COUNTER REVOLUTION; THESE DAYS, THE PREFERENCE IS FOR SOMETHING MORE CONCRETE.Byline: Nick Harder Orange County Register Charlie Franciscus looked down at her new concrete kitchen counter with loving eyes. ``You know,'' she said, a smile playing on her lips, ``I do love it. I love the way it's not like the other types of kitchen counters. I love its uniqueness. I love the way it fits this house.'' A concrete kitchen counter? ``I'd never heard of it, either,'' Franciscus said. ``But when I saw it in a kitchen design place, I just had to have it.'' Like most people, Franciscus had looked at all the usual suspects of counter-top types. Granite, marble and Corian, to name a few. But she wanted something special. She wanted something artistic but highly durable. Enter Gary Simpson. Simpson specializes in concrete counter tops and fireplace hearths. It was his concrete counter top that Franciscus had seen in the display. ``Typically, the concrete is 1-1/2 inches thick and comes in large, seamless sections,'' he said. ``I've been developing it for several years. It has a beautifully pigmented finish, which is stain and crack resistant and runs about $60 per square foot.'' Simpson has his own secret mixture for his concrete, but does reveal that there are nine ingredients in it. But are concrete counter tops good everywhere in a house? ``I'm not sure they'd do really well right next to a hot stovetop stove·top n. The top surface of a stove, especially when used for cooking. adj. Used, prepared, or done on the top of a cooking stove: a stovetop casserole; stovetop cooking. ,'' he said. Concrete also needs the same care as porous materials such as limestone; it should be treated regularly with a sealant Sealant A thin plastic substance that is painted over teeth as an anti-cavity measure to seal out food particles and acids produced by bacteria. Mentioned in: Tooth Decay sealant see bone sealant. such as polyurethane polyurethane Any of a class of very versatile polymers that are made into flexible and rigid foams, fibres, elastomers (elastic polymers), surface coatings, and adhesives. , said Rey Faustino, head of the kitchen and bath design department at Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box in Cypress. ``As long as you don't do your chopping directly on it, it will last,'' he said. Faustino built his first concrete counter top for display at a Home Depot store in 1997, inspired by memories of vacation houses with similar accouterments ac·cou·ter·ment or ac·cou·tre·ment n. 1. An accessory item of equipment or dress. Often used in the plural. 2. Military equipment other than uniforms and weapons. Often used in the plural. 3. in his native Philippines. ``Even the affluent people who built rest houses in the mountains would build counter tops out of nothing,'' he said. ``Mix concrete and it's your counter.'' But the look of cold concrete needs to suit its surroundings, Faustino warned. The kitchen displays he's built for two Home Depot stores have featured concrete counter tops combined with knotty pine knotty pine n. Pine wood with a large number of knots, used especially for paneling and furniture. Noun 1. knotty pine - pine lumber with many knots; used especially for paneling and furniture or hickory Hickory, city, United States Hickory, city (1990 pop. 28,301), Burke and Catawba counties, W N.C., at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mts.; inc. 1870. It is a processing and trade center for an abundant agricultural region (grain, soybeans, poultry, hogs, cabinets and wrought iron wrought iron: see iron. wrought iron One of the two forms in which iron is obtained by smelting. Wrought iron is a soft, easily worked, fibrous metal. It usually contains less than 0.1% carbon and 1–2% slag. accents - a rustic, mountain cabin decor. ``A lot of people stop by and say this is nice, different. Quite a few people ask how to do it,'' Faustino said. The project's not difficult - just put plywood on top of a finished cabinet, lay down black paper and wire mesh wire mesh, wire netting n → tela metálica , then add a mixture of gravel, sand and cement, he said. Nor is it expensive if you do it yourself. Faustino estimated his 8-foot counter top cost about $35 in materials. But it does require time and patience, he adds. No long lunches are allowed when you're working with concrete. Franciscus' 8-foot-long kitchen concrete counter is one of the first things First Things is a monthly ecumenical journal concerned with the creation of a "religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society" (First Things website). visitors see upon entering the house. It also serves as a bar/eating area. Franciscus was so enthused about her new kitchen concrete counter top that she also had two fireplace hearths and a bathroom counter top made of concrete. So, what colors would she say are in her new kitchen counter top? ``Maybe a bit of gray, pewter and some mauve.'' Surprisingly, Simpson's concrete counter tops are not as heavy as one might expect of a concrete product. ``It doesn't really take much additional support,'' Simpson said. Franciscus bent down beneath the counter top in her kitchen, looking under the overhang Overhang Calculated as stock options granted, plus the remaining options to still be granted, and then divided by the total shares outstanding. Notes: A high percentage for the overhang is usually a bad thing. that extended about 8 inches from the vertical wall supporting it. ``See,'' she said, ``you can't even tell where the supports are.'' Daily News Lifestyle Editor Betty Kwong contributed to this story. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos Photo: (1--2--Cover--Color) COUNTER CULTURE Concrete adds street smarts street smarts Vox populi Worldly wisdom and wariness in human interactions. Cf Social smarts. to kitchen design Gus Ruelas/Daily News Bruce C. Strong/Orange County Register (3--Color) Gary Simpson, left, specializes in concrete counter tops and fireplace hearths. It was his concrete counter top that Charlie Franciscus, right, saw in a kitchen design store. ``I just had to have it.'' (4--Color) Concrete for counters comes in a variety of shades, and provides a unique, solid surface that can be customized. Bruce C. Strong/Orange County Register |
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