New faux finish copies the look of stone to shape up any kitchen

Dawn Ganassin had grown weary of her Yorkville kitchen's laminate countertops.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), her kitchen is large. So the quotes she was given for replacing that laminate with the granite she wanted were quite high.

Then this spring she stumbled upon an alternative that allowed her to have a granite-like finish applied over the laminate. And the results were so good that when she held a graduation party at her home recently, everyone complimented her on her beautiful new stone countertops.

The story behind Ganassin's refinished counters is one of chance.

Faux finisher Lori Ambler of St. Charles had been doing work throughout Ganassin's home off and on for the past two years. One day this spring when the two were conferring over work in another part of Ganassin's house, Ambler happened to mention a class she just took in California to learn a new faux finishing technique for use on countertops.

Intrigued, Ganassin asked to see examples and she was sold.

The alternative Ambler offered is a product called Aurastone, which was developed as an architectural coating. Made of recycled glass, natural mica and low toxicity components, this environmentally friendly coating withstands heat of up to 500 degrees and does not stain or scratch.

It can be layered on top of laminate, tile, wood or any surface other than metal. Colors can be added to the various layers so that a talented faux finisher can replicate the look of granite or virtually any stone finish on top of tired old countertops, patio tables or whatever.

"I am in awe of the end result of Lori's work in my kitchen," Ganassin said. "You absolutely cannot tell that this is not granite.

"I have had it for over two months now and it is still perfect, even though my kitchen is an action area. My teenagers are very unforgiving on nice things," she added.

According to Ambler, Aurastone is cutting-edge technology that has only been available for the past year. It can be used to resurface any horizontal surface like countertops or floors, replicating the look of marble or granite - the list is endless. She has even used it to make a toilet seat match a client's countertops in a powder room.

"I am even planning to apply it to backer board which I will then install as the walls of a shower," she said, referring to the special wallboard used in bathrooms to combat humidity.

She has even seen the process used on plexiglass, which allows the light to shine through whatever design is applied there.

"This is truly an art form and while it is not a cheap alternative, it can be cheaper than granite or marble or whatever you are considering, depending on how expensive your tastes are," Ambler said.

Since marble and granite range widely in price, Aurastone is generally more expensive than low end granite or marble, but can be much less expensive than high end granite or marble, she said.

For instance, an average kitchen featuring 60 square feet of counter space would cost between $6,000 and $7,000 to outfit in home improvement store-grade marble, Ambler said. It would cost between $3,500 and $4,000 to have Ambler faux finish the same kitchen to look like that marble using Aurastone.

And interestingly, she said, the larger the kitchen, the cheaper the incremental cost for Aurastone.

In addition, she added, you never have to seal Aurastone; it is seamless; has no weak points; is nonporous and FDA-approved for handling food; and is easy to fix if someone does manage to damage it.

Aurastone is applied in thin layers with a trowel like plaster. You can add anything you choose to the layers from colors to sparkles to whatever "bling" you can think of, Ambler said.

"You can use as much depth and detail as you choose for maximum 'wow' factor," she said. "You can even put family photos and trinkets into your countertop or patio table or floor because at the end, everything is covered with a clear finish of epoxy."

Ambler said that she can also add fancy edges to the surface she is coating. Chiseled edges, rope trim, anything available can be added to the edge and then fauxed over as part of the project.

One client even asked Ambler to extend the length of her existing countertops when she added the faux finish so that bar stools could be added. Ambler accomplished the feat by adding a length of fiberboard to the existing countertops and finishing it all in a uniform way.

Similarly, she has used fiberboard to enlarge outdoor tables for special occasions. She cuts the board to a larger size than the existing table and includes the umbrella hole in the middle. She finishes the board to look like a stone table and then just pulls it out and places it over the existing table when she has a large group. When the crowd leaves, the board gets stored in the garage since it weighs almost nothing.

Since Aurastone can stand up to the weather, it can also be used on surfaces that stay outside year-round, she said.

"This is not an easy technique to learn. You need to have experience with color and how they react to each other and how to manipulate them," Ambler said.

"But as an artist, this is even more fun than fauxing with paint because I get to be even more creative," she said.

Ambler can be reached at (630) 204-5571 or through her website, yourfauxfinish.com.