The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Increases Visual Charm and also Realty Financial Investment for Homeo

1. From top-dollar houses in the San Francisco Bay Area to sprawling mountain homes in the Colorado Rockies, discriminating house owners are requiring custom-made layouts as well as coatings in their cooking areas. Specifically, they are seeking to reveal their individuality as well as distinct layout choices with the fast growing layout product of option-- concrete. In fact, concrete counter tops have become rather of a status symbol for kitchen areas, measuring up to granite as well as other premium counter top surface choices. Consumer Information Publication (August 2004) placed concrete highest for its "personalization" and also "exclusivity" amongst high-end kitchen countertops. As a customized product, the quantity of time and craftsmanship called for to produce concrete countertops puts them as the most labor-intensive and most expensive among leading countertop products. However, concrete kitchen counters are becoming a lot more available for those on a small spending plan. The most recent do-it-yourself (Do It Yourself) trend to captivate property owners and also builders is developing your own concrete kitchen counter. This phenomenon has actually gotten appeal greatly due to Cheng's best-selling book Concrete Countertops: Design, Kinds, and Completes for the New Cooking Area as well as Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the innovative gains of dealing with concrete abound. THE SHOWSTOPPER Increasingly, house owners are moving far from the tedious, manufactured look of standard kitchen counter surfaces as well as picking concrete for its natural, ageless allure. And also, the options for personalizing concrete countertops are endless: one can color, polish, stamp as well as tarnish concrete or imbed personal things like rocks, seashells and also fossils right into the kitchen counter's surface, adding view and character. Functional attributes such as drainpipe boards, soap dishes, as well as trivets can additionally be integrated to fit the home owners' very own requirements and also lifestyle. Concrete is slowly ending up being demystified as characteristically cold as well as industrial. In contrary, this olden product is cozy and also remarkably responsive; people can not assist yet touch their smooth, polished surfaces. Property representative Delight Rasmussen, that has actually lately sold her hill home-- a temporary financial investment residential property in Steamboat Springs, Carbon Monoxide-- recounts her site visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open houses, visitors moved to the concrete countertops-- many individuals around here have actually never ever seen them". Happiness's 2,265 sq. ft. hill residence was custom-made construct by her spouse, Ken Otterman, in addition to KJ Otterman, president of Standard Special Custom-made Homes. They constructed pour-in-place concrete counters for the residence's cooking area as well as three restrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete kitchen counters were brightened smooth, after that coupled with natural slate of differing colors-- like charcoal, rust and gold tones-- that forms the backsplashes in the kitchen area as well as bathrooms.

2. As a layout accent, small rectangle-shaped slate floor tiles were contributed to the edge of the wood countertops fort collins shower room sinks, which supplied an unique information to the personalized vanities. When Delight and also Ken determined to offer their residence, their investment in concrete kitchen counters verified its worth. "We were able to provide your home $20,000 over market value, and had no problems marketing it," comments Pleasure, while talking about the lengthy checklist of upgrades throughout their house, including knotty ache strong doors, all-natural slate wall surface accents and also hardwood floorings. "The concrete kitchen counters were conveniently the most unique and outstanding of all the finishes. I think they were a substantial component in adding worth to the house. Around right here, all you see in homes are granite counter tops-- and also I actually believe homebuyers are getting fairly numb with granite." " Concrete kitchen counters are an one-of-a-kind offering to buyers who see the exact same coatings made use of in residence after residence they visit," explains Joy, using her monitoring as an experienced real estate professional. "Having concrete kitchen counters nearly offers you boasting rights-- you have something various from your next-door neighbors." BREAKING THE MOLD Another benefit of concrete is its adaptability in either modern or standard settings, especially when combined with various other materials like different metals, timber or rock. "Concrete adds many [opportunities] to rock, and the mix with slate, which is extremely preferred right here, gives the hill homes a total warm, natural touch," states Joy. Joy and also Ken have actually because built a much bigger house (4,000 sq. ft.) that offers large sights of the Boat Ski Hotel as well as is suggested to act as a lasting financial investment for the couple. They've likewise broadened their listing of customized finishes, including hand-troweled walls, elegant oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty want doors that curve on top, cupboards in a natural, knotty alder, and also their preferred-- concrete kitchen countertops. Unlike in their previous house, KJ and his specialized crew put charcoal-colored counter tops making use of the pre-cast approach in the incomplete cellar of the new home. Before pouring the concrete, they sprayed a selection of semi-precious stones in the mold and mildew including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl as well as Blue-green. After the surface area was ground and also gently polished, the completed result was an impressive blend of shades, "Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most extraordinary," claims Joy. The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone look, complementing its sturdy country surroundings. An essential drainpipe board and trivets provides function and also included interest to the concrete counter top. All-natural slate backsplashes, distinctive wall accents, as well as a butcher block counter top at the kitchen area island all reverberate with the traditional warmth as well as earthiness of the concrete kitchen counters. Delight and Ken's corresponding histories in realty and custom-made homebuilding, and also as financial investment buyers, have aided them recognize that concrete counter tops can add incredible visual as well as monetary value to a house. Concrete's personalization as well as "show-stopping" charm resembles nothing else counter top surface area. Cheng is a supporter of emotional looks and also building houses that record these emotions, as in the case of Pleasure and also Ken Otterman. Cheng wraps up: "People actually want distinction, something individual, something custom-- as well as concrete can do that for them."