Concrete Ideas

When it comes to innovative design ideas for the kitchen, bath and other areas of the home, concrete can be a solid material choice. Tying into the growing desire for design elements that can be customized to the client’s specifications, this material offers many unique properties that give it an upscale appeal. Equally important, concrete is many times easier to use than most design professionals realize.

Concrete countertops share many of the characteristics of other countertop materials such as solid surface. For instance, they are versatile, durable and offer a wide range of colors, textures and finishes. Additionally, they allow for integrally molded sinks, drain boards, backsplashes and seamless installations.

However, using concrete as a design element opens up possibilities far beyond what many other countertop materials allow.

One of the main differentiators of concrete products is their customizability. A skilled concrete countertop maker is a craftsperson in the true sense of the word. He or she can create three-dimensional molds to fit any design the client or kitchen and bath professional can envision, allowing endless possibilities for not only flat slabs but also vertical and sculptural elements.

Concrete offers a broad range of design possibilities because it can be molded and manipulated while it is in a fluid, malleable state, and it can be cut, shaped, honed and polished when it is hard and solid. These qualities make designing with concrete both flexible and highly innovative.

However, misconceptions about concrete abound. Concrete countertops are sometimes viewed as esoteric and finicky, appropriate only for those who want really far-out industrial design.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Concrete countertops can be any style, from French Country to Industrial, Retro to Rustic.

Concrete countertops are often used to beautiful effect in traditional style homes, especially higher-end custom homes.

Typically, concrete countertops in these homes are chosen in warm earth tones reminiscent of natural stone. They provide an alternative to the hard, formal look of granite. And, because concrete can be molded into endless shapes, intricate edge details are possible that would be impractical or impossible in natural stone. 

Concrete countertops can also be a terrific element for tying together a design. Concrete countertops can be color-matched to a paint, fabric or tile sample selected for a completely custom new home. Backsplash tiles can actually be embedded in the countertop to tie the theme together. 

Concrete countertops can easily incorporate the embedding of different materials, shapes or colors. This adds to the material’s custom capabilities, since it allows kitchen and bath design professionals to incorporate meaningful mementos that reflect the clients’ interests or passions. For example, in one design, a couple’s broken wedding china was embedded in the bar top to personalize the space.

Concrete can also be seamlessly cast into a variety of forms and shapes that would be difficult or cost-prohibitive in natural stone. Integral concrete sinks are popular options, but more complex and non-traditional forms are also possible.

Uniqueness and personalization are what clients most desire in concrete countertops. From a simple but meaningful embedment to a spectacular functional sculpture, if the designer or client can dream it, a concrete countertop craftsperson can make it.

Concrete Clientele

What type of client would find concrete countertops a good match for their kitchen, bath or other-room project? People who value high-quality, handmade objects are more likely to perceive the benefits of concrete countertops. Indeed, the “bobo” or bourgeois bohemian – affluent but creative people who value handmade items and natural materials – tends to find concrete an attractive option.

Interestingly, concrete aficionados are drawn to this material not only because of what it can be, but because of what it is not.