We're smitten with these concrete countertops from Richard Holschuh, an artist and artisan from Vermont. His company creates custom concrete countertops for kitchens, baths, and other areas, and some of them blow away our usual ideas of what a concrete surface can look like.
We discovered Holschuh and his company, Concrete Detail, via an interview at kitchen designer Paul Anater's weblog. In the interview Holschuh talks about his philosophy of design:
Concrete countertops are, at least in our interpretation, highly functional aesthetic furnishings – we call it Artformed TM. Not rarefied, subjective collector’s items, but hard-working and deeply satisfying necessities. Every home needs a countertop and everyone wants to make their home their own; the medium of concrete allows personal expression without design constraint, all the while meeting the demands of everyday life with durability, versatility, and sustainability (at a very competitive cost). Today’s high performance concrete has very little to do with a cracked sidewalk and everything to do with lasting design in the hands of a master artisan. We utilize these capabilities to invest the concrete with soul: captured within the finished pieces are the craftsman, the dweller, and their environment. When the completed elements are delivered and brought into their intended places, they belong – because they were consciously made for that person and place alone. This is the essence of appropriate design.
Wow! Concrete with soul — that's a tall order. But we really love some of these designs; the flowing, stylized trees worked into that drainboard are really beautiful. The shiny black surface of the sink pictured above is really striking, too; we didn't know that concrete could look like that! (And we love that little egg bowl worked into one of the countertops!)
• Read the whole interview: Richard Holschuh, an artist in concrete, talks about counters at Kitchen and Residential Design
• Visit Richard Holschuh's website: Concrete Detail
Related: Can You Give an Honest Opinion on Concrete Countertops?
(Images: Concrete Detail)
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Love.
I would hate to clean those branch grooves all the time, but it looks nice
@mariyaodessa --The branches are part of a drainboard system: the idea being that only clean, freshly washed items would be placed in that area, with the remaining clean water running off through the branches, essentially rinsing them every time. It is also important to note that the concrete is very well- and smoothly-sealed, leaving the grooves very polished and easy to wipe off.
Great article and stunning photos!
Those in New England should also note that Concrete Detail is the only concrete artisan in the VT-NH-MA corner!
Richard is quite talented! I only wish we could claim him in our neck of the woods...the work is exquisite! And I do know he ships! Worth every penny if you want an artistic impact!! ~~Cheryl
love. want.
I'd like to thank Apartment Therapy and TheKitchn for their kind and generous comments. And thank my friend Paul Anater, whose always enlightening (and entertaining) Kitchen and Residential design blog, was the instigator behind it all!
@chamwashere stated it succinctly with respect to the drainboard branches: they are very smooth and fully sealed. Their sinuous curves and final finish ensure that maintenance is not an issue at all: a soft wipe with a sponge and you're done.
Not all concrete is created equal; quite true. Being a customized material - functional art, after all - it is worth knowing your artisan or studio well before choosing a fabricator. I can only speak for myself when I say that we will always do our very best to exceed expectations and literally pour ourselves into our commissions for our clients. And love every minute of it!