The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Customization Increases Visual Appeal and
The Value of Concrete Countertops: Customization Increases Aesthetic Appeal and Realty 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 requiring custom-made styles and finishes in their cooking areas. In specific, they are aiming to express their uniqueness and unique style preferences with the fast growing style product of choice concrete.
In fact, concrete countertops have ended up being somewhat of a status symbol for kitchens, measuring up to granite and other high-end countertop surface area alternatives. Consumer Reports Publication (August 2004) ranked concrete highest for its customization and exclusivity among high-end cooking area countertops.
As a customized item, the quantity of time and craftsmanship required to produce concrete counter tops positions them as the most labor-intensive and priciest amongst leading countertop materials.
However, concrete countertops are becoming more accessible for those on a modest budget plan. The latest do-it-yourself (DO IT YOURSELF) pattern to mesmerize property owners and home builders is constructing your own concrete countertop. This phenomenon has gained popularity mostly due to Chengs very popular book Concrete Countertops: Style, Types, and Ends Up for the New Kitchen and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the imaginative gains of working with concrete abound.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, property owners are moving away from the dull, manufactured appearance of traditional countertop surfaces and selecting concrete for its earthy, timeless appeal. Plus, the choices for individualizing concrete counter tops are unlimited: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed personal things like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface area, including belief and character. Practical functions such as drain boards, soap https://portal.uaptc.edu/ICS/icsfs/Plumbing_Issues_in_Old_Homes.html?target=3eea8d4a-73ce-45dd-9769-7275bf7a01e1 dishes, and trivets can likewise be included to match the homeowners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly becoming demystified as typically cold and industrial. In contrary, this olden material is warm and remarkably tactile; individuals can not help however touch their smooth, sleek surfaces. Realty agent Delight Rasmussen, who has actually just recently sold her mountain home a short-term financial investment residential or commercial property in Steamboat Springs, CO recounts her visitors experiences with concrete: When I had open homes, visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops lots of people around here have actually never ever seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom build by her husband, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Custom Homes. They constructed pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen and three bathrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were polished smooth, then paired with natural slate of differing colors like charcoal, rust and gold tones that forms the backsplashes in the kitchen area and baths. As a design accent, little rectangular slate tiles were contributed to the rim of the restroom sinks, which offered a special detail to the custom-made vanities.
When Delight and Ken chose to sell their home, their investment in concrete countertops proved its value. We had the ability to note your home $20,000 over market value, and had no issues selling it, comments Pleasure, while going over the long list of upgrades throughout their house, including knotty pine strong doors, natural slate wall accents and hardwood floorings. The concrete counter tops were quickly the most distinct and excellent of all the surfaces. I believe they were a big part in including value to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite counter tops and I truly think homebuyers are getting rather numb with granite.
Concrete counter tops are a distinct offering to property buyers who see the same surfaces used in home after house they visit, discusses Joy, providing her observation as a seasoned realtor. Having concrete countertops almost gives you boasting rights you have something various from your neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another advantage of concrete is its versatility in either modern or standard settings, particularly when coupled with other products like diverse metals, wood or stone. Concrete adds many [possibilities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is extremely popular here, offers the mountain homes a general warm, natural touch, states Joy.
Joy and Ken have actually because constructed a much bigger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that provides extensive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is meant to work as a long-lasting financial investment for the couple. Theyve likewise broadened their list of custom-made surfaces, consisting of 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 cooking area counter tops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialized crew put charcoal-colored countertops using the pre-cast approach in the incomplete basement of the new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprinkled a range of semi-precious stones in the mold including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Blue-green. After the surface was ground and gently polished, the finished result was a remarkable blend of colors, Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most amazing, says Delight.
The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone look, matching its rugged country environments. An important drain board and trivets provides function and included interest to the concrete countertop. Natural slate backsplashes, distinct wall accents, and a butcher block countertop at the kitchen island all resonate with the conventional warmth and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
Joy and Kens particular backgrounds in property and custom homebuilding, and as investment property buyers, have actually assisted them understand that concrete counter tops can add tremendous visual and monetary worth to a home. Concretes modification and show-stopping appeal resembles no other countertop surface. Cheng is an advocate of emotional aesthetics and building homes that catch these feelings, as when it comes to Delight and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: People really want differentiation, something individual, something custom and concrete can do that for them.