Concrete Kitchen Counter Tops

Creating the Heart of Your Home

by Jennifer Barley, The Concrete Network

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The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home and for good reason. More and more activities are taking place in the kitchen including cooking, entertaining, household management as well as a place for hobbies. Besides bringing the largest return on your investment, a well appointed kitchen can bring you the largest return on your happiness.


This beautiful kitchen is open and airy, providing a great space for entertaining.
Photo courtesy of Stone Soup Concrete, Florence, MA.

Luxury kitchens are not just for the rich and famous. You can create a functional and beautiful workspace in the smallest of kitchens. But if you do have the room, the ability to custom create the heart of your home is amazing.

When planning a kitchen, space is a key element that needs to be maximized no matter the size of the room. Survey the use of your kitchen. What activities are taking place? Is the kitchen used for cooking, dining, homework, scrap booking, entertaining, or paying bills? Look at these activities areas relation to others in the room to determine how to organize the space accordingly. Think about how much time is spent moving from one activity to another to help improve the workflow. The main concept to remember is that the kitchen needs to be highly functional.


This kitchen island is not only great for food preparation but
also is enough space for a variety of other activities that take place in a kitchen.
Photo courtesy of Architectural Concrete Specialties.

Allow yourself plenty of counter space to accomplish your various activities. Try to have long runs of concrete kitchen countertops in order to have the most room for chopping, cutting and baking.


This kitchen has lots of work stations for various
cooks as well as observers.
Photo courtesy of Dex Studios, Atlanta, GA.

Concrete is becoming an increasingly popular choice for countertop materials. These handcrafted kitchen counter tops offer a unique and interesting look to any surface area.Because concrete is cast in molds, it can include subtle texturing, decorative objects (such as pieces of metal, fossils, or glass), a change of shape for interest, as well as provide greater thickness. If you are using concrete in the kitchen, consider placing raised strips of metal cast into countertops to support pots and pans near the sink and cooking area. These strips can help protect against abrasion. With concrete you can also integrate a drain board into your kitchen countertop to maximize food preparation.


This close-up shows how a drain board can be crafted right into the kitchen countertop
for food preparation.
Photo courtesy of Formworks, Raleigh, NC.

Another wonderful feature of a concrete countertop is to have an integrated sink made from the concrete as well. This provides a streamline look to the kitchen area and is wonderful for wiping crumbs into the sink.


This island concrete countertop includes an integrated kitchen
sink for a streamlined look.
Photo courtesy of Stone Soup Concrete, Florence, MA.

Consider including a prep sink in your kitchen layout to help avoid congestion at the main sink. This provides an additional work area for pealing and preparing vegetables and gives the familys prep cook their own area to work.


This prep sink is a perfect size for
preparing vegetables.
Photo Courtesy of Formworks, Raleigh, NC.

Invest in a high quality faucet. By choosing a faucet with a ceramic cartridge helps to minimize leaks and provides a long lasting choice for one of the most used items in a kitchen. Faucets with integrated sprayers are helpful for cleaning of the sink, rinsing a baby or even washing your hair.

Selecting appliances is also a large part of designing a kitchen. Refrigerators that are built-in fit comfortably in standard-depth countertops and create a custom look. Panels can be installed over the door to integrate with the cabinet doors. It is still essential to provide good ventilation to allow the heat the refrigerator generates to escape. You can also install built-in under counter fridge-freezers to keep the countertop free where space is limited.


This Sub-Zero under counter 245
Refrigerator/Freezer combo is a perfect size.
Photo courtesy of Sub-Zero.

The best place for these smaller units is located near food preparation areas so minimize movement around the kitchen. Dishwashers should be located near the sink area, allowing plates to easily be rinse before loading and you can leverage the existing plumbing for the sink. A stainless-steel interior is best for durability, heat retention, resistance to orders as well as chemicals. Wine coolers in the kitchen are a must for any wine enthusiast. These digitally controlled coolers help maintain the humidity, UV protection and temperature that wines require.


This kitchen has a built in wine cooler to properly
store wine.
Photo courtesy of Concrete Expression of the Carolinas.

Stainless-steel wall ovens, microwaves and cook tops add sleek, professional style to a kitchen.


This oven and stove combination unit adds a professional flair to a traditional kitchen.
Photo courtesy of Becker Architectural Concrete, South St. Paul, MN.

Selecting gas or electric stoves depends on how you like to cook your food.

Think about integrating a large, smooth hot plate which is ideal for searing meat and fish or to use as a griddle for hotcakes. Also consider a wok burner which gives the intense and even heat required for stir-frying by supporting the shape of a wok.

Make an artistic statement with a beautiful hood. Hoods channel cooking fumes up and out of the kitchen and should be at least 6 wider than the cook top to capture odors, steam and grease.


This hood serves as an artistic focal point for
this open floor plan.
Photo courtesy of Dex Studios, Atlanta, GA.

Hoods can be made out of a variety of materials and designs. This is a wonderful way to add design and style to a typically functional element to a kitchen.

The key to having a wonderful kitchen is to take an assessment of how the kitchen will be used and what foods your family likes to cook. The options of appliances, fixtures, kitchen materials are endless. By selecting what is right for your needs will enable you to make your kitchen the heart of your home.

Jennifer Barley is a student of interior design at West Valley College in Saratoga, California. She is also the Showroom Manager at Bay Plumbing Supply and Showroom in Santa Cruz, California. Jennifer is passionate about the endless options of concrete for creative expression in design. She can be reached at jenn_barley@yahoo.com

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