Not your grandma’s laminate.

I think that every single house I’ve lived in has had laminate countertops.  Blonde, faux-wood, bull-nose countertops with an ugly backsplash.  I’m just that lucky.

But now I live in a house that we own, so I constantly mull over countertop choices because we get to put in whatever we want.  And I am actually considering laminate.  One of the main reasons is because I think we can build it ourselves.  And the other reason is because these pictures are of laminate countertops.  For real!!

And my personal favorite (and Glenn’s, too!):

It’s called Petrified Wood.  Badass. Pardon my French.  But look how awesome the close-up looks!

I’d rock it in my kitchen.  The drama of granite without the price!

All the kitchen images are of Formica in their new 180FX series. They’ve taken photos of actual giant slabs of granite, marble, wood, etc., and printed it actual size on laminate (plastic) sheets.  The real sheets are 4′x8′ or bigger so there is no small repeat like with cheesier versions. And I’ve seen DIY videos of simply adhering the sheets to 3/4″ particle board (aka subfloor material = cheap!), trimming it with a router, and ouila! You have a new countertop!

This gets me very excited! I know I’ve said it before but this puts a kitchen remodel closer than I’ve imagined! Enjoy!

{All images via Formica Flickr}.  Except the one of my lame kitchen!