How about a faux finish?
When we lived in Oklahoma our kitchen counter was trashed Formica. So I wanted to try something I had read about. I tore off the top of the formica leaving the particle board underneath. I primed it. Then I took kraft envelopes (those yellow orange ones) and tore them up (You want all torn edges). Crumpled the heck out them them (the more crumpled, the better!) Smoothed them out, dipped them in a 1/2 white glue, 1/2 water solution and spread them on the counter, smoothing them flat and bubble free. Since it was a counter I finished it with four coats of spar polyurethane.
It really looked like leather. Unfortunately I never took a pic.
I knew it wasn't going to last, but for a grand total of $30.00 it was something I wanted to try. It still looked good when we sold three years later.
There are a lot of variations of this. Some say to use wallpaper paste, and you can try it with just about any kind of paper you want, from tissue paper to newsprint to.....
Before I decided on the kraft envelopes (it was the color I wanted) I took a bunch of cardboard, a big bottle of glue and just experimented with different papers.
You don't want to paint over it, but if you want color, try adding paint to the glue.
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http://www.thatpainterlady.com/reader-question-torn-tissue-paper-finish/
When we lived in Oklahoma our kitchen counter was trashed Formica. So I wanted to try something I had read about. I tore off the top of the formica leaving the particle board underneath. I primed it. Then I took kraft envelopes (those yellow orange ones) and tore them up (You want all torn edges). Crumpled the heck out them them (the more crumpled, the better!) Smoothed them out, dipped them in a 1/2 white glue, 1/2 water solution and spread them on the counter, smoothing them flat and bubble free. Since it was a counter I finished it with four coats of spar polyurethane.
It really looked like leather. Unfortunately I never took a pic.
I knew it wasn't going to last, but for a grand total of $30.00 it was something I wanted to try. It still looked good when we sold three years later.
There are a lot of variations of this. Some say to use wallpaper paste, and you can try it with just about any kind of paper you want, from tissue paper to newsprint to.....
Before I decided on the kraft envelopes (it was the color I wanted) I took a bunch of cardboard, a big bottle of glue and just experimented with different papers.
You don't want to paint over it, but if you want color, try adding paint to the glue.
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How about tissue paper? Not endorsing this site, just found it while trying to find an example of what I did.
http://www.thatpainterlady.com/reader-question-torn-tissue-paper-finish/