The Value of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Increases Aesthetic Appeal and
The Value of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Increases Aesthetic Appeal and Realty Financial investment for Homeowners
From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Area to sprawling mountain homes in the Colorado Rockies, discriminating homeowners are demanding custom designs and finishes in their kitchens. In particular, they are looking to express their hot water heater individuality and distinct design choices with the fast growing design product of option concrete.
In truth, concrete counter tops have become somewhat of a status symbol for cooking areas, measuring up to granite and other high-end countertop surface choices. Consumer Reports Publication (August 2004) ranked concrete highest for its personalization and exclusivity amongst high-end cooking area hot water solutions comparison countertops.
As a custom item, the amount of time and workmanship needed to produce concrete counter tops puts them as the most labor-intensive and most expensive among leading countertop materials.
However, concrete counter tops are ending up being more available for those on a modest budget plan. The current do-it-yourself (DIY) pattern to captivate house owners and contractors is constructing your own concrete counter top. This phenomenon has actually acquired appeal mostly due to Chengs very popular book Concrete Countertops: Style, Kinds, and Completes for the New Kitchen and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary investment in making concrete counter tops, yet the imaginative gains of dealing with concrete abound.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, property owners are moving far from the dull, manufactured look of conventional counter top surfaces and picking concrete for its earthy, ageless appeal. Plus, the alternatives for individualizing concrete counter tops are limitless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed personal items like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface, adding sentiment and character. Practical features such as drain boards, soap meals, and trivets can also be incorporated to suit the property owners own requirements and lifestyle.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom build by her spouse, Ken Otterman, in addition to KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Custom-made Residences. They constructed 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 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 contributed to the rim of the bathroom sinks, which offered a distinct information to the customized vanities.
When Joy and Ken decided to offer their home, their investment in concrete countertops showed its value. We had the ability to note your home $20,000 over market value, and had no issues selling it, remarks Delight, while going over the long list of upgrades throughout their home, including knotty pine strong doors, natural slate wall accents and hardwood floors. The concrete countertops were quickly the most special and excellent of all the surfaces. I think they were a substantial part in adding worth to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite counter tops and I really believe homebuyers are getting quite numb with granite.
Concrete countertops are a special offering to property buyers who see the very same surfaces used in home after home they check out, describes Happiness, offering her observation as an experienced realtor. Having concrete countertops nearly gives you bragging rights you have something various from your next-door neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another benefit of concrete is its flexibility in either modern or conventional settings, especially when combined with other products like different metals, wood or stone. Concrete includes so many [possibilities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is extremely popular here, offers the mountain homes a total warm, natural touch, says Joy.
Joy and Ken have given that developed a much bigger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that uses extensive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is indicated to serve as a long-lasting investment for the couple. Theyve also expanded their list of custom finishes, consisting of hand-troweled walls, classy oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty pine doors that arch at the top, cabinets in a natural, knotty alder, and their preferred concrete cooking area counter tops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialized crew put charcoal-colored countertops using the pre-cast technique in the incomplete basement of the new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprayed a selection of semi-precious stones in the mold including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Turquoise. After the surface area was ground and lightly polished, the finished outcome was an outstanding mix of colors, Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most extraordinary, states Delight.
The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone appearance, complementing its rugged nation surroundings. An essential drain board and trivets supplies function and added interest to the concrete counter top. Natural slate backsplashes, distinct wall accents, and a butcher block countertop at the kitchen area island all resonate with the traditional heat and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
Joy and Kens respective backgrounds in property and custom homebuilding, and as financial investment property buyers, have assisted them understand that concrete countertops can include tremendous aesthetic and monetary value to a home. Concretes personalization and show-stopping appeal is like no other counter top surface. Cheng is an advocate of psychological aesthetic appeals and constructing homes that catch these emotions, as when it comes to Happiness and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: Individuals truly desire differentiation, something individual, something custom and concrete can do that for them.