The Value of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Increases 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 finishes in their kitchen areas. In particular, they are looking to reveal their individuality and unique design choices with the quick growing style product of choice concrete.
In fact, concrete countertops have ended up being rather of a status symbol for kitchen areas, rivaling granite and other high-end counter top surface area alternatives. Customer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete greatest for its personalization and exclusivity among high-end kitchen area countertops.
However, concrete countertops are becoming more available for those on a modest budget plan. The current diy (DO IT YOURSELF) trend to captivate homeowners and contractors is developing your own concrete countertop. This phenomenon has actually gained popularity mainly due to Chengs best-selling book Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Finishes for the New Kitchen Area and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the creative gains of working with concrete are plentiful.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, homeowners are moving far from the dull, manufactured look of conventional countertop surfaces and selecting concrete for its earthy, timeless appeal. Plus, the alternatives for individualizing concrete counter tops are endless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed personal items like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface, including sentiment and character. Practical features such as drain boards, soap meals, and trivets can likewise be incorporated to fit the house owners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly ending up being debunked as typically cold and commercial. In contrary, this age-old product is warm and surprisingly tactile; people can not help but touch their smooth, sleek surface areas. Realty agent Pleasure Rasmussen, who has just recently offered her mountain home a short-term investment residential or commercial property in Steamboat Springs, CO recounts her visitors experiences with concrete: When I had open houses, visitors gravitated to the concrete counter tops many people around here have actually never seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom-made build by her partner, Ken Otterman, together with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Special Custom Houses. They developed pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen and 3 bathrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete countertops were polished smooth, then paired 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, little rectangle-shaped slate tiles were added to the rim of the restroom sinks, which supplied a distinct detail to the custom vanities.
When Joy and Ken chose to sell their home, their financial investment in concrete countertops showed its worth. We were able to note your home $20,000 over market value, and had no issues selling it, comments Joy, while discussing the long list of upgrades throughout their house, including knotty pine strong doors, natural slate wall accents and hardwood floorings. The concrete countertops were quickly the most unique and remarkable of all the surfaces. I think they were a substantial part in including value to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite counter tops and I actually believe property buyers are getting quite numb with granite.
Concrete countertops are a distinct offering to homebuyers who see the very same surfaces utilized in house after house they check out, discusses Delight, using her observation as a skilled realtor. Having concrete countertops practically gives you bragging rights you professional Fix-It Right Plumbing have something different from your neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another advantage of concrete is its versatility in either modern or standard settings, particularly when combined with other materials like varied metals, wood or stone. Concrete includes numerous [possibilities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is extremely popular here, gives the mountain homes a total warm, natural touch, states Pleasure.
Joy and Ken have given that developed a much larger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that uses extensive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is meant to act as a long-lasting financial investment for the couple. Theyve likewise broadened their list of custom finishes, including hand-troweled walls, elegant 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 specialized team put charcoal-colored counter tops utilizing the pre-cast technique in the unfinished basement of the brand-new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprinkled a selection 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 result was an excellent blend of colors, By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most incredible, states Pleasure.
The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone appearance, matching its rugged country surroundings. An integral drain board and trivets offers function and added interest to the concrete counter top. Natural slate backsplashes, distinct wall accents, and a butcher block counter top at the cooking area island all resonate with the conventional heat and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
Joy and Kens particular backgrounds in real estate and customized homebuilding, and as financial investment homebuyers, have actually helped them understand that concrete countertops can add significant aesthetic and financial value to a home. Concretes customization and show-stopping appeal resembles no other countertop surface area. Cheng is a proponent of psychological looks and developing homes that record these emotions, as when it comes to Joy and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: People actually want distinction, something personal, something custom and concrete can do that for them.