Before & After: This Kitchen's Under-$500 Makeover Ditches Dark Brown & Adds a Little Cheer

"Raquel's existing countertops, although darker than she wanted, were a high-quality quartz, and she wasn't ready to make the investment to replace them just yet, so she transformed the brown by adding white marble-patterned contact paper over top, which made the whole kitchen feel brighter. She says the contact paper was slightly tricky to install around the sink because it wasn't a simple rectangle."

""Using peel-and-stick for both the backsplash and counters gave me a whole new look for just a fraction of a remodel budget," she says. The backsplash got a blue peel-and-stick tile makeover. She added her peel-and-stick products directly over top of the quartz and tile. If you're working with easily damagable surfaces like drywall, she recommends adding contact paper or making paper base layers first to make removal easier."

A homeowner transformed a 1990s kitchen dominated by brown countertops, a matching brown backsplash, and builder-grade cabinets with an under-$500 spruce-up. Marble-patterned contact paper covered dark quartz countertops to create a brighter, white marble appearance without replacing high-quality surfaces. Peel-and-stick blue tiles refreshed the backsplash, applied directly over existing quartz and tile. Installation required care around irregular sinks and recommendations included caulking countertop edges to protect against water and create a finished look. For delicate substrates, adding a paper base or contact paper first eases future removal. Heat or a blow dryer helps remove peel-and-stick materials. Ordering extra tiles ensures replacements for mistakes.

Read at Apartment Therapy