The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Customization Rises Visual Charm and also Realty Investment for Homeowners

1. From top-dollar residences in the San Francisco Bay Location to stretching hill homes in the Colorado Mountain ranges, differentiating home owners are requiring customized designs as well as finishes in their cooking areas. Specifically, they are aiming to express their uniqueness and distinct style preferences with the rapid growing layout product of choice-- concrete. In fact, concrete countertops have come to be rather of a standing sign for kitchen areas, rivaling granite and various other high-end kitchen counter surface area choices. Customer News Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete highest possible for its "personalization" as well as "exclusivity" among high-end cooking area counter tops. As a customized product, the quantity of time and also workmanship needed to produce concrete kitchen counters positions them as one of the most labor-intensive and also most expensive amongst leading kitchen counter products. Nevertheless, concrete counter tops are coming to be much more easily accessible for those on a modest budget plan. The latest diy (DIY) fad to astound homeowners as well as contractors is developing your own concrete countertop. This sensation has actually acquired appeal mostly because of Cheng's best-selling publication Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and also Finishes for the New Kitchen Area and also Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary investment in making concrete kitchen counters, yet the imaginative gains of collaborating with concrete are plentiful. THE SHOWSTOPPER Progressively, home owners are moving away from the boring, manufactured look of typical countertop surfaces and choosing concrete for its natural, timeless allure. Plus, the options for individualizing concrete countertops are unlimited: one can color, gloss, stamp and discolor concrete or imbed personal objects like rocks, seashells and fossils into the countertop's surface, adding view and personality. Practical attributes such as drain boards, soap recipes, and also trivets can also be incorporated to fit the house owners' very own demands as well as lifestyle. Concrete is gradually becoming debunked as typically cool and commercial. In contrary, this olden material is cozy and also remarkably responsive; people can not aid but touch their smooth, sleek surface areas. Real estate agent Joy Rasmussen, who has actually recently marketed her hill home-- a temporary investment home in Boat Springs, Carbon Monoxide-- states her site visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open houses, visitors was attracted to the concrete countertops-- many individuals around right here have actually never seen them". Joy's 2,265 sq. ft. mountain house was personalized construct by her hubby, Ken Otterman, together with KJ Otterman, head of state of Standard Unique Custom-made Homes. They constructed pour-in-place concrete counters for the house's kitchen area as well as three bathrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were brightened smooth, after that paired with natural slate of varying shades-- like charcoal, corrosion and also gold tones-- that creates the backsplashes in the kitchen as well as

2. bathrooms. As a layout accent, small rectangular slate floor tiles were included in the edge of the washroom sinks, which provided a distinct information to the personalized vanities. When Pleasure and Ken made a decision to offer their home, their financial investment in concrete kitchen counters verified its value. "We had the ability to detail your home $20,000 over market value, and had no worry offering it," comments Pleasure, while reviewing the long checklist of upgrades throughout their house, consisting of knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall surface accents as well as hardwood floors. "The concrete kitchen counters were easily one of the most unique and remarkable of all the coatings. I believe they were a huge component in including value to the residence. Around here, all you see in residences are granite kitchen counters-- and I truly think homebuyers are getting quite numb with granite." " Concrete counter tops are a special offering to homebuyers that see the very same surfaces used in home after residence they go to," discusses Pleasure, using her monitoring as an experienced realtor. "Having concrete countertops virtually offers you boasting civil liberties-- you have something various from your neighbors." BREAKING THE MOLD Another advantage of concrete is its versatility in either modern or standard settings, especially when paired with various other materials like varied metals, timber or stone. "Concrete adds so many [opportunities] to stone, and also the combination with slate, which is hugely prominent here, gives the hill houses an overall warm, all-natural touch," says Happiness. Delight as well as Ken have considering that built a much bigger house (4,000 sq. ft.) that offers large views of the Steamboat Ski Resort as well as is implied to serve as a long-lasting financial investment for the couple. They have actually likewise countertops quartz vs granite vs corian increased their listing of customized finishes, consisting of hand-troweled walls, stylish oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty pine doors that arch on top, cupboards in a natural, knotty alder, and also their favored-- concrete kitchen area countertops. Unlike in their previous house, KJ and his specialty crew put charcoal-colored kitchen counters making use of the pre-cast approach in the unfinished cellar of the brand-new residence. Prior to pouring the concrete, they sprinkled a selection of semi-precious rocks in the mold and mildew consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Turquoise. After the surface area was ground and lightly polished, the finished outcome was an excellent mix of shades, "Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was one of the most extraordinary," says Delight. The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone look, enhancing its tough country surroundings. An integral drainpipe board and trivets provides feature as well as added interest to the concrete kitchen counter. All- natural slate backsplashes, distinct wall accents, as well as a butcher block kitchen counter at the kitchen island all reverberate with the typical warmth and earthiness of the concrete countertops. Delight and Ken's respective backgrounds in property and also custom-made homebuilding, and also as financial investment homebuyers, have assisted them understand that concrete counter tops can include incredible visual and also economic value to a home. Concrete's personalization and also "show-stopping" charm is like nothing else kitchen counter surface. Cheng is a proponent of emotional appearances as well as developing homes that record these emotions, as in the case of Joy as well as Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: "Individuals actually want differentiation, something individual, something custom-made-- as well as concrete can do that for them."