Giani Granite Review and Giveaway *CLOSED*

By now I'm sure most of you have read that my husband Cory and I recently purchased our first home, and with purchasing our home came a laundry list of things that needed to be fixed or updated. While we are taking care of some of the small things, there are so many large projects on the list, that it has become very overwhelming. Cory absolutely hates our kitchen, it had the most horrible orange marble laminate counter tops and he would walk in the kitchen, look around and shake his head, turn and walk away. It was very comical, but got annoying after a while. I asked him one day what he would change in the kitchen and he said " we need granite in here!" I told him there was no way we could afford granite on our non-existent budget. Then, Gail from Giani Granite contacted us and asked if we would like to review their Italian Granite Paint for Counter tops, and I jumped on the opportunity to try their product. I'm going to build up the anticipation of my before and after photos, keep on reading and at the end you'll see the amazing transformation!

Counter Top Kit

What is Giani Granite? Giani Granite is made of polymers and minerals that bond together to form the look of shiny, amazing granite at a fraction of the cost. I received two kits from Giani, and was so excited to get started on my counter tops. I chose the Chocolate Brown kit since I have white and cream colored cabinets and I didn't want the kitchen to feel like it was white on white on white. I thought that a pop of dark color in there would off set the lightness of the cabinets and add depth and warmth to one of my favorite rooms in the house! Here's what my kit came with:

-12 Oz. of Iron Core^TM Primer-Base Coat
- 6 Oz. of Brown Feldspar Mineral
- 6 Oz. of Inca Gold Mineral
- 6 Oz. of Chocolate Brown Mineral
- 16 Oz. of Automotive Polyurethane Topcoat
- 6" GIANI^TM roller arm and two roller pads
- 4" GIANI^TM granite paint sponge
- 2" Foam Brush
- Black Practice Poster Board
- 'Paint-by-Number' DVD for beginners ( you can watch it here)    
     - Illustrated Instructions (Giani Granite Website)

Each kit covers up to 35sq ft and you can cover all types of surfaces, like marble, corian, laminate, butcher block and more. There are also more color kits to choose from, like Sicilian Sand, Bombay Black, Roma Red, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green.

Sicilian Sand

Cory didn't want to help me with the project because he was afraid he was going to mess something up. Here's a man that builds airplanes for a living, but is afraid to resurface a counter top!! Gotta love him though! I watched the very informative DVD that came in my kit, and I STRONGLY recommend that you watch it as well when you buy your kit. The DVD shows you the right way to paint on your new granite counter tops and helps you understand the process. There are 5 steps and they are so simple and easy to do, I found myself not wanting to stop when I was finished.

1. Paint on the Iron Core Primer ( wait 8hrs to dry)

2.Sponge on the Brown Feldspar Mineral

3.Sponge on the Inca Gold Mineral

4.Sponge on the Chocolate Brown Mineral

5.Roll on the Automotive Polyurethane Top Coat

It's as simple as that! Well, maybe a tad bit more involved. I loved how it doesn't matter if you mess up while sponging on the 3 different minerals, if you smear it, or smudge it, it just adds to the character of the finished product. And believe me, I kept bumping into the counters with my elbow, but you can't even notice! I will say, that it may be a good idea to tape around anything you don't want to be painted, just like you would when you paint the wall. I am a messy person and this kit is a little messy, make sure you wear gloves. They tell you this, but I didn't listen! I never do! You'll need to cut the sponge into three pieces, but I cut mine into more. It was so easy to sponge on the colors, and don't worry if they mix together or run, that just makes it unique and individual. No one else will have the same look as you! 

Our counter tops came out so awesome. I can't believe this is our house, and to get the Granite look for thousands less than you would spend for the real thing, $69.95 for the kit, can you believe that? I am in awe! At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but after the topcoat was dry and I put all of our appliances back on the counter, it looked so amazing. I also used the kit on my back splash and really loved how that turned out! My neighbor came over and was shocked that we bought "New granite counters" I tried to contain my laughter and contemplated not telling her the truth since she couldn't tell the difference. After a while I let her in on the secret and she couldn't believe it. She wished she had known about Giani Granite before she remodeled her kitchen.

 I am so in love with my new counter tops and with Giani Granite

Before

After

It's like a whole new kitchen!

Want to Buy it?

If you are interested in buying a Giani Granite Kit for yourself or someone else head on over to

Giani Granite to order a kit.

Want to Win it?

You know you do!

One lucky Mommy Blog reader will win a Kit of their Choice from Giani Granite

Giveaway Rules:

*Open to US residents, only.

Mandatory Entry:

*Must FOLLOW this blog (Use the Google Friend Connect Button on left side bar).

*Must like Giani Granite on Facebook.

*Must comment on this post: Tell us what you'd use Giani Granite For?

(Be sure to leave your e-mail address w/your post!)

Extra Entries (1 extra entry per...)

(must include in your entry post that you did these in order for them to count):

*Like The Mommy Blog on Facebook

*Follow The Mommy Blog on Twitter

*Share this giveaway on you FB profile or page.

*Tweet about this giveaway.

*Blog about this giveaway.

*Refer a friend to The Mommy Blog

Giveaway closes at midnight on August 12th.

Winner will be selected via Random.org on July 13th and announced on the blog and on our Facebook page. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to claim their prize.

Special thanks to Gail at Giani Granite for offering this giveaway!

Good luck, everyone! :)

*Brittany* 

Disclaimer: I was sent the above mentioned product directly from the company. I was not compensated in any way for facilitating this review. The opinions expressed are my own. Your experience with this product may differ.