The Value of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Boosts Visual Appeal and
The Worth of experienced plumbing professionals Concrete Countertops: Customization Boosts Visual Appeal and Realty Investment for Homeowners
From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Location to stretching mountain homes in the Colorado Rockies, discriminating homeowners are demanding custom-made styles and finishes in their cooking areas. In specific, they are looking to reveal their uniqueness and unique style preferences with the quick growing style material of option concrete.
In fact, concrete counter tops have ended up being somewhat of a status symbol for cooking areas, matching granite and other high-end countertop surface choices. Consumer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete highest for its customization and exclusivity amongst high-end kitchen countertops.
As a customized product, the amount of time and craftsmanship needed to produce concrete counter tops puts them as the most labor-intensive and priciest amongst leading counter top materials.
However, concrete countertops are ending up being more available for those on a modest budget. The most recent do-it-yourself (DIY) pattern to captivate homeowners and home builders is constructing your own concrete countertop. This phenomenon has actually acquired popularity mainly due to Chengs very popular book Concrete Countertops: Style, Kinds, and Completes for the New Cooking Area and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the creative gains of working with concrete abound.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, property owners are moving far from the boring, manufactured appearance of traditional counter top surface areas and picking concrete for its earthy, timeless appeal. Plus, the options for personalizing concrete counter tops are unlimited: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed personal objects like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface area, including belief and character. Functional functions such as drain boards, soap dishes, and trivets can also be included to suit the homeowners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly becoming debunked as characteristically cold and commercial. In contrary, this age-old material is warm and surprisingly tactile; people can not assist however touch their smooth, polished surface areas. Realty representative Joy Rasmussen, who has recently sold her mountain home a short-term financial investment home in Steamboat Springs, CO states her visitors experiences with concrete: When I had open houses, visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops many people around here have never seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom-made build by her other half, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Custom Homes. They constructed pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen and 3 restrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were polished smooth, then paired with natural slate of varying colors like charcoal, rust and gold tones that forms the backsplashes in the cooking area and baths. As a design accent, little rectangle-shaped slate tiles were added to the rim of the restroom sinks, which offered a distinct detail to the custom-made vanities.
When Delight and Ken chose to offer their house, their financial investment in concrete countertops proved its worth. We had the ability to list your house $20,000 over market price, and had no issues offering it, comments Delight, while talking about the long list of upgrades throughout their house, including knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall accents and wood floors. The concrete counter tops were easily the most unique and outstanding of all the surfaces. I think they were a substantial part in adding value to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite countertops and I truly think property buyers are getting quite numb with granite.
Concrete counter tops are an unique offering to property buyers who see the exact same finishes utilized in home after house they check out, explains Joy, providing her observation as a seasoned real estate agent. Having concrete countertops practically provides you boasting rights you have something various from your next-door neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another benefit of concrete is its versatility in either contemporary or conventional settings, particularly when coupled with other materials like varied metals, wood or stone. Concrete includes a lot of [possibilities] to stone, and the combination with slate, which is hugely popular here, provides the mountain homes a general warm, natural touch, states Pleasure.
Joy and Ken have actually since constructed a much bigger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that provides expansive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is implied to function as a long-term financial investment for the couple. Theyve also broadened their list of custom-made surfaces, consisting of 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 area countertops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialized crew put charcoal-colored countertops utilizing the pre-cast approach in the unfinished basement of the new home. Before pouring the concrete, they sprinkled a range of semi-precious stones in the mold consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Blue-green. After the surface was ground and lightly polished, the finished result was a remarkable mix of colors, By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most amazing, says Happiness.
The L-shaped concrete counter top has a rough, rustic stone look, matching its rugged country surroundings. An essential drain board and trivets offers function and included interest to the concrete counter top. Natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block countertop at the kitchen island all resonate with the conventional warmth and earthiness of the concrete countertops.
