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Integrating Concrete Counters with Other Materials

Length - 03:47

Award-winning kitchen designer, Fu-Tung Cheng, takes us into the home he designed, built and still lives in to show us how good design and concrete countertops merge when you use many types of materials.

Cheng likens concrete to a timeless material especially when it is used to sculpt practical landscapes in the concrete countertop. These designs are referred to a landscape because there are elevation changes and subtle changes to the surface in depth and length and thickness.

Using concrete in this sculptural way for concrete countertops allows you to selectively place the concrete where it works best. Concrete shouldn't be used everywhere in a kitchen. It's essential that the practicalities of concrete (i.e. being able to form it to any shape and personalize it) and the vulnerabilities of concrete (i.e. wear in sinks or around a stove or range) are understood during the design process.

Where concrete countertops fall short or may be weaker consider using a more durable material like granite. Using both concrete and granite sparingly highlights the best features of each material. This also helps create interest in the kitchen design by avoiding too much granite or too much concrete.

Each material that is used adds a practical as well as an aesthetic element to the overall kitchen design. For example, the rough slate backsplash contrasts well with the smoothness of the concrete countertop. The black granite tiles are shiny and have distinct grout lines. There is a wood shelf below the window. These materials are all blended with the concrete, which acts as the anchor for these parts.

Consider also using stainless steel around a stove. Butting the steel up to the stove and the concrete countertop serves two purposes. One, it protects the concrete from cooking oils. And two, it makes the concrete look warm because steel is a colder material.

Think about the practical aspects of concrete as well as aesthetics when selecting materials for a kitchen.