specific themes, like the seaside or bohemian theme, you can embed them with different objects. You could even use this for flooring, as pictured here, in your kitchen or bathroom.
Colorful Abstract Epoxy
You can experiment with colorful abstract epoxy if you love bold, beautiful designs. Here, you have complete, creative leeway with design and shape. Start with one uniform color, then add more to different countertop areas. Remember, you can use negative space to form the design.
Classic Ceramic Tiles
For a timeless, modern, sleek countertop, use classic ceramic tiles. These are easy to clean and an excellent option to prevent stains and spills. You’ll measure and prepare the tiles, cut them, apply adhesive, and set them. Apply grout between the tiles and let them sit for 24 hours to ensure they are in place.
Mosaic Tiles
Build a DIY countertop using mosaic tiles for a creative and colorful statement piece to bring a little bit of Morocco into your home. You can use different patterned tiles and bright colors to give your space a statement piece. Alternatively, you can use minimalistic mosaic tiles. These will add definition, texture, and personality to your space.
Hexagonal Shaped Tiles
For a trendy, geometric countertop that defies the norm, build a backsplash, table, or countertop using hexagonal tiles. This quirky addition will give your home the pizazz it’s been missing! Remember that this design might not turn out perfectly, but that’s the beauty of using a quirky design that’ll be the centerpiece of any room.
Go Organic With Pebble or River Rock Epoxy
For a natural, organic, and textured look, try embedding stones into epoxy. This will bring a natural, outdoorsy look right into your home. This countertop looks great in a living room, bathroom, or outdoor area. You and your family can spend one afternoon collecting stream-rounded pebbles to use for your
Quartz Overlay Panels
If you love crystals and gems, you can build a DIY countertop using rose quartz. Apply thin quartz sheets over existing counters. This is less time-consuming than building an entirely new countertop from scratch since you can place the quartz panel on top of an older countertop. Make sure you smooth out rough patches to give it a sleek look.
Peel-and-Stick Laminate
You can use a peel-and-stick laminate for an affordable, quick, and easy-to-apply countertop. These typically last one to five years, so while they’re not durable, they’re an easy weekend project that’ll hold you over until you want to switch to a more durable material. The peel-and-stick looks excellent in areas of your home with less traffic and usage.
Subway Tiles
You can build a countertop or backsplash using subway tiles for a sleek and minimalist look. This quirky design looks great in homes with a retro-futuristic design that challenges the more modern style of the home. You can use a simple gray or white tiled backsplash or opt for the herringbone pattern, a unique design that resembles herring fish.
Terrazzo Tiles
Terrazzo tops are becoming one of the hottest trends in kitchen designs, and for good reason! They’re a versatile, durable countertop material. Terrazzo is stylish and has a unique design that will give your home the personality you want. You can build this design using a mix of quartz, glass, and marble, which are all held together using a binder.
Stone Veneer for a Natural Look
You can build a counter using stone veneer for a natural, stone-inspired look. Top it off with cement or stone for a cohesive look. Using stone veneer will add a rustic charm with depth, dimension, and texture. This material is great if you’re on a budget but want to make something sleek. Stone veneer is all about its stellar visual impact in any room.
Use Colorful Recycled Glass
You can use recycled glass for an eco-friendly, unique counter idea with a low environmental impact. Crushed glass pieces in different colors will glisten underneath your bathroom or kitchen overhead light. This is also an excellent way to incorporate zero toxic materials into your home since these countertops typically do not have resin glue or plastic.
Build an Easy-to-Clean Zinc Countertop
For a naturally antibacterial and nonporous countertop, use zinc for your DIY project. Zinc countertops are warmer than stainless steel, and you have a ton of leeway regarding edging options. You can get anything from Victorian molding to industrial rivets. Zinc countertops are also easy to clean, making them an excellent addition for homes with kids.
Use Soapstone for a Timeless Look
For a timeless, rustic look, build your countertop out of soapstone. This material tends to be softer than other stones, such as quartz. One benefit of soapstone is that it doesn’t chip as easily as marble, so it’ll need less maintenance. You can also use a soft, organic mineral oil to give it the sparkling sheen it needs.
Flow With the Waterfall Edge
Why stop at the counter’s edge when you can have the countertop flow over and to the floor? Although this DIY project will cost you a little extra, the materials, installation, and final, cohesive look will be worth it. This will look great at the end of your island or cabinetry and complete the kitchen or bathroom look.
Get Creative With a Chalkboard Countertop
You can use a chalkboard for a funky and fun countertop idea that’ll look great in your kid’s playroom! All you have to do is paint the countertop with chalkboard paint and buy chalk. Leave messages for each other, write down phone numbers and recipes, or remind your kids about the chores they have to do every morning.