My kitchen is in desperate need of a face lift. I was considering pulling out equity to remodel (new cabinets, countertops, tile backsplash, appliances, the works), but really don't want to use up all my equity for such an expensive project. I plan on staying there only a year or two before selling and want a fresh, updated look to add value (if that's possible in this market!) without the expense.

Well, over the weekend, I found the cabinet and countertop transformation kits that are created by Rustoleum and available from the local home improvement store. I'm really considering purchasing these kits to redo my cabinets and countertops. Basically the kits include everything you need to prepare each surface for the project and contain all of the necessary paints/texturing/etc to complete the project. All I'd need to purchase are a couple of roller brushes. It looks like a simple project that would require patience, but for a total of $400, I could change the look of my kitchen without pulling out any of my equity.

Has anyone here tried these products or known anyone that's used them? I've read testimonials on several websites and most are positve, but thought I'd see if any of you are aware of successes or helpful hints.

I tried it on a cabinet at my last house. I had 1 extra cabinet from when I removed them over the fridge. I say TEST, TEST & TEST. Mine looked like painted cabinets-but not in a good way. The countertop trial was even worse. It would not stay on no matter what we did.It will depend on your type of material, wear & tear etc. Ultimately, I searched for the cheapest cabinets & countertop, and found it at Menard's.

Ditto the countertops from Menards... they have sales on them all the time.

We bought this 'project' house a couple of summers ago and while we plan to gut and redo the entire first floor in about 4-5 years, I could not live with how nasty some of the current surfaces were (epecially after leaving my brand new, clean, custom house with pretty granite counters and backsplashes ), and thus one of the fixes we made were new countertops. Got a premium laminate countertop from Menards, custom ordered, for just over $800... makes for a world of difference for the short term!

^^^^^ thinks living with ugly kitchen countertops is 'roughing' it

no argument there... you should see the disgusting, crummy and crumbling master bath... I refuse to fix it in the hope that I run into the Bath Crasher dude at Lowes some weekend, or to pitch it to one of the DIY shows!

We don't have a Menards anywhere near here that I am aware (never even heard of it!). Small town doesn't really offer alot in the way of discount home improvement stores! The testimonials I was reading say that the prep work is the most important part and to really make sure you take your time with the first step. Would you say that this is true?

Has anyone ever has any experience with Re-Bath? I have two bathrooms that need to be re-done and hate to go to all the expense of tile.

Not techinically Re-Bath, but had the same thing done by a local company here in Indiana. When we bought our house, the tub/shower was just absolutely disgusting. We have been very happy with the result. And they got it done amazingly fast, with very little mess.

I'm thinking it might be a lot cheaper than a whole remodeling project. If I just got the tub and shower liner it would be worth it. I really don't like the looks as well, but don't plan on selling my house and I think it might be easier upkeep.

Or you could just try to win yourself a new kitchen first.

We have a local company (not sure if it is national or not) called Bath Fitters. They did over the tub and shower in less than a day. It still looks a good today as the day it was installed and it has been nearly eight years!

I contacted Bath Fitters too. They won't come to my area. I'm about 150 miles away from them. But there is a Bath Fitters dealer closer and they are going to call me tonight.

QM we were very pleased with the quality of the work done. They were on time and deleivered what was promised. It was a little pricey but given eight years have passed and it still looks new, I will not complained. Plus, it is easy to keep clean!

I am just torn between putting in a plastic tub and shower liner and having it re-tiled. It just seems like it would cheapen the property.

The wrong tile can do that as well...

I actually thinking of trying the rustoleum on my kitchen cabinets...maybe not.

Anyone have any good idea on how to spruce up tile grout? I heard something about vinegar but I've never tried it.

I've heard on HGTV that they make grout stain.

The tiles in my kids bath are breaking. The house was built in 75 and has all original EVERYTHING. I'm going to sell/rent it next year.

My kitchen counters are not bad but the bathrooms need help. Do you think Bath Fitters would decrease the vaule?

Ok, I did the Rustoleum thing a few weekends ago. It is a lot of work, I did it on an upstairs bathroom, hallway cabinet and the cabinets in my laundry room. I wanted to try it out before I attempted my real goal - the kitchen. Yes, the first step is important, but also the drying times between coats are really long. We wanted to get it done in a 3-day weekend and that's just really not possible with trying to get front and back of cabinets doors and have them dry between the 2 coats of paint and then dry before the top clear coat. By the end, my patience was running out and I didn't take enough time with the top clear coat which is thin and tends to drip around the edges. With all that said, if you have a realistic expectation of how long it will take and take your time with all the coats and don't try and rush just to finish, it does look pretty good. I picked a pretty dark color (Tudor) and my current cabinets are yellowish oak. The color was beautiful and it came out fine for the bathroom & laundry room. I'm hesitant to do the kitchen myself because I'm afraid I just don't have the time/patience, but I'm considering hiring someone who does painting work professionally to do the same or similar process on them. So I guess I'd recommend it if your are patient and don't rush yourself.

We sound like we are in the same boat. My house was built in 78 and has almost original everything.

My condo was built in 1973 and has the old dull dark brown cabinets that I was going to lighten up (Rustoleum's Harvest Glazed, to be exact!). It's just in desperate need of a face lift before selling! Thank you to everyone that gave me their opinions and advice, I believe it's helped me! The bathroom will be my next project, but that'll have to be professionally done. I'm wanting to gut it down to the studs and start over with new subfloor, drywall and the whole 9-yards! Fortunately, my brother's best friend is a contractor and my dad is a plumber, so I'll be able to get fixtures for less expensive and possibly get a break on the remodeling costs!

Thsi Rustoleum thign looks awesome! I realyl want to redo my kitchen cosemtically but functionally it's fine. Considering I've outgorwn it and my house will be a rental in as soon as a few years, I've given up any spendy remodelling/refinishing. But this looks liek somethgin I can do myself. Totally excited to check it out I have the yucky laminate counter the website speaks of

cutting the drying times between coats is one of the worst mistakes a body can make, in the end the paint does not adhere properly and will forever chip off....

I started the cabinets this weekend...doign the top ones first, then the countertop, then the bottom cabinets

OK, so cabinet transformations FAIL...at least using this kit. The color was WAY off from the picture sample and the glaze did nto highlight the natural grain. Cabinets looked liek cheap veneer. Primed over them and am painting a solid color semi-gloss. Much happier with that.

Busy Bee, if you are goign to do a solid color cabinet, I recommend gettign Glidden primer (nto sure which one it was but Home Depot said it was the stickiest primer out there) and using a quality semi-gloss paint. Prep by sanding (I didn't sand since AI used the deglosser in the rustoleum kit). Let the paint dry a few hours between coats and a full day before adding hardware and close to a week before closing them fully once hung.

I am still goign to attempt the countertop transformation.

Oh, and SO thankful that Lowes let me return the paint kit half-used when I explained that the cool white color I got was actually BLUE and after the glaze was greenish/blueish.