Today we’re working away on demo-ing out the old balcony where the new deck is going to go (since Mother Nature rained us out yesterday) so we hope to have more photos to share of our progress soon (Monday at the latest if all goes well!).
In the meantime, we thought this awesome budget-friendly kitchen idea was such a smart solution. We never really considered stainless steel counters, but after seeing Linn and her husband make it look so easy (and affordable) we’re definitely into it. Here’s Linn’s note:
I wanted to share a DIY tip for countertops which isn’t really that common, but it’s a great idea if you’re on a budget and you don’t mind doing some work yourself. When my husband and I renovated our kitchen we were able to get awesome looking stainless steel countertops for the bargain price of $400 (for a small 20 square foot counter). A big box hardware store quoted us $3,000 to put in and install basically the same thing!! Here are our old formica counters during our renovation:
We made a plywood template to the exact size of our counter and worked with a local sheet metal shop that cut and bended a piece of 20 gauge stainless steel around our plywood template.
Then we installed the plywood on top of our old Formica counters…
… and added the steel on top of it (it’s covered in a protective sticker in this shot)…
This option proved to be so much cheaper than many other materials around, so if anyone else is contemplating what type of counters to put in, and they don’t want to spend all of their budget on granite or marble, then I would highly recommend this method!
Stainless steel looks great, is super durable, and requires no maintenance whatsoever!: Stainless steel is also easy to clean!
We really love how it turned out! – Linn
Obviously a lot of other great stuff went into Linn’s transformation, so hit up her blog for more details about everything – from those awesome stainless steel counters to the kitchen project as a whole. Have you guys considered stainless steel? Did you know you could get help from a local sheet metal shop to accomplish something like this for thousands less than buying stainless counters the traditional way?
UPDATE: Since a lot of the comments are asking about long-term care and durability of Linn’s counters, here’s a link to a post she did with her thoughts on it.
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner, so click here to see if it’s you.
LizO says
We have stainless steel counters – whoever renovated our house about 10 years ago did a fabulous job. The sink and counters are one solid piece, so I think they paid the big money for their counters. We LOVE them – stainless is what professional kitchens use, and they are practically maintenance free. We wipe them down with a little vinegar spray and they look amazing, and we can set hot things right on them. I definitely recommend them!
Sam says
My folks just put in stainless counters when the updated their kitchen. They look great! I love them( most importantly they do too! )
My folks haven’t had them long but they got them from the same folks that build that counters for the lab my dad works at and he beats the heck out of them there and they still look great. Also, Friends of theirs inherited a House that had them and they have stood the test of time too.
mp says
OH MY GAWD! This is one of the best countertop redos ever. Exceptionally gorgeous! And considering the fact that I’ve chosen stainless steel tiles I spotted at Home Depot for my backsplash, matching countertops would be awesome. This is going into my consideration file for sure!
Jenn @therebelchick says
I personally am not a fan of stainless steel because of the fingerprint issue – I loathe fingerprints. But then again…I am seriously hating on my Formica counter tops right now and anything would be better! We want to install granite but we’d most likely install it ourselves to save the money. I saw once where the homeowners actually installed the granite right on top of the existing counter tops!
Brianna says
Those are awesome… so awesome I’m starting to wonder how my apartment owner wouldn’t be interested in testing this in our kitchen. Hey it’s durable! :)
Ideas Woman says
Looks fantastic. We are doing the same except we will have the stainless steel as the splash back as well. Sick of stained tile grout!
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:)
Brenda says
The kitchen looks great! I never would have thought of stainless steel for a home kitchen because I’m so used to thinking of it from my days in fast food. It sort of gets scuffed, but when you’ve been using it for a long time it doesn’t look bad, in my opinion. Just not pristinely perfect. And they do make stainless steel polish to gleam it up.
Laurie says
I inherited stainless steel counters that are at least 30 years old. I love them. I love putting hot pans wherever, and there are no deep scratches, I’ve been living with the counters about 6 years now and the worst part is that I do have a seam that can be annoying to clean, but with more modern lengths and custom wraps I hope this is no longer an issue.
KarenH. says
Wow, it’s like you and Linn were reading my mind today! I’ve been thinking about a stainless steel work table/cabinets for my sewing room area where I can clean and restore antique and vintage sewing machines. The machines are so heavy, being cast iron, and I worried about some of the cleaning chemicals and polishes harming other work surfaces.
