Journal Staff Writer

Nobody pays much attention to concrete.

Relegated to foundations, garage floors and driveways, concrete has never been fashionable. It’s so cold, so gray, so utilitarian.

But Michael Tingley says it’s time to give concrete some respect. He’s bringing it into such respectable places as the kitchen and the bathroom.

Tingley, not surprisingly, is in the concrete business. As the owner of Tingley Concrete Construction in Coventry, he has built beautiful patios and walkways in varying patterns, designs and colors.

Now he has demonstrated concrete’s aesthetic value by taking it into the house that he and his wife, Lisa, have recently completed in western Coventry.

There’s a terracotta counter in the kitchen, an aqua-green counter in the children’s bathroom, a dark-gray counter in the master bathroom and an olive-colored apron around the Jacuzzi.

In his office, the floor is cut into large, geometric patterns of various shades of tan.

All of it is crafted from concrete.

For the Tingleys, concrete offered them more choices in terms of colors and textures.

"It’s just a totally different material to work with," Michael Tingley said. "You’re not limited to colors."

As the rugged look of soapstone and granite have increasingly caught on among kitchens and bathroom designers, concrete is attracting some notice. Home shows, especially in the southwest and California, are featuring more interior applications with concrete.

New staining and coloring techniques allow homeowners to create unusual patterns in a wide spectrum of colors and shadings.

Using concrete for the kitchen countertops allowed Tingley to mix in the appropriate pigments and create the color that most closely matched the floor tiles selected by Lisa.

The coloring can be added to the concrete while it is being mixed or after it is set in place. To create a solid color, the pigments are added while the concrete is in its liquid form. Tingley used this approach in creating the bathroom counters.

To create a more variegated pattern, a chemical stain was applied to the concrete after it is cast.

For the kitchen counter, Tingley poured the concrete in place and added granite chips to the surface. Once the concrete was set, he sanded the counter until the chips were exposed to create a terrazzo finish.

Sealants protect the concrete from water and other liquids. A polyurethane sealant applied the kitchen counter gave it a high-gloss finish. A USDA-approved acrylic sealant was used on the other counters for a matte finish.

Concrete countertops run about $70 to $90 per linear foot, Tingley said. That’s cheaper than granite or marble, but more expensive than surfaces such as Corian.

But concrete is not for everyone. For one thing, it will crack. Tingly views this as a positive, because the cracks add characters to the counter. The rebar installed below the concrete will hold the cracks in place to prevent them from widening.

In Tingley’s office above the garage, the concrete slab has been transformed into a series of geometrical patterns that Tingley cut into the floor. The warm colors of amber, gold, and tan that were stained onto the floor neutralized the cold concrete.

Outdoors, concrete is used on all the familiar places. But Tingley has applied unique "stamps" or patterns to the concrete that give it the appearance of other materials.

The back patio, for example, is a four-inch base of poured concrete, but Tingley has stained it a deep red and stamped it in an "old brick" pattern. A series of rubber mats with the patterns of brick are applied to the fresh concrete.

In Tingley’s driveway, the centerpiece is a Tingley-designed sun composed of aggregate stone. The stone was mixed into the concrete, poured, and washed off the following day so the stone would be exposed.

Around the sun is textured concrete stained a deep walnut that has been cut into large squares. The two approaches to the driveway were stamped with cobblestone patterns.

The colors and stamps "get away from the old, bland concrete," said Bill Toole, a sales representative with PRM Concrete Corporation of Pawtucket. "You can shape the form to just about any way you want to."

Tingley said that 95 percent of his concrete business involves this type of architectural concrete. "It’s more appealing to me," he said. "When the job’s done, you can look at it and it’s more gratifying."