The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Boosts Visual Appeal and
The Value of Concrete Countertops: Customization Boosts 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 homeowners are requiring customized designs and finishes in their kitchen areas. In specific, they are seeking to express their uniqueness and distinct style choices with the quick growing design product of option concrete.
In reality, concrete counter tops have actually ended up being somewhat of a status more info sign for cooking areas, equaling granite and other high-end countertop surface area alternatives. Customer Reports Publication (August 2004) ranked concrete greatest for its modification and exclusivity amongst high-end kitchen countertops.
As a custom-made item, the quantity of time and craftsmanship required to produce concrete countertops places them as the most labor-intensive and most expensive among leading counter top products.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, homeowners are moving far from the boring, manufactured look of standard countertop surface areas and choosing concrete for its earthy, classic appeal. Plus, the choices for individualizing concrete countertops are endless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed individual items like stones, seashells and fossils into the countertops surface area, including belief and character. Functional features such as drain boards, soap dishes, and trivets can likewise be integrated to suit the property owners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly becoming debunked as characteristically cold and industrial. In contrary, this age-old material is warm and surprisingly tactile; individuals can not help however touch their smooth, polished surfaces. Real estate representative Joy Rasmussen, who has just recently sold her mountain home a short-term plumber Canberra financial investment home in Steamboat Springs, CO states her visitors experiences with concrete: When I had open houses, visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops lots of people around here have never seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was customized develop by her hubby, Ken Otterman, together with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Special Custom-made Residences. They developed pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes cooking area and 3 restrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete counter tops were polished smooth, then coupled 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 rectangle-shaped slate tiles were contributed to the rim of the bathroom sinks, which supplied an unique detail to the custom vanities.
When Happiness and Ken chose to sell their house, their investment in concrete countertops showed its worth. We had the ability to list your house $20,000 over market value, and had no problems offering it, remarks Happiness, while going over the long list of upgrades throughout their home, consisting of knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall accents and wood floors. The concrete countertops were easily the most distinct and outstanding of all the finishes. I think they were a big part in including worth to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite counter tops and I actually believe property buyers are getting rather numb with granite.
Concrete countertops are an unique offering to property buyers who see the very same finishes used in house after home they go to, describes Joy, offering her observation as an experienced real estate agent. Having concrete countertops practically gives you boasting rights you have something different from your neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another benefit of concrete is its versatility in either contemporary or conventional settings, especially when coupled with other materials like different metals, wood or stone. Concrete includes so many [possibilities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is hugely popular here, provides the mountain homes an overall warm, natural touch, states Pleasure.
Joy and Ken have because constructed a much larger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that provides expansive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is indicated to function as a long-lasting financial investment for the couple. Theyve also 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 countertops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialized team poured charcoal-colored counter tops using the pre-cast technique in the incomplete basement of the new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprayed 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 lightly polished, the completed result was an excellent blend of colors, Without a doubt, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most extraordinary, says Pleasure.
The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone appearance, complementing its rugged country surroundings. An important drain board and trivets supplies function and added interest to the concrete countertop. Natural slate backsplashes, unique wall accents, and a butcher block countertop at the cooking area island all resonate with the traditional heat and earthiness of the concrete counter tops.
Joy and Kens respective backgrounds in real estate and customized homebuilding, and as financial investment property buyers, have helped them realize that concrete countertops can add remarkable visual and monetary value to a home. Concretes personalization and show-stopping appeal resembles no other countertop surface. Cheng is an advocate of psychological visual appeals and developing homes that catch these emotions, as in the case of Joy and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: Individuals actually want differentiation, something individual, something custom and concrete can do that for them.