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From top-dollar houses in the San Francisco Bay Area to stretching mountain residences in the Colorado Rockies, differentiating house owners are requiring custom-made designs as well as finishes in their kitchens. Particularly, they are looking to reveal their uniqueness and also distinctive layout choices with the rapid growing layout material of selection-- concrete.
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From top-dollar residences in the San Francisco Bay Area to stretching mountain residences in the Colorado Mountain ranges, discriminating house owners are demanding custom layouts and also coatings in their kitchen areas. Particularly, they are looking to share their uniqueness and distinctive design preferences with the fast growing layout material of option-- concrete. As a matter of fact, concrete kitchen counters have ended up being rather of a condition sign for kitchens, rivaling granite and other high-end kitchen counter surface area choices. Customer Reports Publication (August 2004) rated concrete highest possible for its "customization" and "exclusivity" amongst high-end cooking area countertops. As a customized product, the quantity of time and workmanship needed to create concrete countertops positions them as one of the most labor-intensive and also most costly among leading countertop materials. Nevertheless, concrete countertops are coming to be more accessible for those on a moderate budget. The most up to date diy (DIY) trend to captivate property owners and builders is building your very own concrete counter top. This phenomenon has gained appeal largely because of Cheng's best-selling publication Concrete Countertops: Style, Forms, and also Completes for the New Kitchen and also Bathroom (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary financial investment in making concrete kitchen counters, yet the imaginative gains of working with concrete abound. THE SHOWSTOPPER Increasingly, homeowners are relocating far from the dull, manufactured appearance of conventional countertop surfaces and also selecting concrete for its earthy, timeless appeal. And also, the options for individualizing concrete countertops are unlimited: one can color, polish, concrete countertops versus granite stamp and also tarnish concrete or imbed personal objects like rocks, seashells and fossils into the kitchen counter's surface, adding belief and also personality. Useful features such as drainpipe boards, soap recipes, as well as trivets can additionally be included to match the house owners' own requirements as well as lifestyle. Concrete is gradually becoming demystified as characteristically cool and industrial. In contrary, this old-time material is warm as well as remarkably responsive; people can not help but touch their smooth, sleek surface areas. Property agent Happiness Rasmussen, who has actually just recently marketed her hill residence-- a short- term investment residential or commercial property in Boat Springs, Carbon Monoxide-- states her site visitors' experiences with concrete: "When I had open homes, visitors was attracted to the concrete countertops-- many people around here have actually never ever seen them". Happiness's 2,265 sq. ft. hill home was custom develop by her hubby, Ken Otterman, in addition to KJ Otterman, head of state of Standard Unique Customized Houses. They developed pour-in-place concrete counters for the house's kitchen area and three washrooms by utilizing Concrete Countertops as their overview. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were polished smooth, after that coupled with natural slate of varying shades-- like charcoal, corrosion as well as gold tones-- that develops the backsplashes in the kitchen and also baths. As a layout accent, little rectangle-shaped slate ceramic tiles were included in the rim of the restroom sinks, which supplied a special detail to the personalized vanities. When Joy and Ken chose to market their residence, their financial investment in concrete countertops showed its worth. "We were able to note your house $20,000 over market value, and had no problems offering it," comments Pleasure, while discussing the long listing of upgrades throughout their residence, consisting of knotty want solid doors, all-natural slate wall surface accents as well as wood floors. "The concrete countertops were quickly one of the most special and also remarkable of all the coatings. I believe they were a massive part in adding worth to the home. Around here, all you see in houses are granite kitchen counters-- as well as I really believe buyers are
getting rather numb with granite." " Concrete counter tops are an unique offering to property buyers that see the same coatings made use of in house after residence they check out," describes Delight, supplying her monitoring as a seasoned real estate agent. "Having concrete counter tops practically offers you bragging civil liberties-- you have something different from your next-door neighbors." BREAKING THE MOLD AND MILDEW An additional advantage of concrete is its versatility in either modern or conventional setups, specifically when coupled with various other materials like different metals, wood or rock. "Concrete includes so many [opportunities] to stone, and also the combination with slate, which is widely prominent right here, offers the hill residences an overall warm, all-natural touch," claims Happiness. Joy and also Ken have actually considering that developed a much larger residence (4,000 sq. ft.) that provides extensive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and also is implied to serve as a long-term financial investment for the pair. They've also increased their list of custom coatings, including hand-troweled wall surfaces, sophisticated oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty ache doors that curve at the top, cabinets in an all-natural, knotty alder, as well as their preferred-- concrete kitchen countertops. Unlike in their previous residence, KJ as well as his specialized crew put charcoal-colored countertops using the pre-cast technique in the incomplete cellar of the new residence. Before pouring the concrete, they sprinkled a selection of semi-precious rocks in the mold and mildew consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and also Turquoise. After the surface was ground and also gently polished, the completed outcome was an excellent blend of shades, "By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was one of the most unbelievable," says Pleasure. The L-shaped concrete counter top has a rough, rustic rock appearance, enhancing its sturdy country surroundings. An indispensable drainpipe board and also trivets offers function and also added interest to the concrete kitchen counter. All-natural slate backsplashes, unique wall surface accents, as well as a butcher block counter top at the kitchen island all reverberate with the traditional warmth and also earthiness of the concrete countertops. Delight as well as Ken's respective histories in realty as well as custom homebuilding, and also as financial investment property buyers, have aided them understand that concrete kitchen counters can add tremendous visual and economic worth to a residence. Concrete's personalization as well as "show-stopping" charm is like no other countertop surface area. Cheng is a proponent of emotional appearances as well as building homes that capture these emotions, as in the case of Pleasure and also Ken Otterman. Cheng wraps up: "Individuals actually desire differentiation, something personal, something personalized-- and concrete can do that for them."
