Allure of Concrete

Some observations and advice from our Lead Architect Mary Ong and Interior Designer Courtney Doyle on the use of concrete in home interior and exterior design, this is something more and more Perth residents creating homes are interested in.

Concrete is a versatile material, we see a lot of it being used as flooring in a variety of finishes. In its raw and natural grey with a light polish is probably the most popular floor finish, we have added oxides and created black floors, applied a heavier grind to expose aggregate which gives more colour and texture.

Other applications can be custom formed basins typically serving as statement pieces in powder rooms, or on a larger scale for kitchen benchtops. Feature walls aren’t common at the moment in our designs but we do incorporate concrete as landscape elements, planters, entry steps etc. We have also exposed concrete construction elements in our latest City Beach project showing strength and solidity.

Collaborative Design

Popularity often comes about when people are wowed by something different and unique. We hadn’t seen anything quite as futuristic and bold as the Googie movement before its time and many embraced it because it was endorsed by big names such as John Lautner and Douglas Honnold. In this modern day, we are finding that clients are not always after a particular style of architecture but they want something unique from their neighbour. This usually results in an amalgamation of different styles to create someone’s dream home. Googie architecture and other particular architecture movements have become niche styles, if executed well with modern day details can be extremely successful.

Versatile Design of Concretes

When we look at our portfolio of work, the majority of our current projects we are designing and building have concrete floors yet all of these homes reflect very different styles to each other. Concrete has the ability to behave as a raw, natural, blank canvas from which to grow a variety of styles. This allows the clients to imprint their own personality

A typical Weststyle client brief would include a unique design with practical and easy to maintain materials. This is where concrete fits perfectly as a low maintenance, versatile material. Concrete can be used as flooring, benchtops, planter boxes, floating entry treads…and so on. It is a cost effective natural material which is readily available. It has a low embodied energy with minimal wastage which is particularly appealing for clients who prioritise sustainability.

Concrete as a building material, practical and aesthetic, can be accessible to both the budget-conscious and premium end of the market and is a particularly affordable flooring option and the beauty of it is that it can flow all the way through the home if the client desires. In our higher end homes, those with a more relaxed budget, we are able to add value with concrete by commissioning the design of custom-formed elements working to create a sense of unique opulence.

Weststyle’s Interior Designer Courtney Doyle adds, an architectural grey polished concrete floor creates a raw natural base that is accessible to many, this allows the designer and client to build and create the individual style and layer luxury into the interior. With the same material you can expose aggregate and finish with a high gloss polish and create a terrazzo look, a finish with a different personality and flair which can be the base of a different client’s sense of luxury. The core benefit of concrete from an interior designers perspective is versatility.

Schedule a consultation with Weststyle’s custom home design team and build your dream home today.