The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Customization Boosts Aesthetic Appeal and
The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Boosts Visual Appeal and Property Financial investment for Homeowners
From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Location to stretching mountain homes in the Colorado Rockies, discriminating house owners are demanding custom designs and surfaces in their kitchen areas. In specific, they are aiming to reveal their uniqueness and unique style preferences with the quick growing style material of option concrete.
In fact, concrete countertops have ended up being somewhat of a status symbol for kitchens, equaling granite and other high-end countertop surface area choices. Customer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete greatest for its customization and exclusivity amongst high-end cooking area blocked drain article maintenance countertops.
As a customized item, the amount of time and workmanship needed to produce concrete counter tops positions them as the most labor-intensive and priciest among leading counter top materials.
However, concrete counter tops are ending up being more available for those on a modest spending plan. The current diy (DIY) trend to captivate house owners and contractors is constructing your own concrete counter top. This phenomenon has gotten popularity mainly due to Chengs best-selling book Concrete Countertops: Design, Types, and Ends Up for the New Kitchen Area and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the creative gains of dealing with concrete abound.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, house owners are moving away from the tedious, manufactured appearance of traditional counter top surface areas and selecting concrete for its earthy, timeless appeal. Plus, the options for individualizing concrete countertops are unlimited: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed individual things like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface area, including sentiment and character. Practical features such as drain boards, soap meals, and trivets can likewise be integrated to match the house owners own needs and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly ending up being debunked as characteristically cold and industrial. In contrary, this age-old material is warm and surprisingly tactile; people can not help however touch their smooth, polished surface areas. Property agent Delight Rasmussen, who has actually recently offered her mountain home a short-term investment home in Steamboat Springs, CO states her visitors experiences with concrete: When I had open homes, visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops lots of people around here have actually never seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was customized construct by her hubby, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Special Customized Residences. They built pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes cooking area and three bathrooms by utilizing Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were polished smooth, then coupled with natural slate of varying colors like charcoal, rust and gold tones that forms the backsplashes in the kitchen and baths. As a style accent, small rectangle-shaped slate tiles were contributed to the rim of the bathroom sinks, which provided a distinct information to the custom vanities.
When Joy and Ken decided to offer their home, their investment in concrete countertops showed its value. We had the ability to list your home $20,000 over market price, and had no problems offering it, remarks Happiness, while going over the long list of upgrades throughout their home, including knotty pine strong doors, natural slate wall accents and hardwood floors. The concrete countertops were easily the most unique and outstanding of all the surfaces. I believe they were a substantial part in adding worth to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite countertops and I truly think property buyers are getting rather numb with granite.
Concrete countertops are a special offering to property buyers who see the very same surfaces used in home after home they visit, explains Happiness, providing her observation as an experienced real estate agent. Having concrete countertops nearly gives you bragging rights you have something different from your next-door neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another benefit of concrete is its versatility in either contemporary or conventional settings, particularly when paired with other materials like diverse metals, wood or stone. Concrete adds so many [possibilities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is hugely popular here, offers the mountain homes a general warm, natural touch, states Joy.
Joy and Ken have actually considering that built a much larger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that offers extensive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is meant to function as a long-lasting investment for the couple. Theyve also broadened their list of custom surfaces, including hand-troweled walls, stylish oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty pine doors that arch at the top, cabinets in a natural, knotty alder, and their preferred concrete kitchen counter tops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialty team poured charcoal-colored countertops using the pre-cast method in the unfinished basement of the new home. Before pouring the concrete, they sprayed a selection of semi-precious stones in the mold consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Blue-green. After the surface was ground and gently polished, the finished outcome was an impressive mix of colors, Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most incredible, says Delight.
The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone look, complementing its rugged nation surroundings. An important drain board and trivets offers function and included interest to the concrete countertop. Natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block countertop at the kitchen area island all resonate with the conventional warmth and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
