Goodness, where does the time go?   *mumbling*  “I’m late, I’m late – for a very important date!” – The White Rabbit.  And so, I return to the blog with an overdue post on our latest work (there’s been a slew of it lately):

We have just completed a seven foot long double bowl vanity for a home’s master bath in Wilmington, Vermont. The owners wanted to evoke a slightly woodsy feel with the room, which is set in the lushly forested foothills of the Green Mountains near a small lake. The walls are painted a leafy green; the cabinetry is constructed of maple stained with an orange-y finish; the ceramic tile floor is white. We decided to run with a neutral palette on the countertop and sink bowls, to calm the wash area and allow it to stand as an element on its own – not competing with the other colors present in the setting.

The top itself is cast in our “Bone” palette choice, which is what we have dubbed our natural white portland mixed with native sand and gravel – this throws the color of the pure white cement into a gray/tan off-white tone. The sink bowls (round vessels recessed halfway into the top to keep the finish height workable) are cast in “Fog”, which is a silver-gray shade with a slight touch of blue in it. The sinks were cast in a two part fiberglass mold in order to yield a finely finished interior and exterior, as both are visible. The forest theme is implemented with relief impressions of maple and oak leaves cast into the top, replete with veins and small undulations. The leaf images were the result of hand brushed latex copies of real leaves that had been cast in plaster to create a negative, which was then reversed using the rubber copy. The rubber makes a clean reproduction in concrete and releases easily when the forms are stripped to reveal the hardened concrete surface.

A last detail (another facet of the nature theme)  is the heavily ground edge of the top, the backsplash, and the sink rims. This exposes the native aggregate inside the concrete matrix to lend contrast with the more uniform polished planes and adds specks of color and shape to the strong geometry of the assembled installation. Setting the faucets off to the right side of the bowls allows easier access by the users and a welcome assymetry to the composition. The entire project is sealed with our new sealing system by Innovative Concrete Technologies, of which we are quite proud. It is a lithium silicate based treatment, which actually densifies the concrete surface to a point where it is difficult for liquids and staining agents to even penetrate the concrete. It is water-based and actually gains in effectiveness over time! Not sure I can make the same claim of myself…

Our local masonry supply store closed last fall after nearly 50 years of operation (if I recall correctly), victim of the economic blues and a multinational corporate parent bent on trimming away the marginal outlets. It was a sad day. The yard sat empty over the winter, full not with pallets of brick and block, bundles of #4 rebar, and assorted flue tiles, but with drifting snow, scuttling dead leaves, and blank windows. Then I received a postcard in the mail at the very beginning of March, announcing that Shanahan Construction Supply Company of Turner’s Falls, MA was buying the property, expanding the store, and re-opening on March 29th, reincarnating it as a new and improved version of its old self.

Being ever the opportunist, and always on the lookout for a public venue to showcase our craft, I beelined it down to the drab gray concrete block structure surrounded by chain link fence and sure enough, there was lots of activity. I went inside, promptly met the hardworking owner, Ted Whelan of Guilford, VT, congratulated him and made my proposal: “Wouldn’t it be great to have a custom concrete countertop at his checkout desk, for all the builders, and homeowners to ogle?” He agreed (Ted’s a nice guy) but said he was already talking to a bluestone supplier about that very thing. Ted also sells woodstoves and fireplace inserts, in addition to masonry, stone, tools, and landscaping materials,  so I  proffered something about future possibilities and took my leave.

The next day the phone rang. Ted had changed his mind and wanted to talk about taking me up on my idea. I scooted back down, got some quick numbers, and off we went, back to the shop – they were opening in less than three weeks!  The retail counter was a big ell shape, resting on a wood-framed half wall which would be veneered in stone as part of the display. I opined that it might be nice to have his company logo embeded in the top, a suggestion he liked a lot. We decided to work with the logo colors overall – a sage green background  with a dark red logotype. A heavy grind to expose aggregate and a grommet hole for computer cables were also requested. I decided to add some crushed amber glass at the 90 degree turn for sparkle, radius the three exposed corners for comfort, and a little shallow bowl depression for fun. The joint between the two 7 foot sections would be a “z” puzzle seam. It would be sealed with our new high performance reactive lithium sealer, to withstand the wear and tear of a building supply location.

