Designers and architects are redefining the use of concrete.
A look once relegated to sidewalks now holds a prime seat at the big table. Literally.
A relatively new material of choice for everything from furniture and countertops to fountains and fireplace surrounds, concrete is now in high demand for home and business owners who seek distinctive design that’s in step with nature.
Although pricey — concrete costs from $70 to $150 per square foot, almost twice as much as granite — it allows homeowners to redefine their interior spaces with three-dimensional elements.
“With concrete you can really push the limit when it comes to shapes (and create) things you can’t touch with other flat fabricated pieces,” says Allen Miller, owner of Concrete Revolution in Denver. “Designers and architects have gotten in tune with what you can do with a product that starts out as a liquid.”
Unlike granite or marble, raw ingredients for concrete are cheap and accessible. But concrete features require handmade fabrication and a variety of custom mixes and sealers. Intricate jobs can take four weeks to three months to complete.
Still, the ability to customize and the artistic flair of concrete outweigh its additional cost for people who choose it.
“Our clients want something that’s handmade for them,” says Dan Roman, owner of Roman Studio Concrete Arts in Arvada. With 15 years in the business, Roman specializes in water features that “allow us a lot of artistic freedom.”
He recently completed four custom-made sculptural pieces ranging in height from 5 feet, 4 inches to 6 feet, 4 inches for client Jill Gass, who also added concrete countertops and furniture to her Littleton home.
Gass selected jewel-toned stones and personal effects for each sculpture, which will stand within art alcoves. One has a large piece of inset turquoise. Another showcases Fordite, or old paint that’s sliced and polished to create vibrant layers of color.
Gass was a newcomer to decorative concrete when her interior designer suggested it.
“At first I was a little afraid because I thought concrete was real contemporary . . . and that’s not what I like,” she says. But after seeing the countertops, which have soft edges and colors that complement her copper sinks, Gass had a table designed to match.
Unmatched versatility
“Friends come over and ask, ‘What is that?’ ” Gass says. “When I tell them it’s concrete they run their hands over it and say, ‘Ooh, I didn’t know this is what concrete looked like.’ ”
Because it is versatile, concrete is increasingly appealing to homeowners with larger renovation budgets and designers working on spaces that call for creative solutions.
While some homeowners like the flexibility and custom nature of concrete, others balk at the price.
“Some people are a little afraid of it,” says Erika Rundiks, an interior designer with Atelier Designs in Denver. “But I think it’s an amazing product. I love it (and) wish more people used it.”
Rundiks, who has a concrete countertop at home, says most people fail to realize the investment of time that goes into building forms for molds.
“We are more expensive,” Miller says. “When I started out, granite was the high-end product. But now it’s relatively inexpensive because the fabrication is automated.”
“We are almost always more expensive than granite,” he adds. “It’s complicated work.”
One of Rundiks’ clients used concrete for a kitchen countertop and imbedded nautilus shells into the eggplant-and- rust-colored slab.
The finished look is “clean but very earthy,” Rundiks says. “It adds a great dimension to the space.”
It started with artists
Concrete’s bold move indoors dates back to the late 1980s, when potters and artists began using the material for sculptural pieces. The trend caught on quickly.
The complex engineering component hooked Jeff Girard, president of the North Carolina-based Concrete Countertop Institute, which provides professional training. A civil engineer, Girard had heard about frequent problems with concrete elements cracking and saw an opportunity for improvement. If interior concrete is not adequately supported with steel or carbon fiber, it can break.
To train professionals how to properly reinforce the material and use strong mixes and safe sealants, Girard created a series of classes and instructional videos. Since 2004, about 500 professionals have taken the classes.
“There’s a huge misunderstanding about how concrete countertops perform,” said Mangum. If designed and installed properly, the material should not stain — although it may have inherent flaws, which designers believe is part of concrete’s charm.
“There are natural flaws in it that lend to its unique beauty,” Rundiks says. Young people in particular “gravitate towards it because it’s popular (and) has new appeal.”
