The Value of Concrete Countertops: Customization Increases Aesthetic Appeal as well as Real Estate Investment for Homeow

1. From top-dollar residences in the San Francisco Bay Location to sprawling hill residences in the Colorado Mountain ranges, differentiating homeowners are requiring custom designs and also finishes in their kitchen areas. Particularly, they are wanting to express their individuality and also unique style preferences with the rapid expanding layout material of option-- concrete. In fact, concrete kitchen counters have come to be rather of a status icon for cooking areas, matching granite as well as other premium kitchen counter surface area choices. Consumer Reports Magazine (August 2004) placed concrete highest for its "customization" as well as "exclusivity" among premium kitchen area countertops. As a customized item, the quantity of time and craftsmanship required to create concrete counter tops places them as the most labor-intensive as well as priciest among leading counter top materials. Nonetheless, concrete kitchen counters are coming to be extra easily accessible for those on a small spending plan. The most up to date do-it-yourself (DIY) fad to captivate property owners and home builders is developing your own concrete counter top. This sensation has actually gotten appeal largely due to Cheng's very popular book Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Completes for the New Kitchen and also Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial investment in making concrete counter tops, yet the creative gains of working with concrete abound. THE SHOWSTOPPER Increasingly, house owners are relocating far from the dull, manufactured appearance of typical kitchen counter surfaces as well as picking concrete for its earthy, classic allure. Plus, the alternatives for individualizing concrete kitchen counters are countless: one can color, gloss, stamp as well as discolor concrete or imbed individual items like stones, seashells and also fossils into the kitchen counter's surface, adding belief and personality. Practical features such as drainpipe boards, soap meals, as well as trivets can likewise be integrated to suit the homeowners' very own requirements and way of life. Concrete is gradually coming to be debunked as typically cool as well as commercial. In contrary, this age-old material is warm and remarkably tactile; individuals can not aid but touch their smooth, polished surfaces. Realty agent Pleasure Rasmussen, who has lately offered her mountain house-- a temporary financial investment home in Boat Springs, CO-- recounts her site visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open residences, visitors gravitated to the concrete counter tops-- lots of people around below have actually never ever seen them". Joy's 2,265 sq. ft. mountain house was customized construct by her spouse, Ken Otterman, in addition to KJ Otterman, head of state of Classic Special Custom Homes. They developed pour-in-place concrete counters for the house's kitchen area and also three bathrooms by utilizing Concrete Countertops as their overview. The sand- colored concrete counter tops were brightened smooth, then paired with all-natural slate of differing colors-- like charcoal, rust and gold tones-- that develops the backsplashes in the cooking area as well as bathrooms. As a design accent, small rectangular slate ceramic tiles were added to the edge of the bathroom sinks, which gave a

2. special detail to the customized vanities. When Joy and Ken chose to sell their residence, their investment in concrete counter tops proved its worth. "We had the ability to list the house $20,000 over market price, as well as had no worry selling it," comments Happiness, while reviewing the countertops quad cities long listing of upgrades throughout their home, consisting of knotty want solid doors, natural slate wall accents and wood floorings. "The concrete kitchen counters were easily one of the most unique and also outstanding of all the finishes. I think they were a substantial component in adding worth to the house. Around below, all you see in residences are granite countertops-- as well as I actually think homebuyers are obtaining rather numb with granite." " Concrete counter tops are an one-of-a-kind offering to buyers that see the very same coatings made use of in home after residence they go to," describes Pleasure, supplying her observation as an experienced real estate professional. "Having concrete counter tops nearly gives you boasting civil liberties-- you have something different from your neighbors." DAMAGING THE MOLD AND MILDEW An additional benefit of concrete is its adaptability in either modern or standard setups, particularly when combined with other products like diverse metals, wood or rock. "Concrete adds numerous [possibilities] to stone, and also the combination with slate, which is extremely preferred below, provides the hill homes a general warm, all-natural touch," states Delight. Happiness and Ken have actually given that built a much bigger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that offers extensive views of the Boat Ski Resort as well as is suggested to function as a long-term financial investment for the pair. They have actually additionally expanded their listing of custom-made surfaces, consisting of hand-troweled wall surfaces, sophisticated oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty yearn doors that arch at the top, cupboards in a natural, knotty alder, and their favorite-- concrete kitchen counter tops. Unlike in their previous residence, KJ and his specialty crew put charcoal-colored countertops making use of the pre-cast method in the incomplete basement of the brand-new