Dramatic Coloring Ideas Using Concrete

Length - 03:46

The Teance Tea Shop in Berkeley, Calif. is an interesting example of how decorative concrete and good design can be used to create a colorful space. Designer Fu-Tung Cheng designed this tea shop and shares his thoughts on good design and coloring techniques.

In the tea shop, you see many different colors, but it is important that these colors don't clash with each other. One of the key ways Cheng avoids clashing colors is by using integrally colored concrete. It's his philosophy not to select really bright colors or using too much white cement (which makes colored concrete brighter). What he tries to do is to stay in line with the basic color scheme of concrete, which is earthy. Using earthtones allows colors and the concrete to blend with everything else in the space.

In the shelving system, there is a blue gray concrete shelf that extends out over bamboo cabinets. The variation in color between the cabinets and the shelf is subtle. Behind the shelf is a wall covered in a red wine colored Japanese plaster with wood chips in it. All of the colors used here are very earthy.

The tea shop floors also provide some great coloring ideas for concrete. These concrete floors combine three materials: earthy green integrally colored concrete, Brazilian black slate tile, and a brass strip. As you approach the tea bar from the entryway, you switch zones from walking on the black slate to the central area where the green concrete has been installed. This helps signify that the central tea bar area is special.

The central tea bar is also an earthy green color with was selected to match a green tea leaf. Little bits of aggregate, stone and fossils are embedded in the countertop. These flecks of color add interest to the countertop that customers can look at and enjoy.

With color, one of the aspects of good design that is most important is light and proper lighting. Here in the tea shop Fu-Tung uses diffused natural light that is centered directly over the main tea bar. Again this is significant because it makes this area bright and more important. The light draws customers into the central area.

Find a Concrete Contractor 24 Services in 221 Metros -- U.S. and Canada