The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Modification Boosts Aesthetic Appeal and
The Value of Concrete Countertops: Modification Boosts Aesthetic Appeal and Real Estate Financial investment for Homeowners
From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Location to stretching mountain homes in the Colorado Rockies, discriminating homeowners are demanding customized styles and finishes in their kitchen areas. In specific, they are seeking to express their uniqueness and unique style preferences with the quick growing style product of option concrete.
In fact, concrete counter tops have actually become somewhat of a status sign for kitchen areas, equaling granite and other high-end countertop surface choices. Consumer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete greatest for its personalization and exclusivity among high-end cooking area countertops.
As a custom item, the amount of time and craftsmanship required to produce concrete counter tops puts them as the most labor-intensive and priciest amongst leading countertop products.
However, concrete countertops are ending up being more available for those on a modest budget plan. The latest do-it-yourself (DIY) trend to captivate homeowners and contractors is constructing your own concrete counter top. This phenomenon has gotten popularity mostly due to Chengs very popular book Concrete Countertops: Style, Forms, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little financial financial 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 tedious, manufactured look of conventional countertop surface areas and choosing concrete for its earthy, classic appeal. Plus, the alternatives for customizing concrete counter tops are unlimited: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed individual things like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface area, adding belief and character. Functional features such as drain boards, soap meals, and trivets can likewise be incorporated to match the house owners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly ending up being demystified as typically cold and commercial. In contrary, this olden material is warm and remarkably tactile; people can not help however touch their smooth, sleek surfaces. Real estate agent Joy 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 homes, visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops many people around here have never ever seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom-made construct by her spouse, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Custom-made Houses. They developed pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen area and three bathrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete countertops 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 rectangle-shaped slate tiles were contributed to the rim of the bathroom sinks, which supplied an unique detail to the customized vanities.
When Happiness and Ken decided to offer their home, their investment in concrete counter tops proved its worth. We had the ability to note the house $20,000 over market value, https://canvas.msstate.edu/eportfolios/12394/home/what-in-your-house-requires-plumbing and had no problems offering it, comments Joy, while talking about the long list of upgrades throughout their home, consisting of knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall accents and wood floorings. The concrete counter tops were quickly the most unique and remarkable of all the finishes. I believe they were a big part in including worth to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite countertops and I really believe homebuyers are getting quite numb with granite.
Concrete counter tops are an unique offering to property buyers who see the exact same finishes utilized in home after home they go to, describes Delight, offering her observation as a skilled real estate agent. Having concrete counter tops almost 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-day or conventional settings, especially when combined with other materials like diverse metals, wood or stone. Concrete includes a lot of [possibilities] to stone, and the combination with slate, which is extremely popular here, gives the mountain homes an overall warm, natural touch, says Joy.

Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialized crew poured charcoal-colored counter tops using the pre-cast method in the unfinished basement of the brand-new home. Before pouring the concrete, they sprinkled a variety of semi-precious stones in the mold including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Blue-green. After the surface was ground and lightly polished, the completed outcome was a remarkable blend of colors, Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most unbelievable, states Delight.
The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone appearance, matching its rugged nation surroundings. An integral drain board and trivets provides function and added interest to the concrete countertop. Natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block countertop at the kitchen area island all resonate with the traditional warmth and earthiness of the concrete countertops.
Joy and Kens respective backgrounds in real estate and customized homebuilding, and as investment property buyers, have helped them realize that concrete countertops can add significant aesthetic and monetary value to a home. Concretes customization and show-stopping appeal resembles no other counter top surface area. Cheng is a supporter of emotional aesthetic appeals and constructing homes that capture these emotions, as in the case of Pleasure and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: Individuals truly desire distinction, something individual, something customized and concrete can do that for them.