Kitchen Makeover - Part Two

I promised to tell you how I updated my kitchen counter.  It's easy and cheap. 

The counter was an old laminate, dark, chipped and, in fact, lifting in one spot.  I wanted to lighten it up.  Eventually, I'll replace it, but not for awhile yet.

Instead, I gave it a good clean, primed it with Zinsser 1-2-3 (a high-adhesion, water-based primer) and then painted it white.  Instantly better!

We put on a couple of coats of water-based varnish to seal and protect it.

I've seen this done on various decorating shows, and in books.  Instructions on how to do it always come with stern warnings that this is a temporary fix ONLY, as though, in a couple of weeks, the paint will chip, melt and thoroughly destroy the cabinets it's resting on.

We've been in the house for a week and a half, with no visible damage yet.