Thursday, August 7, 2008

Concrete Counter Tops

When I requested help for my kitchen countertops, a number of people suggested concrete.


One of them -- Kevin Ritter of Timeless Kitchen Design -- even sent a link to a kitchen he did that featured tin wall tiles and concrete countertops. Looks good, doesn't it? I've also experimented with staining concrete (your garage floor is a great place to experiment), and you can get some nice color tones -- copper is one of them.

There's an Instructable for making your own concrete countertops, if you'd want to take that on. It looks challenging and time consuming, but quite possible for the handy.

In addition to staining, there's lots of possibilities in concrete -- you can embed things in it, or score it, or combine ideas to make something particularly spectactular.


I don't know what I'll end up doing, but concrete is definitely worth thinking about. It would add a nice industrial edge to my traditional cabinetry.
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7 comments:

  1. Stephanie GangerAugust 7, 2008 at 9:59 AM

    A few of my friends who have concrete counter tops actually told me it is not the best material for the actual kitchen. You can ruin it by putting a hot pan directly on it. Plus it needs sealed and then resealed frequently to stay in good condition. As 1 surface in a kitchen I can see concrete but mix it with some marble and some wood and possibly even a metal surface and it would be neat.

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  2. KaetheAugust 7, 2008 at 10:36 AM

    For more on granite and concrete countertops, see Front Step Design. Cool-looking, but not really a good idea for several reasons.

    I'm sure you'll find something else fabulous.

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  3. JasonAugust 7, 2008 at 2:42 PM

    I'm surprised nobody has suggested copper. Copper is downright economical compared to concrete, and ages beautifully.

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  4. AnonymousAugust 8, 2008 at 12:50 PM

    Heh. My wife and I just watched a DIY show about installing concrete in the kitchen. They didn't cover the disadvantages other than labor and cost, so thank you commenters.
    Also, this is a nifty blog, I will subscribe to it.

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  5. UnknownAugust 9, 2008 at 9:30 PM

    I saw these guys at a housing expo: http://www.granicrete.com/

    I was convinced they were actually displaying granite countertops and just making up the part about it being concrete. Until they showed everyone a video of the process, I thought it was a prank.

    I don't know about other solutions but these Granicrete guys seal their countertops is some kind of crazy epoxy and it doesn't need (or so they SAY!) any maintaining for non-commercial kitchens. If you're cooking 40hrs per week, it might wear quicker?

    -Jon

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  6. Ava LaRouxAugust 15, 2008 at 11:06 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Rich HolschuhMarch 24, 2009 at 6:10 AM

    I'm the owner of a small concrete countertop studio in Vermont... I wandered across your blog entry today! There is a lot of confusing and disparate information drifting around with regard to my chosen medium and it is somewhat justified (if dismaying), because all concrete is not created equal. It's a running battle... if you have any questions or concerns about concrete surfaces, I would be very happy to help, in the interest of setting the record straight and explaining how things SHOULD be, when done properly! My own blog is at http://concretedetail.com/blog/

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