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From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Area to stretching hill residences in the Colorado Mountain ranges, differentiating house owners are requiring custom-made designs as well as surfaces in their cooking areas. Specifically, they are looking to reveal their uniqueness as well as distinctive style choices with the rapid expanding layout material of selection-- concrete.

As a matter of fact, concrete kitchen counters have ended up being somewhat of a condition icon for kitchen areas, measuring up to granite as well as various other premium kitchen counter surface area options. Consumer Information Publication (August 2004) placed concrete highest for its "customization" and "exclusivity" amongst premium kitchen area countertops.

As a custom-made product, the amount of time as well as workmanship required to create concrete kitchen counters puts them as one of the most labor-intensive and also priciest amongst leading countertop products.

Nevertheless, concrete kitchen counters are ending up being extra easily accessible for those on a small budget. The latest diy (DIY) pattern to mesmerize property owners as well as contractors is building your own concrete countertop. This sensation has actually acquired popularity mostly because of Cheng's very successful book Concrete Countertops: Layout, Forms, as well as Finishes for the New Kitchen Area and also Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the imaginative gains of collaborating with concrete abound.

THE SHOWSTOPPER

Significantly, homeowners are moving away from the tedious, manufactured appearance of conventional countertop surfaces and also selecting concrete for its earthy, classic allure. Plus, the choices for personalizing concrete counter tops are endless: one can color, polish, stamp and also stain concrete or imbed individual items like rocks, seashells and also fossils into the countertop's surface area, adding sentiment as well as character. Functional attributes such as drain boards, soap recipes, and trivets can also be incorporated to fit the property owners' own needs and also way of life.

Concrete is gradually becoming demystified as typically cool and also commercial. In contrary, this old-time product is warm as well as remarkably responsive; individuals can not help but touch their smooth, refined surface areas. Real estate representative Happiness Rasmussen, that has actually recently offered her mountain residence-- a temporary financial investment home in Boat Springs, CO-- states her visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open residences, visitors moved to the concrete counter tops-- many people around right here have actually never ever seen them".

Joy's 2,265 sq. ft. hill house was custom develop by her hubby, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Standard Special Personalized Residences. They constructed pour-in-place concrete counters for the home's kitchen area and also three shower rooms by utilizing Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete kitchen counters were brightened smooth, then paired with all-natural slate of varying colors-- like charcoal, corrosion and gold tones-- that forms the backsplashes in the cooking area and also baths. As a design accent, tiny rectangle-shaped slate ceramic tiles were added to the edge of the shower room sinks, which supplied a distinct detail to the customized vanities.

When Delight and Ken chose to market their residence, their investment in concrete countertops verified its value. "We had the ability to provide your home $20,000 over market value, as well as had no problems selling it," comments Delight, while discussing the lengthy listing of upgrades throughout their house, consisting of knotty want solid doors, all-natural slate wall accents and also wood floors. "The concrete counter tops were quickly the most one-of-a-kind and also remarkable of all the coatings. I believe they were a huge component in including value to the house. Around right here, all you see in houses are granite countertops-- and also I really think property buyers are obtaining quite numb with granite."

" Concrete countertops are a special offering to buyers who see the exact same coatings utilized in house after residence they go to," describes Delight, offering her observation as an experienced realtor. "Having concrete kitchen counters practically gives you boasting rights-- you have something different from your next-door neighbors."

BREAKING THE MOLD AND MILDEW

Another advantage of concrete is its adaptability in either modern-day or traditional setups, especially when combined with other materials like different metals, wood or stone. "Concrete adds numerous [opportunities] to stone, as well as the combination with slate, which is hugely popular right here, offers the hill houses a total warm, all-natural touch," claims Pleasure.

Pleasure as well as Ken have actually considering that developed a much larger house (4,000 sq. ft.) that uses extensive views of the Boat Ski Hotel and also is meant to serve as a long-term investment for the pair. They have actually likewise expanded their list of personalized surfaces, consisting of hand-troweled wall surfaces, stylish oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty ache doors that arch on top, closets in a natural, knotty alder, as well as their preferred-- concrete cooking area counter tops.

Unlike in their previous residence, KJ as well as his specialized crew put charcoal-colored kitchen counters using the pre-cast technique in the unfinished cellar of the brand-new house. Before putting the concrete, they sprayed a selection of semi-precious stones in the mold and mildew consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl as well as Blue-green. After the surface area was ground and gently polished, the completed result was an excellent mix of shades, "By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was one of the most amazing," states Delight.

The L-shaped concrete counter top has a rough, rustic stone appearance, matching its sturdy country surroundings. An indispensable drainpipe board as well as trivets supplies feature and added passion to the concrete counter top. All-natural slate backsplashes, unique wall surface accents, and also a butcher block counter top at the cooking area island all reverberate with the typical heat as well as earthiness of the concrete kitchen counters.

Pleasure and Ken's respective backgrounds in property and custom homebuilding, and also as investment property buyers, have assisted them understand that concrete counter tops can add significant visual and economic value to a residence. Concrete's modification and also "show-stopping" allure resembles nothing else countertop surface area. Cheng is a proponent of emotional countertops that look like marble looks and also developing houses that catch these feelings, as when it comes to Delight and also Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: "People really desire differentiation, something individual, something personalized-- and concrete can do that for them."