Raw Beauty

Appreciating the raw beauty of concrete...

Paired with a plastered wall with character, the plaster reflects the blue/gray in the concrete.

Concrete is the consummate neutral greige.

Opposites attract- silky satin, soft rose petals and raw concrete.

This is polished concrete. You'd swear it's Venetian plaster.

This cool studio in Shanghia utilizes timber-formed concrete. Once the casts were removed, traces of the timbers remained imprinted on the poured concrete. For a fascinating read on its construction by architects Archi-Union, visit here.

Notice how the balcony projects out and wraps around the branches of the existing tree?

Did you know that while concrete was often used by the ancient Romans (including for the Pantheon), following the Roman empire, it was not used until the 1700's?

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Mottled Effects

Concrete has come a long way in design. 

Just check out the raw beauty of these concrete panels, used in the transformation of an 1880s building loft on Bond Street in New York City.

And then there is the Venetian plaster used in this niche. 

Its horizontal striae effect is at once both striking and subtle.

The concrete walls remind me very much of a concrete application by Joe Fenzl (of Western Pacific Decorative Arts) in Sophisticated Surfaces, the classic book by Karen Aude that, although published nearly ten years ago, remains a mainstay in my library of finishes.

Here Mr. Fenzl applied a light glaze over the smooth top layer of concrete and then sealed it.

Have you used decorative concrete in your home or projects?

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