The Value of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Boosts Aesthetic Appeal and
The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Customization Increases Visual Appeal and Property Investment for Homeowners
From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Location to sprawling mountain homes in the Colorado Rockies, discriminating house owners are demanding custom 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 fact, concrete counter tops have actually become somewhat of a status sign for kitchens, measuring up to granite and other high-end counter top surface area choices. Customer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete greatest for its modification and exclusivity among high-end kitchen countertops.
As a custom product, the amount of time and workmanship needed to produce concrete counter tops places them as the most labor-intensive and most expensive among leading countertop materials.
However, concrete counter tops are becoming more accessible for those on a modest budget plan. The latest do-it-yourself (DIY) trend to mesmerize house owners and home builders is constructing your own concrete countertop. This phenomenon has gotten appeal mostly due to Chengs best-selling book Concrete Countertops: Style, Forms, and Completes for the New Kitchen and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the innovative gains of dealing with concrete are plentiful.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, house owners are moving away from the tedious, manufactured look of conventional counter top surface areas and picking concrete for its earthy, classic appeal. Plus, the alternatives for individualizing concrete counter tops are endless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed individual items like stones, seashells and fossils into the countertops surface, including sentiment and character. Functional features such as drain boards, soap dishes, and trivets can also be integrated to suit the homeowners own needs and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly ending up being demystified as typically cold and commercial. In contrary, this olden product is warm and remarkably tactile; individuals can not assist however touch their smooth, sleek surfaces. Realty representative Pleasure Rasmussen, who has recently offered her mountain home a short-term financial investment property 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 ever seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was customized build by her spouse, Ken Otterman, together with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Customized Residences. They constructed pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen area and three bathrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were polished smooth, then coupled with natural slate of varying colors like charcoal, rust and gold tones that forms the backsplashes in the kitchen area and baths. As a style accent, small rectangular slate tiles were contributed to the rim of the restroom sinks, which supplied an unique detail to the custom-made vanities.
When Joy and Ken chose to sell their house, their investment in concrete countertops proved its worth. We had the ability to note the house $20,000 over market price, and had no issues offering it, comments Pleasure, while going over the long list of upgrades throughout their house, consisting of knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall accents and wood floorings. The concrete countertops were easily the most special and excellent of all the surfaces. I believe they were a substantial part in including value to the home. leak prevention advice Around here, all you see in homes are granite countertops and I really believe homebuyers are getting quite numb with granite.
Concrete countertops are a distinct offering to property buyers who see the exact same surfaces used in house after house they check out, discusses Pleasure, providing her observation as a seasoned real estate agent. Having concrete counter tops almost offers you bragging rights you have something different from your neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another benefit of concrete is its adaptability in either contemporary or standard settings, especially when coupled with other products like varied metals, wood or stone. Concrete includes a lot of [possibilities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is hugely popular here, offers the mountain homes a general warm, natural touch, says Pleasure.
Joy and Ken have since constructed a much larger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that uses expansive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is meant to function as a long-lasting investment for the couple. Theyve likewise broadened their list of customized surfaces, 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 favorite concrete cooking area counter tops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialty crew poured charcoal-colored counter tops utilizing the pre-cast method in the unfinished basement of the new home. Before pouring 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 was ground and gently polished, the finished result was an excellent mix of colors, By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most unbelievable, states Pleasure.
The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone look, complementing its rugged country surroundings. An essential drain board and trivets provides function and added interest to the concrete counter top. Natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block counter top at the kitchen area island all resonate with the standard heat and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
Joy and Kens respective backgrounds in property and customized homebuilding, and as investment property buyers, have actually assisted them understand that concrete countertops can include remarkable visual and financial worth to a home. Concretes modification and show-stopping appeal is like no other countertop surface. Cheng is a supporter of psychological visual appeals and building homes that catch these emotions, as when it comes to Pleasure and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: Individuals truly desire distinction, something personal, something customized and concrete can do that for them.
