The Concrete Look Sets The Tone In The Design World

Exposed concrete has gained a place of honor as a fashionable and youthful element in the home design world in recent years. If you, too, want to bring out the concrete from under layers of paint to make it the focus of your home, here are some tips and tricks on the right way to go about it.

One of the outstanding trends in design recently has been a return to raw materials and their integration in home design: earthy materials, metal, and concrete too, are now considered some of the most common building materials available. The very same concrete, previously coated with paint to hide its true appearance, now stands exposed, taking front stage; and many architects and designers are choosing to use it in fashionable spaces and buildings. So why use exposed concrete and how do you use it correctly in home design?

The industrial look gains popularity

The industrial look is a highly popular trend that many designers have chosen to adopt. It is characterized by exposing the same building materials we generally tend to conceal, use of natural materials such as metal and wood, and a minimalistic approach to colors and objects in the room. The final look is raw and unfinished, yet perfect. Today, the industrial look can be found in studio apartments in the city, in modern suburban homes, and in commercial spaces such as offices and stores.

Exposed concrete for an urban look

While in the past we automatically associated exposed concrete with industrial buildings or unfinished structures, today exposed concrete is trendy and gradually gaining dominance in the design world; there are now more and more interior spaces in which concrete serves not only as a raw material but also as a design material conveying an urban industrial look which is at the same time youthful and fashionable. Besides walls featuring exposed concrete, today you can also find a whole range of accessories such as lampshades, potted plants, washbasins and even jewelry made of concrete.

Using exposed concrete in home design

Warmly embracing the trend, Tambour has developed products that which endow the home space with an exposed concrete look. Like to add an urban-industrial look to your home? These products will help you do that with graceful ease:
Arava: mineral plaster that can be applied on both exterior and interior walls. Gives walls a natural concrete or stone look. Moisture repellant, sunlight resistant, with long-term color durability. Available in a selection of 10 shades.
Concrete Effect:. water-based acrylic paint creating an exposed concrete look. You can quickly and easily apply it yourself. So attractive, so simple.

To use concrete on interior walls without creating an air of alienation in the space, choose one wall in the room as the dominant wall. Paint the wall with Concrete Effect or Arava plaster, which will impart a natural concrete look to the wall. Paint the room’s other walls with a neutral shade and add furniture made of natural materials, such as wood or metal, and accessories with a bold splash of color, such as yellow, to achieve the ultimate urban look. See how it’s done:

To create an exposed concrete look outside the home, in the entryway, on the porch or on the way out to the garden, coat the wall with Arava plaster, and complete the look with accessories and furniture made of natural materials: metal garden table and chairs, a wooden bench at the entrance and natural-shaded textiles, such as cream, gray or coffee.

Want to embrace an exposed concrete look, but not sure what color fits in best with your home? Check out the color chart for the Concrete Effect or visit Tambour House to see the colors for yourself in real life.

Like the concept of concrete but considering other exclusive design ideas as well? Maybe what would work for you is to bring the outdoors into your home, with a colorful acrylic skim coat for the interior spaces.