Few can resist the lure of smooth, wet concrete calling out for carved initials or a quick hand print while no one’s looking. Designer and concrete fabricator Fu-Tung Cheng of Berkeley, Calif.-based Cheng Design has been yielding to that temptation since the early 1980s. Cheng lauds the material that allows him to embed, sculpt, color, carve, and shape stunning forms such as the elliptical kitchen island in this Portola Valley, Calif., remodel. “Concrete is fundamentally earthier than granite or other stone,” explains Cheng. “It’s an earth matrix that nature sets up with a variety of aggregates that we select and mix up to create our own result.” In this 24-by-18-foot kitchen, Cheng has enhanced the naturally rugged appearance of concrete with polished surfaces, embedded bits of gemstones, integrated color, and his signature ammonite fossil imprints. The homeowner is an artist who “wanted to live with art rather than display it,” explains Cheng. The island houses a six-burner gas cooktop with slide-out storage below. A perforated stainless steel shelf inset into the corner curve serves as a receptacle for hot pots or cold drinks that might stain the concrete. The sides slope gently inward to eliminate the need for a toekick and to flaunt the material’s monolithic character.
Contractor: T.W. Heyenga Construction, San Jose, Calif.; Designer: Cheng Design, Berkeley, Calif.; Cabinetmaker: William Guba & Associates, Oakland, Calif.; Photographer: Matthew Millman Resources: Ceramic tile: Gary Holt Design; Oven: Gaggenau; Plumbing fixtures: KWC; Range: Russell; Range hood: Cheng Design; Refrigerator: Sub-Zero.
