The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Modification Boosts Aesthetic Charm as well as Property Financial Investment for Home

1. From top-dollar houses in the San Francisco Bay Location to stretching hill homes in the Colorado Rockies, differentiating home owners are requiring custom-made styles and surfaces in their cooking areas. Specifically, they are seeking to express their originality and also distinctive design choices with the fast growing style product of option-- concrete. In fact, concrete countertops have actually come to be rather of a standing icon for kitchens, equaling granite and various other high-end counter top surface alternatives. Consumer Information Publication (August 2004) ranked concrete highest for its "personalization" and also "exclusivity" among premium kitchen counter tops. As a custom-made item, the quantity of time as well as workmanship needed to create concrete kitchen counters puts them as one of the most labor-intensive as well as priciest amongst leading countertop products. Nonetheless, concrete countertops are ending up being more available for those on a moderate budget plan. The most recent do-it-yourself (DIY) trend to captivate house owners and also home builders is constructing your own concrete counter top. This sensation has obtained popularity greatly because of Cheng's best-selling publication Concrete Countertops: Layout, Kinds, and Ends Up for the New Kitchen Area and also Bathroom (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial financial investment in making concrete counter tops, yet the imaginative gains of dealing with concrete abound. THE SHOWSTOPPER Increasingly, homeowners are relocating away from the monotonous, manufactured look of conventional kitchen counter surfaces and selecting concrete for its natural, ageless allure. Plus, the choices for customizing concrete countertops are countless: one can tint, polish, stamp and also tarnish concrete or imbed personal items like rocks, seashells as well as fossils into the kitchen counter's surface area, including sentiment as well as personality. Useful features such as drain boards, soap recipes, and also trivets can also be included to suit the house owners' very own demands and lifestyle. Concrete is gradually coming to be debunked as typically cold and also commercial. In contrary, this olden material is warm as well as remarkably tactile; individuals can not aid yet touch their smooth, polished surfaces. Realty agent Pleasure Rasmussen, who has recently offered her mountain residence-- a temporary investment residential or commercial property in Steamboat Springs, CO-- recounts her site visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open homes, site visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops-- lots of people around here have actually never seen them". Happiness's 2,265 sq. ft. hill residence was personalized develop by her hubby, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Customized Homes. They built pour-in-place concrete counters for the residence's cooking area as well as three washrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their overview. The sand- colored concrete counter tops were polished smooth, then paired with all-natural slate of differing colors-- like charcoal, rust and also gold tones-- that forms the backsplashes in the kitchen area and baths. As a layout accent, little rectangular slate ceramic tiles were contributed to the edge of the restroom sinks, which gave a special information to the customized vanities. When Pleasure and Ken made a decision to market their residence, their investment in concrete countertops verified its worth. "We had the ability to provide your home $20,000 over market value, as well as had no problems marketing it," remarks Pleasure, while going over the long list of upgrades throughout their house, consisting of knotty yearn solid doors, natural slate wall accents as well as hardwood floorings. "The concrete countertops were conveniently the most one-of-a-kind and excellent of all the finishes. I think they were a big part in adding worth to the home. Around right here, all you see in homes are granite kitchen counters-- and I actually believe buyers are getting fairly numb with granite."

2. " Concrete countertops are an one-of-a-kind offering to property buyers that see the same finishes utilized in home after house they check out," describes Joy, supplying her monitoring as an experienced realtor. "Having concrete countertops nearly offers you bragging legal rights-- you have something different from your next-door neighbors." BREAKING THE MOLD AND MILDEW Another advantage of concrete is its adaptability in either modern or traditional settings, especially when combined with other products like varied steels, wood or stone. "Concrete includes so many [opportunities] to rock, as well as the combination with slate, which is hugely prominent right here, provides the mountain houses a total cozy, natural touch," says Happiness. Pleasure countertops that go with natural maple cabinets and Ken have since built a much larger house (4,000 sq. ft.) that offers extensive views of the Boat Ski Hotel and also is meant to work as a lasting investment for the couple. They've additionally broadened their listing of custom surfaces, consisting of hand-troweled wall surfaces, sophisticated oil-rubbed bronze equipment, knotty want doors that arch at the top, cabinets in an all-natural, knotty alder, and their preferred-- concrete kitchen area countertops. Unlike in their previous house, KJ and also his specialized crew put charcoal-colored countertops utilizing the pre- cast technique in the incomplete basement of the new house. Prior to putting the concrete, they sprayed a selection of semi-precious stones in the mold including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and also Turquoise. After the surface was ground as well as lightly brightened, the completed outcome was an outstanding mix of shades, "Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was one of the most incredible," claims Pleasure. The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic rock look, complementing its tough country environments. An integral drain board and trivets gives feature as well as added rate of interest to the concrete kitchen counter. All-natural slate backsplashes, unique wall surface accents, and also a butcher block counter top at the kitchen area island all resonate with the traditional warmth as well as earthiness of the concrete kitchen counters. Pleasure as well as Ken's particular backgrounds in property and also custom-made homebuilding, and also as financial investment buyers, have assisted them realize that concrete kitchen counters can add tremendous aesthetic and also financial worth to a home. Concrete's personalization and "show-stopping" allure resembles no other kitchen counter surface area. Cheng is a supporter of emotional aesthetic appeals and also building houses that record these feelings, as when it comes to Pleasure and also Ken Otterman. Cheng ends: "Individuals actually desire differentiation, something individual, something personalized-- as well as concrete can do that for them."