The Worth of Concrete Countertops: Personalization Boosts Visual Appeal and
The Value of Concrete Countertops: Modification Increases Visual Appeal and Realty Financial investment for Homeowners
In truth, concrete countertops have ended up being somewhat of a status symbol for cooking areas, measuring up to granite and other high-end counter top surface alternatives. Consumer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete highest for its customization and exclusivity amongst high-end cooking area countertops.
As a custom-made product, the quantity of time and workmanship required to produce concrete countertops places them as the most labor-intensive and most expensive amongst leading counter top products.
However, concrete counter tops are ending up being more accessible for those on a modest budget. The latest do-it-yourself (DIY) trend to mesmerize house owners and home builders is developing your own concrete countertop. This phenomenon has actually gotten popularity largely due to Chengs very popular book Concrete Countertops: Design, Kinds, and Completes for the New Kitchen and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary financial investment in making concrete countertops, yet the imaginative gains of working with concrete abound.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Increasingly, house owners are moving far from the dull, manufactured appearance of traditional countertop surface areas and choosing concrete for its earthy, classic appeal. Plus, the options for personalizing concrete countertops are limitless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed individual items like stones, seashells and fossils into the counter tops surface, adding sentiment and character. Functional features such as drain boards, soap meals, and trivets can likewise be incorporated to suit the property owners own requirements and lifestyle.
Concrete is slowly becoming demystified as characteristically cold and industrial. In contrary, this olden material is warm and remarkably tactile; people can not assist but touch their smooth, polished surfaces. Realty agent Joy Rasmussen, who has actually just recently offered her mountain home a short-term financial investment home in Steamboat Springs, CO states her visitors experiences with concrete: When I had open houses, visitors gravitated to the concrete counter tops lots of people around here have never seen them.
Joys 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom-made build by her partner, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Unique Customized Homes. They developed pour-in-place concrete counters for the homes kitchen area and 3 restrooms 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 area and baths. As a design accent, small rectangular slate tiles were contributed to the rim of the restroom sinks, which provided a distinct detail to the custom-made vanities.
When Happiness and Ken chose to sell their home, their investment in concrete countertops showed its value. We had the ability to list your house $20,000 over market value, and had no problems selling it, remarks Happiness, while talking about the long list of upgrades throughout their home, consisting of knotty pine strong doors, natural slate wall accents and hardwood floors. The concrete countertops were quickly the most unique and remarkable of all the finishes. I think they were a substantial part in including worth to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite counter tops and I actually think homebuyers are getting rather numb with granite.
Concrete countertops are a distinct offering to property buyers who see the same finishes used in home after home they go to, describes Pleasure, offering her observation as an experienced real estate agent. Having concrete counter tops practically best plumber near me gives you bragging rights you have something various from your neighbors.
BREAKING THE MOLD
Another advantage of concrete is its adaptability in either contemporary or standard settings, especially when combined with other products like different metals, wood or stone. Concrete includes many [possibilities] to stone, and the mix with slate, which is extremely popular here, provides the mountain homes a total warm, natural touch, says Pleasure.
Joy and Ken have because constructed a much bigger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that offers extensive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is indicated to act as a long-lasting investment for the couple. Theyve also expanded their list of custom-made finishes, consisting of hand-troweled walls, sophisticated oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty pine plumber near Melbourne doors that arch at the top, cabinets in a natural, knotty alder, and their preferred concrete kitchen counter tops.
Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialized crew put charcoal-colored counter tops utilizing the pre-cast approach in the incomplete basement of the brand-new home. Before putting the concrete, they sprinkled a range of semi-precious stones in the mold consisting of Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Blue-green. After the surface area was ground and gently polished, the completed result was an outstanding mix 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 nation surroundings. An important drain board and trivets provides function and added interest to the concrete counter top. Natural slate backsplashes, distinct wall accents, and a butcher block counter top at the kitchen area island all resonate with the conventional heat 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 recognize that concrete countertops can add tremendous visual and monetary value to a home. Concretes modification and show-stopping appeal resembles no other countertop surface area. Cheng is a proponent of psychological visual appeals and building homes that capture these emotions, as when it comes to Pleasure and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: People really desire distinction, something personal, something custom and concrete can do that for them.