Thanks!
nikki says
i wouldn’t say that stainless steel requires no maintenance whatsoever. i was told that when buying appliances so we went with stainless, before they were available with an anti-fingerprint finish and there’s a reason that finish was developed. they are a huge pain to keep clean-looking. and it does scratch and dent, unless i imagine you would go for a very heavy gauge which would not be inexpensive. if you’re into the pristine-at-all-times look, then stainless is not for you. my black granite countertops are a cinch to clean (and are truly no maintenance-windex, that’s all!) and based on how my appliances “behave” i would not install stainless counters.
Jeff Patterson says
Wow, this is a great tip. Thank you so much for the details. This is a project I’d totally tackle on the next rental house we purchase. With tenants we always are looking for super durable options and now we have an affordable one!!!
Nycole says
Havig worked in restaurants form the age of 15, I LOVE this idea. It’s just like working on the prep tables in a restaurant kitchen.
AWESOME.
Samantha says
What a brilliant idea! I really, really wanted stainless countertops when we did ours… but the cost was above and beyond what you’d pay for anything else. Never even occured to me to check with a local sheet metal shop.
Shannon says
We are in the middle of a kitchen reno and are installing stainless countertops. Our kitchen is small, very similar to Linn’s design. Some friends of ours had stainless steel countertops made by a local sheet metal place and they loved them, even several years after installation. Fingers crossed that we will love ours just as much!
Eva says
We installed stainless steel countertops for part of our kitchen. We took the old countertops to a metal workshop where they bent the steel sheets to fit them, and they also welded the corners, then we installed them again in the kitchen. It was very inexpensive and we are very happy with the results. Stainless steel countertops do scratch relatively easily, but I don’t mind because we wanted it to look a bit industrial.
Dream Day Cakes® says
We love stainless steel… at the bakery here our entire kitchen is stainless. That being said, and concurrent with the other comments, stainless steel will scratch and won’t easily buff. It will still shine and look great (even with the scratches), but you must simply accept the scratches as a part of your life. Before putting them in, check out an industrial or professional kitchen to make sure you will be ok with the scratched look. If you are, go to town. If not, you’ll spend the rest of your life trying not to scratch and ultimately be very disappointed. To keep this light (and fun) =), we love the occasional scratches, and like we said– even scratched looks clean and bright. Scratches much like laugh lines serve as a reminder of a life lived well.
Lianne says
I love the look – but not sure if it would work with how much counterspace I have (20 feet along the wall and then a large breakfast bar with cooktop area). Googling for pictures now!
ginger says
I have a stainless steel island and really like it. It does have tons of tiny scratches, but it’s really more like a warm patina covering it. I find it SUPER easy to keep clean and I’m not really into cleaning, ha ha.
Ashley says
This looks amazing! Great makeover and I LOVE that it’s on the cheap. We are possibly going to build, so this might be a great option for us! Thanks!
Lynda says
I considered stainless steel counter tops. They do require maintenance and depending on the quality of the stainless steel, you do have issues you have to avoid. We decided to go with something else.
Tae says
We have stainless steel countertops in our apartment (put in by previous owners when they renovated the kitchen) and they are fantastic. They look great with the white cupboard doors and turquoise tile splashbacks. I’m not sure how long ago the place was renovated, but I’m hazarding a guess at six years or so. The steel does have some scratches but, as a previous commenter has mentioned, it doesn’t gouge so it’s more like a pattern that appears all over – difficult to explain, but it actually looks good like that! No dents either. The only thing you have to be careful of is rust – although the steel doesn’t rust itself, of course, we have left our ancient grater on it for a day or so before and if it’s wet, it leaves a rust mark that can be difficult to remove.
April says
Stainless steel kitchen counters are really common over here in Japan. You have to be careful not to drop really heavy things on them (can leave dings), but otherwise they’re great and require very little care.
jenna says
I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I was wanting to put stainless steel over my formica kitchen island countertop. However, the island top has rounded edges. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, anyone have any tips? We have never tackled that before.
xo,
s
Ben says
This really turned out great! I wonder how you could do a corner section on a counter top using stainless. Would it have to be one piece or could you have a joint?
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone have any idea?
xo,
s