The Value of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Rises Aesthetic Allure and also Real Estate Investment for Homeowners

1. From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Location to stretching hill residences in the Colorado Rockies, differentiating homeowners are requiring customized designs as well as finishes in their cooking areas. In particular, they are wanting to express their uniqueness and distinct style choices with the quick growing layout product of choice-- concrete. As a matter of fact, concrete kitchen counters have actually ended up being somewhat of a status sign for cooking areas, measuring up to granite and also other premium kitchen counter surface area choices. Consumer Reports Publication (August 2004) placed concrete highest for its "customization" and also "exclusivity" amongst high-end kitchen area countertops. As a personalized item, the quantity of time and craftsmanship called for to generate concrete countertops places them as the most labor-intensive and most costly amongst leading countertop products. Nonetheless, concrete countertops are coming to be a lot more easily accessible for those on a modest budget plan. The most up to date do-it-yourself (DIY) pattern to captivate house owners and home builders is building your own concrete kitchen counter. This sensation has gotten popularity mainly due to Cheng's very popular publication Concrete Countertops: Layout, Types, as well as Ends Up for the New Kitchen and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial investment in making concrete counter tops, yet the imaginative gains of dealing with concrete are plentiful. THE SHOWSTOPPER Increasingly, homeowners are moving away from the boring, manufactured appearance of typical countertop surfaces as well as picking concrete for its natural, classic allure. And also, the alternatives for customizing concrete counter tops are limitless: one can color, gloss, stamp as well as stain concrete or imbed personal items like stones, seashells as well as fossils right into the countertop's surface area, adding belief and also personality. Useful features such as drainpipe boards, soap dishes, and also trivets can likewise be included to match the house owners' own demands and lifestyle. Concrete is slowly coming to be debunked as classically cold as well as commercial. In contrary, this olden product is warm as well as remarkably tactile; people can not aid but touch their smooth, polished surfaces. Realty representative Joy Rasmussen, that has recently sold her hill home-- a short-term financial investment residential property in Boat Springs, Carbon Monoxide-- recounts her visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open houses, visitors was attracted to the concrete countertops-- many individuals around below have never seen them". Joy's 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was customized develop by her husband, Ken Otterman, in addition to KJ Otterman, head of state of Classic Unique Customized Homes. They built pour-in-place concrete counters for the house's kitchen area as well as three restrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were brightened smooth, then coupled with all-natural slate of varying shades-- like charcoal, corrosion as well as gold tones-- that forms the backsplashes in the kitchen area as well as bathrooms. As a style accent, tiny rectangular slate tiles were included in the rim of the washroom sinks, which supplied a distinct detail to the personalized vanities. When Delight and also Ken determined to market their home, their financial investment in concrete kitchen counters verified its worth. "We were able to detail the house $20,000 over market price, and had no worry selling it," comments Pleasure, while discussing the long listing of upgrades throughout their residence, consisting of knotty want strong doors, natural slate wall surface accents as well as hardwood floors. "The concrete kitchen counters were easily one of the most distinct as well as excellent of all the surfaces. I believe they were a big component in adding worth to the residence. Around right here, all you see in residences are granite kitchen counters-- as well as I actually think homebuyers are obtaining rather numb with granite."

2. " Concrete countertops are an unique offering to property buyers that see the same surfaces utilized in home after home they go to," explains Delight, providing her monitoring as an experienced realtor. "Having concrete kitchen counters almost provides you bragging legal rights-- you have something different from your next-door neighbors." DAMAGING THE MOLD AND MILDEW One more benefit of concrete is its flexibility in either contemporary or standard settings, especially when combined with other materials like different metals, timber or stone. "Concrete adds many [opportunities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is extremely preferred here, gives the mountain homes a total cozy, all-natural touch," says Pleasure. Delight and also Ken have actually given that developed a much bigger residence (4,000 sq. ft.) that uses large sights of the Boat Ski Resort as well as is suggested to serve as a lasting financial investment for the couple. They have actually additionally expanded their listing of personalized finishes, consisting of hand-troweled wall surfaces, sophisticated oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty want doors that arch on top, cabinets in an all-natural, knotty alder, and their favorite-- concrete kitchen counter tops. Unlike in their previous house, KJ and also his specialized staff put charcoal-colored countertops making use of the pre-cast approach in the unfinished basement of the new home. Before pouring the concrete, they sprayed an array of semi-precious stones in the mold and mildew consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and also Blue-green. After the surface was ground and also lightly brightened, the finished outcome was an outstanding mix of shades, "By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was one of the most unbelievable," claims Joy. The L-shaped concrete counter top has a harsh, rustic stone appearance, complementing its rugged nation surroundings. An integral drain board and also trivets offers function and included passion to the concrete counter top. All-natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block kitchen counter at the cooking area island all ikea countertops desk reverberate with the standard heat as well as earthiness of the concrete countertops. Pleasure and also Ken's particular backgrounds in real estate and custom homebuilding, and as investment property buyers, have assisted them realize that concrete countertops can include incredible visual and also monetary value to a residence. Concrete's modification and "show-stopping" appeal is like nothing else kitchen counter surface area. Cheng is an advocate of emotional appearances as well as constructing houses that capture these emotions, as when it comes to Happiness and Ken Otterman. Cheng ends: "Individuals truly desire differentiation, something personal, something personalized-- as well as concrete can do that for them."