The Value of Concrete Countertops: Customization Boosts Aesthetic Appeal and
The Value of Concrete Countertops: Modification Increases Visual Appeal and Real Estate Financial investment for Homeowners
In reality, concrete counter tops have become somewhat of a status sign for kitchens, measuring up to granite and other high-end countertop surface area choices. Consumer Reports Publication (August 2004) ranked concrete greatest for its customization and exclusivity amongst high-end cooking area countertops.
As a customized product, the quantity of time and craftsmanship needed to produce concrete countertops positions them as the most labor-intensive and most expensive among leading countertop materials.
However, concrete countertops are ending up being more available for those on a modest budget plan. The most recent do-it-yourself (DIY) trend to mesmerize homeowners and home builders is constructing your own concrete countertop. This phenomenon has actually gotten popularity largely due to Chengs best-selling book Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Completes for the New Cooking Area and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary investment in making concrete countertops, yet the imaginative gains of working with concrete are plentiful.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, house owners are moving away from the monotonous, manufactured appearance of conventional countertop surfaces and choosing concrete for its earthy, classic appeal. Plus, the choices for customizing concrete counter tops are limitless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed individual things like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface, including belief and character. Functional features such as drain boards, soap meals, and trivets can also be integrated to fit the homeowners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly ending up being debunked as characteristically cold and industrial. In contrary, this age-old product is warm and surprisingly tactile; people can not help however touch their smooth, refined surfaces. Realty agent Joy 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 individuals around here have never seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom develop by her husband, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Special Custom-made Houses. They developed pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen and three restrooms by utilizing 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 design accent, small rectangle-shaped slate tiles were contributed to the rim of the restroom sinks, which supplied a special detail to the custom-made vanities.
When Delight and Ken decided to offer their house, their investment in concrete countertops proved its value. We had the ability to list your home $20,000 over market price, and had no issues selling it, comments Delight, while going over the long list of upgrades throughout their home, consisting of knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall accents and hardwood floors. The concrete countertops were easily the most special and remarkable of all the finishes. I believe they were a substantial part in adding value to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite countertops and I actually think homebuyers are getting rather numb with granite.
Concrete counter tops are a distinct offering to property buyers who see the same finishes Preparing Pipes for Winter utilized in house after home they visit, explains Joy, using her observation as a skilled realtor. Having concrete countertops nearly offers you bragging rights you have something different from your neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another advantage of concrete is its flexibility in either modern-day or traditional settings, specifically when combined with other products like diverse metals, wood or stone. Concrete adds so many [possibilities] to stone, and the combination with slate, which is hugely popular here, offers the mountain homes a total warm, natural touch, states Joy.
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-term investment for the couple. Theyve likewise broadened their list of customized finishes, 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 favorite concrete kitchen counter tops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialty team put charcoal-colored countertops using the pre-cast method in the incomplete basement of the brand-new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprinkled a variety of semi-precious stones in the mold including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Turquoise. After the surface area was ground and gently polished, the completed outcome was an outstanding blend of colors, Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most unbelievable, states Happiness.
The L-shaped concrete counter top has a rough, rustic stone look, matching its rugged country surroundings. An important drain board and trivets supplies function and included interest to the concrete counter top. Natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block counter top at the cooking area island all resonate with the standard warmth and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
Joy and Kens particular backgrounds in realty and customized homebuilding, and as financial investment property buyers, have actually helped them recognize that concrete counter tops can add significant aesthetic and financial value to a home. Concretes customization and show-stopping appeal is like no other counter top surface. Cheng is a supporter of psychological looks and building homes that catch these feelings, as in the case of Delight and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: Individuals really want distinction, something personal, something customized and concrete can do that for them.