Mad About … Concrete

As the summer continues, the quest for cool surfaces continues and following the recent look at Marble (beautiful but expensive) this week it’s the turn of concrete, which is a lot cheaper to begin with. Although by the time it’s been polished and sealed and buffed, it’s probably not as cheap as you thought it was going to be.

Having said that I would have loved to have Carrara marble worktops, I would also have been very happy with concrete. I love its raw industrial look and think it softens off really well with the addition of a few vintage style accessories – kilims and Persian rugs for example. Or a pale pink velvet sofa. It just needs something a little unexpected to go with it.

Have a look at these interiors and see what you think. Remember,as is always the case, it’s about finding inspiration and perhaps taking a little bit of what you see and making your own interpretation of it.

The kitchen above has confined itself to a concrete floor, which is a good idea if you aren’t sure about the whole thing. It works well with underfloor heating so it needn’t be cold and you can add rugs if you want a bit more colour.

Having said you can stick to just the floor, I love these solid concrete shelves in the image above and the island is wonderful too. Particularly when contrasted with the vintage table and more delicate chairs.

This ceiling looks great but it’s probably only for those who are embarking on their own Grand Designs style projects.

I love the chandelier in this room, a brilliant, and unexpected twist on this look.

Solid shelving like this looks fantastic with the crockery piled up inside.

Of course, concrete is great in a bathroom – practical and hardwearing it looks fantastic. But, if your walls aren’t suitable for concrete then you can always fake it.

This wallpaper is by Tom Haga

So there we have it. Anyone for concrete?