Oooooooohhhh! Love the butterfly joins!

WOW...I absolutely love these! awesome!

I am in LOVE with these countertops!!!

Wow. Totally could have fooled me.

They are absolutely gorgeous and I love the detailing! But why take one material with its own stunning characteristics and inherent qualities, fuss with it to mask those characteristics all to make it look like something completely different? You can't touch these counter tops and get the warmth and texture of wood, though there won't be any water damage for sure

wow. that's impressive.

I'm with jcsmitten-- why turn concrete counters into mock wood when concrete counters themselves are amazing and actual wood countes are amazing? My kitchen now has both concrete counters and treated wood counters (side-by-side) and I adore both materials.

"Why"? Because it's funny; because you can ;)

That was impressive, really.

Is chipping or breaking a problem?

I was right! I guessed before I looked. I only knew because I'm a huge fan of concrete and its many uses. These look fabulous. I suppose they're easier to upkeep than a wooden countertop with the same look.

How durable is the finish? I would love to see this on a building's exterior, but wonder if it would hold up. As far as indoors, I'm happy with my real wood counters.

I'm not a fan of faux finishes. If you want distressed wood you should use distressed wood, concrete/concrete etc, etc etc.

It's an impressive finish - but I don't get the point...

If you want the appearance, color and warmth of wood - why substitute cold hard concrete?

It's still gonna require periodic sealing to prevent stains - same as wood.
I'm sure the labor to fabricate and install was as much as wood if not more.
It's no more eco-friendly - Probably far less so than using reclaimed wood.

i can see the point. concrete countertops in any other finish would have been out of place in that kitchen. the faux wood makes for a match. concrete doesn't really do rustic at all much less the way that wood can. as much as i love wood, especially reclaimed, i wouldn't use it as a countertop materiel.

that's not to say that i wouldn't miss the wood's warmth.

This is cool and original so kudos for that, but I'm also a bit mystified as to the purpose of the switcheroo. The painted surface rather negates the rugged quality of the concrete, no?

Wow, so cool!

Love them!

I wonder how difficult this would be as a diy project? Very neat looking.

Beautiful!

I'd love to see an example of unfinished concrete as kitchen counters. Does it work well?

An amazing example of trompe-l'oeil. Now, how about making a faux-concrete countertop out of .... wood !?

It would be lovely if it was real wood. I hate faux finishes - they become dated really fast. Sorry.

Imagine the surprise when placing a wine glass on the counter top and realizing that the material is alot harder than wood!

wow, that's incredible. fooled me! and I love the look of reclaimed wood.

I would consider this with concrete floors if I couldn't put in wood. Seems odd in a kitchen in which you could probably get planks for the same cost.

Incredible job.

What is the point of this?? 2-3" thick reclaimed wood slabs would be just as durable a kitchen work surface as concrete, and would actually be way better on knives, plates, glasses...

obviously the person who executed it is very talented. But the person who thought it up, that is a different story. Soo tacky.

(And a butterfly joint would never be made out of iron...)

@joey joejoe, you should never, EVER cut on the countertop. It's bad for the knives and it's bad for the counter, so that argument, at least, is foolish.

I think this is lovely. You wouldn't have to worry about it getting knicked, scorched, or warped like you would with wood. Beautiful work.

It's not painted, it's stained, so the ruggedness is still intact. And for diy-ers, this would be significantly easier and cheaper than reclaimed wood.

This would be especially awesome for a good looking back patio.

Concrete would be better for pastry etc than wood, but in this kitchen "wood" looks better, so I can understand the thought process behind it...

I'm almost speechless! What gorgeous craftsmanship!!!

I'm also with jcsmitten and the others who questioned the purpose of doing this. You can admire the novelty, but I would much prefer to have real wood or concrete that looks like concrete. This makes me think of that horrible Trex that people use for their decks - I don't like simulated wood!

expensive!

No way... I don't get it still... It has to be wood! It definitely looks warm and woody. Great job! Very interesting and impressive.

It's a weird, but well executed idea. It may be the perfect solution for our future kitchen remodel when I want butcher block counter tops, and he wants to pour them out of concrete.

