Selecting the right building materials for your home involves making hard choices. Materials have evolved considerably from the standard granite or laminate counter tops, tile, carpet, and wood flooring, or porcelain sinks and tubs of yesterday. The sheer variety of building products on the market allow homeowners to customize their homes like never before. Builders have used concrete since at least 3,000 B.C., yet recent technological innovations and methods allow for more aesthetically pleasing uses of concrete. Cement is no longer the cold, drab, and rough surface of sidewalks and garages. Stains, silicates, and textures transform this ubiquitous building material into versatile and stylish products. Decorative concrete provides a sleek continuity, uniformity, and consistency to a home. The color palette is open, textures can vary, and concrete’s malleable nature makes it a viable option for many types of applications. ​

​As a durable flooring material, concrete can appear as smooth as marble or as rustic as terracotta tile. Skilled craftsmen can stamp concrete to appear as if it were slate, brick, travertine, wood, or stone. Sandblasted, hand-carved, or troweled finishing techniques give architectural concrete surfaces an earthy quality. The combination of a rich-colored stain on a clean, streamlined surface provides an elegance and chicness to the home. Metallic epoxies can give floors the appearance of silver, copper, mottled bronze, nickel, and other burnished patinas. Embedding or imprinting objects in concrete can give floors an original quality.    

For kitchen or bath counter tops, decorative concrete is an adaptable compliment to other materials. Sharp lines or smooth contours can both blend seamlessly into concrete basins, sinks, and tubs. A relatively neutral counter top surface may better show off the craftsmanship of the cabinets below. Surfaces can be sealed with acrylic, silicates, or epoxies, giving them a luster or sheen that is suitable with your other decor. Instead of feeling resigned to the use of laminate, tile, or granite kitchen or bath counter tops, concrete achieves a more refined, contemporary look.   

For outdoor patio and garden space, decorative concrete may be an affordable option to natural stone. Stampedor handcrafted concrete can look remarkably similar to stone, tile, or interlocking pavers; the advantages being that the surface is durable, malleable, and cost-effective. Also, a texture can ensure good traction in all kinds of weather. For sidewalks, around pools, and in other outdoor living spaces concrete provides a functionality and panache unlike other products.  

Whether you are seeking a minimalist and modern look or the homespun, craftsman-style of a cottage in the country, decorative concrete opens up a world of possibilities. For further consultation about using decorative concrete in your home, please contact us.