The value of concrete counter tops modification increases visual appeal and
The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Boosts Visual Appeal and
The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Boosts Aesthetic 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 property owners are requiring custom-made styles and surfaces in their cooking areas. In particular, they are seeking to express their individuality and distinct design choices with the fast growing style material of choice concrete.
In reality, concrete counter tops have ended up being somewhat of a status symbol for kitchens, rivaling granite and other high-end countertop surface choices. Customer Reports Publication (August 2004) ranked concrete highest for its modification and exclusivity amongst high-end kitchen countertops.
As a customized item, the amount of time and craftsmanship needed to produce concrete counter tops places them as the most labor-intensive and priciest among leading counter top materials.
However, concrete counter tops are becoming more available for those on a modest budget. The latest diy (DO IT YOURSELF) trend to captivate house owners and home builders is developing your own concrete counter top. This phenomenon has acquired appeal mainly due to Chengs very popular book Concrete Countertops: Style, Types, and Ends Up for the New Kitchen Area and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the creative gains of dealing with concrete are plentiful.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, property owners are moving far from the dull, manufactured look of standard countertop surfaces and selecting concrete for its earthy, timeless appeal. Plus, the options for personalizing concrete countertops are endless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed individual things like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface, including sentiment and character. Practical functions such as drain boards, soap meals, and trivets can also be integrated to match the property owners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly becoming demystified as typically cold and industrial. In contrary, this olden material is warm and surprisingly tactile; people can not help however touch their smooth, sleek surface areas. Property agent Happiness Rasmussen, who has recently sold her mountain home a short-term financial investment residential or commercial property in Steamboat Springs, CO states her visitors experiences with concrete: When I had open houses, visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops many individuals around here have never ever seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was customized develop by her other half, Ken Otterman, in addition to KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Customized Houses. They built pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen area and 3 bathrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete countertops were polished smooth, then coupled with natural slate of varying colors like charcoal, rust and gold tones that forms the backsplashes in the cooking area and baths. As a style accent, small rectangular slate tiles were contributed to the rim of the bathroom sinks, which offered a special detail to the customized vanities.
When Pleasure and Ken chose to offer their house, their financial investment in concrete counter tops showed its worth. We had the ability to note your house $20,000 over market value, and had no problems selling it, remarks Delight, while discussing the long list of upgrades throughout their home, consisting of knotty pine strong doors, natural slate wall accents and wood floorings. The concrete counter tops were quickly the most distinct and remarkable of all the surfaces. I believe they were a huge part in adding value to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite countertops and I actually believe homebuyers are getting rather numb with granite.
Concrete countertops are an unique offering to homebuyers who see the very same surfaces utilized in home after home they check out, discusses Delight, providing her observation as an experienced real estate agent. Having concrete counter tops nearly gives you boasting rights you have something various from your next-door neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another benefit of concrete is its adaptability in either modern-day or conventional settings, specifically when coupled with other products like different metals, wood or stone. Concrete adds numerous [possibilities] to stone, and the combination with slate, which is hugely popular here, provides the mountain homes an overall warm, natural touch, says Happiness.
Joy and Ken have considering that constructed a much bigger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that uses extensive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is suggested to function as a long-term investment for the couple. Theyve also broadened their list of custom 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 favorite concrete kitchen counter tops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialized team put charcoal-colored countertops using the pre-cast approach in the incomplete basement of the brand-new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprinkled an array of semi-precious stones in the mold consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Blue-green. After the surface area was ground and gently polished, the finished outcome was a remarkable mix of colors, By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was Check out this site the most extraordinary, says Pleasure.

The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone look, complementing its rugged nation environments. An important drain board and trivets supplies function and added interest to the concrete counter top. Natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block counter top at the cooking area island all resonate with the standard warmth and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
Joy and Kens particular backgrounds in real estate and custom homebuilding, and as investment property buyers, have helped them realize that concrete countertops can add tremendous visual and monetary value to a home. Concretes personalization and show-stopping appeal is like no other counter top surface area. Cheng is a proponent of psychological aesthetic appeals and constructing homes that catch these emotions, as when it comes to Joy and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: People really desire differentiation, something personal, something custom and concrete can do that for them.