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From top-dollar houses in the San Francisco Bay Area to stretching mountain homes in the Colorado Mountain ranges, discriminating homeowners are requiring custom-made designs and also coatings in their kitchens. Particularly, they are aiming to express their individuality and distinct layout choices with the fast expanding layout material of selection-- concrete.

Actually, concrete countertops have ended up being rather of a condition icon for cooking areas, equaling granite as well as various other premium kitchen counter surface area alternatives. Customer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete greatest for its "customization" as well as "exclusivity" amongst high-end kitchen countertops.

As a customized product, the amount of time and also craftsmanship needed to generate concrete countertops puts them as one of the most labor-intensive as well as priciest amongst leading countertop products.

Nevertheless, concrete kitchen counters are ending up being more accessible for those on a moderate budget. The most up to date do-it-yourself (DIY) pattern to mesmerize property owners and also contractors is constructing your own concrete counter top. This phenomenon has gotten popularity mainly due to Cheng's very popular publication Concrete Countertops: Style, Types, and also Completes for the New Cooking Area as well as Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial investment in making concrete kitchen counters, yet the creative gains of collaborating with concrete are plentiful.

THE SHOWSTOPPER

Progressively, home owners are moving away from the dull, manufactured appearance of traditional counter top surfaces and choosing concrete for its earthy, classic appeal. And also, the choices for personalizing concrete countertops are endless: one can tint, polish, stamp and also tarnish concrete or imbed personal items like stones, seashells and also fossils into the kitchen counter's surface, including belief as well as character. Useful functions such as drain boards, soap recipes, and also trivets can also be incorporated to fit the homeowners' own requirements as well as lifestyle.

Concrete is slowly becoming demystified as characteristically cool and also industrial. In contrary, this old-time product is cozy and remarkably responsive; individuals can not aid yet touch their smooth, polished surface areas. Property representative Delight Rasmussen, who has recently offered her mountain residence-- a temporary financial investment residential property in Boat Springs, Carbon Monoxide-- states her site visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open residences, site visitors was attracted to the concrete countertops-- many individuals around right here have never ever seen them".

Joy's 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was personalized build by her hubby, Ken Otterman, together with KJ Otterman, head of state of Classic Unique Personalized Houses. They constructed pour-in-place concrete counters for countertops edges the residence's cooking area and 3 shower rooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete kitchen counters were polished smooth, then coupled with all-natural slate of differing colors-- like charcoal, corrosion and gold tones-- that creates the backsplashes in the cooking area and baths. As a layout accent, small rectangular slate tiles were contributed to the edge of the shower room sinks, which provided an unique detail to the custom vanities.

When Happiness and Ken decided to market their house, their investment in concrete counter tops proved its value. "We had the ability to provide the house $20,000 over market value, as well as had no problems offering it," comments Pleasure, while going over the long checklist of upgrades throughout their home, including knotty ache strong doors, all-natural slate wall accents and wood floorings. "The concrete counter tops were conveniently one of the most unique and also excellent of all the surfaces. I believe they were a significant component in adding worth to the residence. Around right here, all you see in homes are granite kitchen counters-- and also I actually believe property buyers are getting quite numb with granite."

" Concrete counter tops are an one-of-a-kind offering to homebuyers who see the same finishes made use of in house after home they go to," discusses Pleasure, providing her monitoring as an experienced realtor. "Having concrete counter tops practically gives you boasting rights-- you have something various from your neighbors."

BREAKING THE MOLD AND MILDEW

One more benefit of concrete is its flexibility in either modern or conventional setups, especially when coupled with other materials like different steels, timber or rock. "Concrete adds a lot of [possibilities] to stone, and also the combination with slate, which is widely popular here, provides the hill homes an overall warm, all-natural touch," says Happiness.

Happiness and Ken have considering that built a much bigger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that supplies extensive views of the Boat Ski Resort and also is suggested to function as a long-lasting financial investment for the pair. They've likewise broadened their listing of personalized coatings, including hand-troweled wall surfaces, sophisticated oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty pine doors that curve on top, cupboards in a natural, knotty alder, as well as their favored-- concrete kitchen area countertops.

Unlike in their previous residence, KJ and his specialized crew poured charcoal-colored countertops using the pre-cast method in the unfinished basement of the new home. Prior to pouring the concrete, they sprayed a range of semi-precious rocks in the mold and mildew including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Blue-green. After the surface was ground as well as lightly brightened, the completed outcome was an outstanding blend of colors, "By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was one of the most unbelievable," says Pleasure.

The L-shaped concrete kitchen counter has a harsh, rustic stone appearance, complementing its sturdy nation surroundings. An essential drain board and trivets offers feature and added rate of interest to the concrete counter top. All-natural slate backsplashes, unique wall surface accents, and also a butcher block counter top at the kitchen island all resonate with the conventional heat and also earthiness of the concrete countertops.

Joy and Ken's particular backgrounds in realty and custom homebuilding, and also as investment buyers, have actually assisted them realize that concrete countertops can add tremendous visual as well as economic value to a residence. Concrete's personalization as well as "show-stopping" allure is like nothing else countertop surface. Cheng is an advocate of emotional appearances as well as building houses that capture these emotions, as when it comes to Pleasure and Ken Otterman. Cheng wraps up: "Individuals truly want distinction, something personal, something personalized-- as well as concrete can do that for them."