The Value of Concrete Countertops: Customization Rises Aesthetic Charm and also Real Estate Investment for Homeowners

1. From top-dollar residences in the San Francisco Bay Area to stretching mountain residences in the Colorado Mountain ranges, differentiating house owners are requiring personalized designs and coatings in their cooking areas. Particularly, they are looking to express their uniqueness and also distinctive design choices with the quick growing layout product of selection-- concrete. Actually, concrete kitchen counters have come to be rather of a standing symbol for kitchen areas, rivaling granite and also other high-end counter top surface area alternatives. Customer Information Publication (August 2004) placed concrete highest for its "modification" as well as "exclusivity" among premium kitchen countertops. As a customized item, the amount of time and workmanship required to generate concrete kitchen counters positions them as one of the most labor-intensive as well as most costly among leading counter top products. However, concrete counter tops are ending up being extra accessible for those on a modest budget. The most recent diy (DIY) trend to captivate house owners and contractors is constructing your own concrete counter top. This sensation has acquired popularity largely as a result of Cheng's very successful book Concrete Countertops: Style, Kinds, and Finishes for the New countertop shoppe topeka ks Kitchen Area as well as Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the innovative gains of collaborating with concrete are plentiful. THE SHOWSTOPPER Significantly, property owners are relocating away from the dull, manufactured appearance of traditional counter top surface areas as well as picking concrete for its earthy, ageless charm. Plus, the options for individualizing concrete countertops are limitless: one can tint, gloss, stamp and also stain concrete or imbed personal items like rocks, seashells as well as fossils right into the kitchen counter's surface area, including sentiment as well as personality. Useful features such as drainpipe boards, soap dishes, and trivets can likewise be included to match the home owners' own needs and lifestyle. Concrete is slowly becoming debunked as classically cold and also industrial. In contrary, this age-old material is warm and remarkably tactile; individuals can not help yet touch their smooth, polished surface areas. Realty representative Happiness Rasmussen, that has actually just recently offered her hill home-- a short-term financial investment building in Boat Springs, CO-- recounts her site visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open homes, site visitors gravitated to the concrete kitchen counters-- many individuals around here have never seen them". Happiness's 2,265 sq. ft. mountain residence was custom-made build by her spouse, Ken Otterman, in addition to KJ Otterman, president of Standard Unique Custom-made Houses. They built pour-in-place concrete counters for the house's kitchen and three bathrooms by utilizing Concrete Countertops as their overview. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were polished smooth, then coupled with natural slate of varying colors-- like charcoal, rust as well as gold tones-- that forms the backsplashes in the cooking area and baths. As a design accent, tiny rectangle-shaped slate floor tiles were included in the edge of the shower room sinks, which provided a special detail to the customized vanities. When Happiness and also Ken chose to sell their house, their financial investment in concrete kitchen counters verified its value. "We were able to list your home $20,000 over market value, and also had not a problem marketing it," comments Delight, while going over the lengthy checklist of upgrades throughout their home, including knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall surface accents and hardwood floors. "The concrete kitchen counters were conveniently the most special and impressive of all the finishes. I think they were a huge component in adding value to the residence. Around below, all you see in homes are granite counter tops-- and also I actually believe homebuyers are getting fairly numb with granite."

2. " Concrete kitchen counters are a special offering to property buyers who see the very same surfaces made use of in residence after house they check out," discusses Delight, using her observation as an experienced realtor. "Having concrete counter tops practically offers you bragging rights-- you have something various from your neighbors." DAMAGING THE MOLD AND MILDEW Another benefit of concrete is its adaptability in either contemporary or standard setups, especially when paired with various other materials like different metals, wood or stone. "Concrete includes so many [possibilities] to stone, and also the mix with slate, which is extremely popular here, offers the hill homes an overall warm, natural touch," states Pleasure. Delight and also Ken have actually considering that developed a much bigger house (4,000 sq. ft.) that uses expansive views of the Boat Ski Hotel and is meant to serve as a long-lasting investment for the couple. They've additionally broadened their listing of custom finishes, consisting of hand-troweled wall surfaces, elegant oil- rubbed bronze equipment, knotty yearn doors that arch on top, cupboards in a natural, knotty alder, and their favored-- concrete kitchen countertops. Unlike in their previous house, KJ and his specialty staff put charcoal-colored kitchen counters utilizing the pre- cast approach in the incomplete basement of the brand-new house. Prior to pouring the concrete, they sprinkled a selection of semi-precious rocks in the mold including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and also Blue- green. After the surface area was ground and also gently polished, the finished outcome was an excellent blend of colors, "Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most unbelievable," says Delight. The L-shaped concrete countertop has a harsh, rustic stone look, matching its sturdy country surroundings. An important drain board as well as trivets supplies function and included passion to the concrete countertop. All- natural slate backsplashes, unique wall surface accents, and also a butcher block countertop at the kitchen area island all reverberate with the conventional warmth and also earthiness of the concrete kitchen counters. Delight as well as Ken's particular histories in realty and also customized homebuilding, and as financial investment homebuyers, have aided them recognize that concrete counter tops can add remarkable visual and also monetary value to a house. Concrete's personalization as well as "show-stopping" appeal is like nothing else counter top surface. Cheng is an advocate of psychological aesthetic appeals as well as building houses that record these emotions, as when it comes to Joy and also Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: "People truly want distinction, something individual, something custom-made-- and concrete can do that for them."