The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Boosts Visual Appeal and
The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Customization Increases Aesthetic Appeal and Realty Investment for Homeowners
From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Area to sprawling mountain homes in the Colorado Rockies, discriminating homeowners are demanding custom designs and finishes in their kitchens. In particular, they are seeking to express their uniqueness and unique style preferences with the fast growing style product of choice concrete.
In reality, concrete counter tops have actually ended up being rather of a status sign for kitchen areas, measuring up to granite and other high-end counter top surface options. Consumer Reports Publication (August 2004) ranked Preparing Pipes for Winter concrete greatest for its modification and exclusivity amongst high-end kitchen countertops.
As a custom-made product, the quantity of time and workmanship required to produce concrete counter tops places them as the most labor-intensive and most costly among leading countertop products.
However, concrete countertops are ending up being more accessible for those on a modest budget plan. The current do-it-yourself (DIY) trend to mesmerize homeowners and home builders is building your own concrete countertop. This phenomenon has gained popularity mainly due to Chengs best-selling book Concrete Countertops: Design, Kinds, and Finishes for the New Cooking Area and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial financial investment in making concrete counter tops, yet the imaginative gains of working with concrete are plentiful.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, homeowners are moving away from the dull, manufactured appearance of standard countertop surfaces and picking concrete for its earthy, timeless appeal. Plus, the alternatives for individualizing concrete countertops are limitless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed personal objects like stones, seashells and fossils into the countertops surface area, adding belief and character. Functional functions such as drain boards, soap dishes, and trivets can also be integrated to suit the house owners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly ending up being debunked as characteristically cold and industrial. In contrary, this age-old material is warm and remarkably tactile; people can not help but touch their smooth, sleek surface areas. Property agent Joy Rasmussen, who has actually recently offered her mountain home a short-term financial investment property in Steamboat Springs, CO recounts her visitors experiences with concrete: When I had open homes, visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops many people around here have actually never ever seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom-made construct by her partner, Ken Otterman, in addition to KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Customized Houses. They built pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen and three restrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete countertops were polished smooth, then coupled with natural slate of differing 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 added to the rim of the bathroom sinks, which provided a special detail to the custom vanities. Additional hints
When Joy and Ken chose to sell their house, their financial investment in concrete counter tops proved its value. We had the ability to list your house $20,000 over market price, and had no problems selling it, comments Pleasure, while talking about the long list of upgrades throughout their home, consisting of knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall accents and wood floors. The concrete countertops were easily the most distinct and outstanding of all the finishes. I believe they were a substantial part in including value to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite countertops and I truly believe property buyers are getting quite numb with granite.
Concrete counter tops are a special offering to property buyers who see the very same surfaces utilized in home after house they go to, describes Pleasure, offering her observation as a seasoned realtor. Having concrete counter tops practically offers you boasting rights you have something different from your neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another benefit of concrete is its adaptability in either modern or conventional settings, specifically when coupled with other materials like varied metals, wood or stone. Concrete adds so many [possibilities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is hugely popular here, gives the mountain homes a general warm, natural touch, states Joy.
Joy and Ken have actually given that developed a much bigger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that provides expansive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is suggested to serve as a long-lasting financial investment for the couple. Theyve also broadened their list of customized surfaces, including hand-troweled walls, sophisticated 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 put charcoal-colored counter tops using the pre-cast approach in the unfinished basement of the new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprayed a range of semi-precious stones in the mold consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Turquoise. After the surface was ground and lightly polished, the completed outcome was an excellent blend of colors, By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most amazing, says Joy.
The L-shaped concrete counter top has a rough, rustic stone appearance, matching its rugged country surroundings. An essential drain board and trivets provides function and included interest to the concrete countertop. Natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block counter top at the kitchen island all resonate with the conventional heat and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
Joy and Kens respective backgrounds in realty and customized homebuilding, and as investment property buyers, have actually helped them recognize that concrete counter tops can include incredible visual and financial worth to a home. Concretes modification and show-stopping appeal is like no other counter top surface. Cheng is an advocate of emotional looks and building homes that capture these emotions, as when it comes to Joy and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: People actually want differentiation, something individual, something customized and concrete can do that for them.