A week and a half later, we carried in the finished countertop. Ted loves it, we love it, and his friends and customers love it. That’s what we like to hear! The new store opened March 29 th and we wish Ted all the best (and hopefully, some business coming our way!).

Yesterday we installed the Lake Champlain-inspired bartop in its intended home in Wilmington, Vermont; it “fit like a clock”, as a friend used to say, and the installation process went  quite smoothly and with dispatch. The thoughts behind the design elements incorporated in this highly figured piece were apparent once it was resting in the surroundings; all the colors, shapes, and features worked together to form an ensemble or collage that “belonged” in the owner’s beautiful new kitchen. And there’s the magic: it is all about the client, the environment, and the artisan’s interpretation of it all through the medium of concrete. Functional art: You have to see it to comprehend it.

Pantone, the world-reknowned authority on color, has announced that the color of the year for 2010 is Turquoise, specifically #15-5519 in their coding scheme. What does that mean? Well, it will get a lot of buzz in the fashion and design world, and show up in increasingly large amounts in our current surroundings until a new lucky winner is announced. But for some people, turquoise is already a favorite and the endorsement of a global taste-maker is only icing on the already-baked cake.

We have been working on a custom vanity top with an integral sink for a local client with whom we have had a pleasant collaboration in the past – a garden sculpture/fountain. Expanding on the ideas we explored in that venture, we are now incorporating them into into the new commission. The  four foot wide top is hand-pressed in natural gray concrete (our “Stone” tone) and features a gently rounded, deep oblong basin inspired by an antique  hand-carved wooden bowl. On the edge of the basin is a  terraced soap recess which will hold a special incised leaf tile. The faucet fixture is a wall-mount style, a Waterbridge style in Rustic Nickle finish, from Sonoma Forge. We created a narrow backsplash “shelf ” to house the fixture at the back of the concrete countertop, since the wall partition there was too shallow to accomodate it. The whole is acid-stained in the aforementioned turquoise, with a touch of green and brown, to work into the bathroom’s design scheme. This includes warm Mexican tile on the floor, original natural wood trim and cabinetry, and white fixtures and tub/tile surround with a sprinkle of turquoise blue decorative inserts.  Another wonderful example of artisan concrete’s ability to become whatever one might wish!

The “Lake Champlain Shoreline” project we are currently working upon has taken on another manifestation: after several days of wet-curing, the piece was unwrapped and partially diamond ground to expose the native aggregate and the crushed beach glass hidden below the cast surface. The bands of color are striking in their many hues and shapes, wandering across the bartop suggesting eddies of water and an undulating coastline. The solid color band at the arched edge will be acid-stained after final processing and add its own characteristic mottled patina to the composition. Small terraced topographical indentations add to the freeform shape and lend contrast to the adjacent smooth surface.

The lake interpreted in customized concrete: Art-formed by Concrete Detail.

We are working on a sweet little project with some neighbors of mine in Wilmington, Vermont (I commute down the mountain to the studio in Brattleboro every morning…). The clients are a great couple I have known for a long time; I actually worked with Matt in my past life as a carpenter in the Deerfield Valley. He and his wonderful wife Angela have a summer cottage on the northeastern shore of Lake Champlain, Vermont’s closest thing to seashore (Vermont is the only New England state without a coastline!). Well, it may be a lake, but it’s a huge one and it has its share of beachcombing treasures. The bartop we are creating for their newly renovated kitchen in Wilmington is incorporating some of the glass treasures they have collected over the years. We are also emulating the undulating shape of a natural shoreline with the outer perimeter of this raised peninsula counter which will serve as an informal eating area overlooking the cooktop.

The crushed glass is only one facet of this accent piece: there will be three bands of color winding across the polished surface. One with the glass; another with exposed aggregate (native gravel), and a wider band with an acid-wash in greens and browns. Several small topographic terraces are sculpted into an edge to suggest natural erosion and the work of the elements that shape our world. Concrete is an excellent medium to showcase all of these design motifs in a single work of functional art which ties together the client, their environment, and the artisan/interpreter.

This is what we do – we love concrete!

