Honest Review — Contact Paper Counter tops

** THIS NOT A TUTORIAL — TUTORIAL COMING SOON **

When I first heard of contact paper being used on counter tops, I didn’t think twice about it. But then as we got closer to putting our house on the market – I started researching my options. I noticed that more and more people were using this contact paper in their kitchens. I had never heard of it so I did some reading. It seemed to be a good temporary solution to “pretty up” a space. Some people had them for 2 months and one person had them for 5 years! So I watched a bunch of how-to videos and ordered my “counter tops”.

HERE is the link to the contact paper I purchased.

I bought this specific type for the color, but also the width. There are different sizes – you just have to look around.

WHAT IS IT?

Contact paper is basically thick paper that acts like vinyl. It is smooth on one side and really sticky on the other.

PROS

Price: $38 for entire kitchen – affordable!

Forgiving: Bubbles do appear and they are annoying, but because of the pattern on the paper, they are not noticeable. Even scratches are easily hidden.

Looks GOOD: Looks like my kitchen has fancy, expensive counters!

Versatile: Several colors and patterns to choose from – goes with any style.

CONS

Time: This is a time-consuming project. Once you get more familiar with material, you move faster.

Heat Sensitive: Like any counter top, you should take care to not place hot objects directly on top. Same with contact paper.

Cutting: Again, like any counter top, use a cutting board – do not cut directly on contact paper. It cuts pretty easily. But if you use a cutting board regularly, it shouldn’t be an issue.

OVERALL

I really like our contact paper counter tops. It is a great TEMPORARY solution to make your kitchen look good. I say temporary because eventually it will have to be replaced. I did 2 coats of polycrylic to make ours more permanent and to help with sealing, but it will have to be changed out  or re-done in a couple years. I would recommend this project, but with the advice to do your research beforehand. Know that it will take some time, but it’s worth it if done properly. We have had the contact paper counter tops for about 2 months. It has held up awesomely! Small imperfections here and there, but overall it has worked great for us. Shoot me any additional messages you may have!

Is it the little things?

I’ve been thinking about what to write about for my first published piece in my new blog. I don’t want it to be super boring, I don’t want it to be ridiculous so people make fun of me (with a legit reason anyway), I want it to be inspirational. Probably what all new bloggers hope for. I’ve never pictured myself as a blogger. I’ve never thought of myself as someone people looked up to. I never thought I would make a difference. I bet a lot of people think like me. We just live our routine life and don’t really think of ourselves as much of anything. We always hear “do your best” or “work hard and you’ll succeed”, and we might think we are doing this, but are we really doing our best every day?

A few things have been on my mind lately. How much we take the little things in life for granted and how much time we could save by just being thankful seems to be number one. Thankful to have a job, thankful to have friends, a marriage, agency, etc. I’ve always been a people-watcher. No, not the stalker that you’re thinking of type, but I love to see people and how they behave. People are so different and it intrigues me. I sometimes go to the store and it saddens me to see people who are so caught up in buying material things that they forget about what they already have. Did you know that only 6.9% of all disposable incomes in the US is spent on food? That means that 93.1% of all Americans’ income is spent on other things. This could include house and car insurance for sure, but I bet a lot of it goes towards recreation and “play money” as well. Why can’t we just go back to the good old days of spending free, quality time with family? I love watching Little House on the Prairie. It’s one of my favorite TV shows. Life is so simple in that world. Everyone believes and trusts in a higher being and knows each other by first name. People work hard for what they want and they are so happy when they have very little. They rejoice when they get wash cloths for their birthdays or a pen for Christmas. That is the world that I want to live in. A world where people really listen to what you have to say and are so grateful for the small things that we would call minuscule now.

Oh, how we humans complicate life. We get so caught up in the pursuit of happiness that we don’t ever just STOP…and be happy right then. I often catch myself doing this. I am in college presently planning on being a physical therapist of some sort and I’ll find myself stressed about school and thinking, “When I graduate I’ll be happy” or “when I settle down in my future, perfect home I’ll be happy”. NO! If we are constantly telling ourselves that we have to reach a goal to be happy, we will never achieve happiness. Be happy now. I can’ t emphasize that enough. Be thankful now. Don’t you let a day go by that you are not grateful for something. It can be your car, your house, the pillow on your couch I don’t care! But show thankfulness. Humbleness is the key to happiness my friends. We need to keep in mind that the little things ARE what make us most happy. So go spend time with your family. Go do something you LOVE! ❤ Go do something that is so amazing that you’ll remember it forever. And do it NOW. Don’t keep telling yourself you’re saving money because we all know it eventually goes towards something else. Don’t keep living your life in routine. Make memories. BE CRAZY!!! Be gentle and kind. Make someone’s day.

Show kindness to people. Charity is the greatest kind of love in this world. A talk from one of my Church’s leaders once said, “those who find relief at your hand will call your name blessed forever.” I firmly believe that. We don’t know the impact we could have in someone’s life. I think that we all have a role to play on this Earth and one of those is being thankful for things we have been given and by showing kindness to others. Give them something to be grateful about. Find your happiness. Do something nice and uncostly with your families this month. Halloween is upon us!! Go carve pumpkins, go trick or treating (and no, it doesn’t matter if you’re over 20! 😉 But do something that shows your family you love them. Why complicate life? This short, precious time we have together should not be wasted. Missing somebody? Call. Wanna be understood? Explain. Want something? Ask for it. Love someone? You better tell it. We just have one life. Keep it simple. When you take things for granted, the things you are granted, get taken. Don’t get caught up in wealth. It’s the cheap, quality time, fun bits of life that make it all worth it. So ask yourselves, is it the little things that make me happy?

Become Inspired.