The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Increases Visual Appeal and also Property Investment for Homeowners

1. From top-dollar homes wood countertops for sale near me in the San Francisco Bay Location to sprawling hill homes in the Colorado Mountain ranges, differentiating house owners are demanding custom-made layouts and also surfaces in their kitchens. Particularly, they are looking to reveal their individuality and distinctive design choices with the quick expanding design product of selection-- concrete. As a matter of fact, concrete countertops have come to be rather of a standing icon for cooking areas, measuring up to granite and other high-end countertop surface alternatives. Consumer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete highest possible for its "modification" as well as "exclusivity" among premium kitchen area counter tops. As a customized item, the amount of time as well as workmanship called for to create concrete kitchen counters puts them as the most labor-intensive and most costly among leading countertop products. Nevertheless, concrete counter tops are coming to be more accessible for those on a small budget plan. The most recent diy (DIY) trend to astound homeowners and also builders is developing your own concrete countertop. This sensation has gained popularity mostly because of Cheng's very popular publication Concrete Countertops: Style, Forms, as well as Ends Up for the New Kitchen as well as Bathroom (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary financial investment in making concrete kitchen counters, yet the innovative gains of collaborating with concrete are plentiful. THE SHOWSTOPPER Significantly, home owners are moving far from the monotonous, manufactured look of typical counter top surfaces and picking concrete for its earthy, classic appeal. And also, the choices for personalizing concrete countertops are limitless: one can tint, gloss, stamp as well as discolor concrete or imbed individual things like stones, seashells and also fossils right into the kitchen counter's surface, adding sentiment and personality. Useful functions such as drainpipe boards, soap meals, and trivets can additionally be integrated to suit the property owners' very own demands as well as lifestyle. Concrete is slowly coming to be debunked as characteristically chilly and also industrial. In contrary, this olden material is warm as well as remarkably tactile; individuals can not aid however touch their smooth, sleek surface areas. Realty representative Pleasure Rasmussen, who has actually lately marketed her mountain house-- a temporary investment residential or commercial property in Boat Springs, CO-- recounts her site visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open homes, visitors gravitated to the concrete kitchen counters-- many individuals around here have actually never seen them". Happiness's 2,265 sq. ft. hill home was custom-made build by her hubby, Ken Otterman, together with KJ Otterman, head of state of Classic Unique Custom Residences. They built pour-in-place concrete counters for the home's kitchen area and also 3 restrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete countertops were polished smooth, after that coupled with all-natural slate of varying colors-- like charcoal, corrosion and gold tones-- that creates the backsplashes in the kitchen as well as bathrooms. As a layout accent, little rectangle-shaped slate ceramic tiles were added to the rim of the restroom sinks, which offered an one-of-a-kind information to the custom-made vanities. When Pleasure as well as Ken made a decision to offer their home, their investment in concrete counter tops showed its worth. "We had the ability to list your home $20,000 over market value, as well as had no problems marketing it," remarks Pleasure, while talking about the lengthy checklist of upgrades throughout their residence, consisting of knotty want solid doors, all-natural slate wall accents as well as hardwood floors. "The concrete countertops were quickly the most unique and also impressive of all the surfaces. I think they were a big component in adding worth to the house. Around here, all you see in residences are granite kitchen counters-- as well as I really think homebuyers are getting rather numb with granite."

2. " Concrete counter tops are an unique offering to buyers who see the very same finishes made use of in residence after house they see," clarifies Pleasure, providing her monitoring as an experienced realtor. "Having concrete kitchen counters virtually provides you boasting legal rights-- you have something various from your neighbors." DAMAGING THE MOLD One more benefit of concrete is its versatility in either contemporary or traditional setups, especially when combined with various other products like varied metals, timber or stone. "Concrete includes so many [possibilities] to rock, and also the combination with slate, which is widely preferred below, provides the mountain homes an overall cozy, natural touch," claims Pleasure. Pleasure and Ken have actually since built a much larger house (4,000 sq. ft.) that supplies expansive sights of the Steamboat Ski Hotel and also is implied to serve as a long-term investment for the pair. They have actually also broadened their listing of custom-made surfaces, consisting of hand-troweled wall surfaces, elegant oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty ache doors that arch at the top, cabinets in an all-natural, knotty alder, and their favorite- - concrete cooking area counter tops. Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialized staff poured charcoal-colored counter tops using the pre-cast technique in the incomplete basement of the new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprayed a variety of semi-precious rocks in the mold including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl as well as Blue-green. After the surface area was ground and lightly polished, the completed outcome was an outstanding blend of colors, "Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most incredible," states Joy. The L-shaped concrete counter top has a rough, rustic stone appearance, complementing its tough nation environments. An important drainpipe board and trivets supplies feature as well as included passion to the concrete kitchen counter. All-natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and also a butcher block countertop at the kitchen area island all reverberate with the traditional heat and also earthiness of the concrete counter tops. Pleasure as well as Ken's corresponding histories in realty as well as customized homebuilding, and as investment buyers, have helped them understand that concrete kitchen counters can include remarkable aesthetic and financial value to a house. Concrete's customization and also "show-stopping" allure resembles no other counter top surface area. Cheng is a supporter of psychological visual appeals as well as developing homes that record these emotions, as in the case of Joy and Ken Otterman. Cheng wraps up: "Individuals really want differentiation, something personal, something customized-- and concrete can do that for them."