The postman has nothing over us; we deliver in rain and snow also… Last month we transported and installed a new set of concrete countertops for a beautifully remodelled home in Putney, Vermont - just 10 miles north of our studio. With an eye toward the future and realizing her lifestyle was going to change, the client had Evergreen Homebuilders do a wide-ranging makeover of her residence. The accommodations in the kitchen include a universal-access stainless steel undermount sink and a dropped (lowered) eating bar. More typically, a kitchen layout might incorporate a raised breakfast bar section but this was a client- and site-specific adaptation – much as custom concrete tops are by nature.

The kitchen was cast in our deep red “Cayenne” base color, with black sand added for character and texture in a lightly polished finish. Maple cabinets, stainless steel appliances and range exhaust hood, a beautiful bamboo floor, and warmly painted walls…

Just this morning, we flipped out a concrete countertop sink run cast in our “Slate” color which includes an integrated drainboard, as do many of our kitchens. New England residents love drainboards - maybe it is a hearkening back to our collective childhood, sitting in a grandparent’s kitchen with the big , old slate or soapstone farm sink and the wide pitched planes to each side where the dishes were set to air dry.  They are eminently practical and a perfect showcase for the three-dimensional versatility of artisan concrete. Each one is different from the previous, some subtly and some dramatically.

This drainboard uses an elemental reference to flowing water by incising ripples into the drain plane,  which is set to the right and slightly back from the undermounted sink aperture. This introduces a pleasing touch of assymmetry to the composition (any Slave to Rhythm would agree…). Immediately outside the New Hampshire window in front of which this concrete countertop will repose are the client’s lush perennial gardens; they are symbolized as well using the movement and vining shapes of the rippling grooves. Another reference wrapped into the design is the heavy roundover on the cabinet doors and their round wooden pulls.

Once installed atop the natural wood cabinets in the owner’s home, it will be apparent that this particular example of functional art was fully intended to be exactly there and nowhere else. Now, that’s integration!

Not every project we undertake is a concrete countertop… Recently we created 15 cast concrete windowsills for a client’s residence in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. The client returned a little while ago and asked about creating a matching concrete hearth for a brick fireplace in the home: the same integral  terra-cotta color and the same molded profile on the lower edge. This was to be 3 inches thick with a gently arcing leading edge and a ”tongue” locking into the firebox area. We decided to block out part of the underside to reduce weight and make handling a little easier for all concerned. By doing so, we reduced the weight by about 25 %, down to 200 pounds of wetcast standard weight concrete. Every little bit (less) helps!

Yesterday we installed our second integral farm sink which was poured in two colors simultaneously – I posted in-progress shots of this a few days ago.  Here’s a photo of the (very compact) kitchen before we pulled the old Formica tops with the drop-in stainless steel sink in preparation for the new concrete countertops. This is a service which I am happy to offer homeowners, simplifying their scheduling and coordinating for the R & R involved with most simple remodel projects. Make it easy.

After we removed the screws holding the builtup laminate tops to the cabinet corner blocks from beneath and cut the caulked backsplash upper edge away from the painted wall, we carefully lifted them out and exposed the cabinet tops. We cleaned excess caulk, adhesives, and joint compound away from the contact surfaces and then turned our attention to the sink base cabinet. Since we were installing an exposed apron front farm sink, we needed to modify the cabinet frame to accept the sink’s projecting mass. We cut the topmost rail at the endjoints and removed the dividing stile at the false front panels in the same manner. This left a rectangular cutout into which the sink box could slide and fit tightly (we planned it that way, of course – every retrofit farm sink is a little different than the next and made exactly to order). We built a rugged shelf inside the cabinet, flush with the cutout to help carry the weight of the casting and made a circular opening in the 3/4″ plywood for the sink drain fitting to pass through.

Then we carried the concrete countertop section with the integral sink into the house ( not the fun part!) and slid it into place. Voila! It’s all in the planning. The remainder of the sections were placed, aligned, shimmed and adhered. The four backsplash sections followed suit. Several minutes of photographs documented the process and off we went. Another custom concrete creation by Concrete Detail for an appreciative client – thank you! Off to the next – a streamlined top in “Sage” with extra black sand exposed in the honed surface, an undermount Blanco Silgranit sink, and embedded glass mosaic tiles – stay posted…