Concrete Decor's Current Articles

The first time I delivered “Trends in Decorative Concrete” was at the Concrete Decor Show in Fort Worth, Texas, in February 2014. It was initially created to present a quick snapshot of what was trending in our industry, targeting primarily the design community. At the time, I never anticipated the presentation would grow into the program it is today.

Imagine the convenience and versatility of a decorative concrete finish that can be applied to walls or floors.

Actually, it’s not a matter for the imagination. Such decorative finishes already exist.

Doing museum-quality work doesn’t always entail fashioning blank backdrops to show items of interest at their best. Sometimes, as is the case of a pollinator-themed playground at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., it involves colorful GFRC carvings that are larger than life.

A floor in a new-car showroom should be as luxurious as the merchandise. Epoxy with metallic effects fit the bill here.

Over her 22-year career, Victoria Simpson Collins’ talent for acid staining has created a niche she hopes to occupy for a long time to come.

“It’s hard for people to understand why a ‘girl’ would be interested in concrete work,” she says.

For a guy who started from the bottom up, Jesse Escalera has managed to make a name for himself over the years through his backyard masterpieces.

Inspired from architecture and sculptures, Karen Konzuk has a modern-day approach to her designs. Though initially her main focus was sculpture, Konzuk accidentally took a jewelry course at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and loved it.

Held at the sprawling Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club just north of Tampa in Palm Harbor, Florida, it drew participants from around the world to partake in workshops held on the resort premises, a full roster of educational seminars and panels, and a two-day exposition that featured power trowel polishing and artisans demonstrating decorative vertical applications.

A knockdown finish on horizontal concrete is not dissimilar to the knockdown finishes common on drywall. It involves a cementitious material that is dispensed by hopper gun, applied with spatter brush, or in some cases screeded, troweled and textured with rollers or stamping tools.

Every concrete countertop fabricator is after a smooth, clean finish on his or her work, be it a kitchen island, fireplace mantle or sink basin. Achieving a flat, shiny surface often comes down to the type of grinder that's used, and with so many machines on the market, many fabricators can feel overwhelmed by the choices.

Michael Day of Day's Concrete Floors Inc., North Monmouth, Maine, was hired in 2011 to do some serious makeover work at the Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort Hotel in Carrabasset Valley, Maine.

When you live in Tennessee and you’ve got clients with a bare kitchen who also like to entertain and enjoy their adult beverages, a Jack Daniels theme seemed like a natural fit.

Consumers, often blown away with the low prices of desktop inkjet printers, forget to consider the additional cost of ink cartridges which put many of them on a first name basis with the folks at the office supply store.

Thousands of contractors use decorative concrete in commercial projects because it is attractive, durable, affordable and easy to maintain. This article is about the explosion in commercial decorative work and how it may benefit your company

Moisture problems in concrete slabs old and new can play havoc with decorative concrete projects and other flooring strata in several ways, including bubbling, blistering and blushing of color. It’s commonly an interior problem because breathable products that reduce the threat are more commonly used in exterior applications.

When Chris McMahon sets out to rehabilitate a worn-out pool deck, he’s not satisfied with merely jazzing up the old slab. He likes to reinvent the entire swimming pool environment, using color, texture and elevation.

Not long ago my wife and I were having dinner at a well-known chain restaurant when we noticed that hundreds of feet of saw cuts had been left unfilled. I'm guessing this had to be a health issue. If nothing else, it made the floor look unfinished, to say the least.

The way to homeowners' hearts is through their kids. So why not market decorative concrete to second graders?