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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Concrete Craze Cement Has Found Its Way From The Driveways Of Our Homes Into The Bedroom, Living Room

Barbara Mayer Associated Press

Concrete on the driveway, yes. But in the house? You bet.

The craze for concrete started on the West Coast, and has slowly rolled east for floors, walls and kitchen counters, fireplace surrounds, even furniture.

The new formulations come in a wide range of colors and finishes and have subtle variations that suggest the natural world. But as decorative tabletops and counters, they must be treated with care to avoid staining.

Concrete as a building material has been around for at least 2,000 years. Today’s concrete is a mix of Portland cement, sand and water, plus various aggregates and additives. Despite any drawbacks in maintenance, interior designers like it for a variety of reasons.

“Concrete has a tremendous feeling of permanence, develops a patina, and is warmer to the touch than granite,” according to the New York designer known as Clodagh.

Clodagh has created a line of concrete tables, headboards, mirror and picture frames, and vases and candle holders. She also uses concrete for floors and walls.

“I started adding color and materials such as steel parts and bits of glass and metal to the concrete,” Clodagh says. “For example, my concrete office floor has a steel icon embedded in it.”

Ted Boerner of San Francisco has designed occasional tables with black-pigmented concrete tops, about 1-3/4 inches thick. The wood bases have cubbyholes for storage, and the coffee table top has a shallow 9-inch hollow for fruit, candy, even a flower floating in water.

“It would have been difficult to create that indentation in stone,” Boerner says. “We also used concrete because we wanted something different. When we came across some concrete that had a beautiful finish and a bit of irregularity, that was it. Concrete has a quality not unlike soapstone or slate.”

Architects say concrete as a surfacing and building material has its advantages.

“It’s strong and can be formed into a multitude of shapes,” according to Paul Bierman-Lytle, architect and co-author of “Your Natural Home” (Little Brown and Co., $21.95 paper). “It can be precast and shipped to the site as beams, columns, sculpture, furniture, and other components.

“It can be cast in place, poured between forms or sprayed on as a finish. It is resistant to fire and rot, does not require protective coatings, and lasts a long, long time.”

An art dealer who wanted a minimalist background to display his collection had a contemporary house built in Binghamton, N.Y.

It is built on a concrete slab, with radiant heating in the concrete floors - a design idea used early in the century by Frank Lloyd Wright. In addition, there are concrete kitchen counters and fireplaces and a concrete platform for the bed in the master bedroom.

“Concrete can be less expensive than tile or granite or synthetic solid surface materials,” according to the decorator, Judy Markham Fox of Manlius, N.Y. “The rough surfaces and natural variations of today’s concrete are in keeping with the interest in casual, natural materials.”

Markham-Fox found George Bishop of Get Real Surfaces, a 2-year-old company in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to do the concrete work in the Binghamton house.

“Ninety percent of what we do is countertops, but fireplace surrounds and tables also are becoming popular,” Bishop says. “People start with a counter. If they like the look, they may add another feature such as a bathroom floor or walls, or a built-in vanity.”

While the novice may be able to pour a concrete sidewalk or a patio, furniture is another story.

“I would not suggest doing it at home,” Boerner says, “because it’s not all that easy.”