I understand what people are saying about how nice real wood is and how it feels so natural and organic. I almost used real wood for my counters, not unlike the way this looks. HOWEVER - right before I put the deposit on the wood counters I had an appliance flood my wood floors. I was standing there when it happened, and the water was on the floors (that had JUST been refinished) for less than 10 minutes. And the floors warped terribly. Water is going to sit on your counter all the time - I could not live with a warped, bowed, bent counter. So this, while obviously not as nice and natural as real wood, is a viable alternative for those not interested in panicking every time water gets on the counter. Just my two cents.

Believe it or not it feels like wood. It isn't a faux finish, part of it is in the finish and part of it is in the molding process. Most of the it is integral. You can actually see the interior fluting of the wood pores. Also it is a greener process, there is no waste, we use recycled aggregate that is 100% post consumer waste. Concrete also has thermal mass so for flooring especially with radiant heat, it is a no brainer. Concrete is much more durable than wood and "concrete wood" is a traditional alternative to concrete's usual modern appearance.

As far as a one to one replacement, that isn't the point. We love wood just the same, but we are looking at applications that allow illusion to forgo an absolute unjustified use of the material. For example, using iron butterfly joints to bring in a different appeal in the design, whereas, in the real application it would never work. Further, how about building a sink out of wood plank, or a shower pan, it would be impossible in wood.

Concrete with today's advances and sealer technology, both green and conventional, the need for resealing is a thing of the past. Especially compared to wood and in the bathroom.

We use a GFRC mix which allows for great flex strength and we never have chipping or breakage unless the pieces is seeing some serious abuse. Perfect for exterior wall applications. Hope I addressed some of what was being said, thanks for looking at our work!

want wood? use wood.

i don't care how realistic astroturf is, either.

I LOVE THIS!!
THIS is what i've been dreaming of... Thanks.

Amazing work. I'd like to see closeup's because I never would have guessed those were anything other than real wood from the pictures.

Good to see the owner/designer getting involved here because all the "why" comments were getting kind of shrill and repetitive.

Durability - Concrete is much, much more durable than wood. Unlike wood, it doesn't need to be sealed and is impervious to water damage.

Ease of installation - Pour.

No waste - Try that with wood.

Thermal Mass - While it might not be worth the expense of installing tubing and plumbing for radiant heating/cooling in a kitchen countertop application, it's plainly the way to go with flooring for anyone who cares about efficiency or the environment.

The drawback is that many people don't like the look of concrete and would prefer wood, kind of like where CFL bulbs were a few years ago until manufacturers started experimenting to expand the color spectrum.

Aside from that, I can some practical applications for using radiant tubing in countertop like piping in cold water for rolling out pastry dough and hot for keeping food warm even though I feel like I'm kind of stepping on my environmental argument here.

Those are solid compelling "reasons" for wanting to use concrete that looks like wood instead of wood, whereas the want "wood, use wood" argument reads more like fashion statements.

I think this is a great solution! It really looks like wood.
I love the look of wood countertops, but wouldn't want them for their various problems as kitchen counters. The look of wood with the advantages of a stronger material.

Oh and I also must say this won me over to concrete. I've always hated concrete countertops in kitchens. Every one I've seen looks too cold and industrial no matter the setting, but this is so warm looking I would absolutely use it.

Thank you for all the points of view. Daniel, or anyone interested, if you would like more pictures feel free to email me michelle@jmlifestyles.com

I was just talking about how I love concrete counters the other day when I saw this.

Its SO awesome. A faux finisher who is really great at their craft are so fun to watch, this is absolutely amazing.

I don't understand why its "tacky". They like the look of wood but didn't want to deal with the upkeep. They solved the problem in a really creative, well executed manner.

Love, love, love it.

How is concrete no waste compared to wood? You still used wood to make the mould, no?

This is amazing! I think it's great: the look of wood without the real risk of water damage. Works for me. If I needed new countertops, I would take this into serious condsideration.

Amazing job! I like the fact that you get the wood-look with the durability of concrete.