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Stained Concrete Floor The rich chocolate finish of this concrete floor evokes the warmth and richness of leather. How it was made: The color was achieved using a semitransparent concrete stain that comes in several colors. Why it works here: “We felt that the color we chose went well with the natural wood in the house,” says Curtis Gelotte, Principal at Gelotte Hommas Architecture. Concrete is also an economical finish in homes with radiant heat, like this one. Tip: Stained concrete floors will always have natural variations in color, because of the way concrete takes the stain. “You have to embrace its uncontrollability in a sense and go with the organic nature,” says Fisher.
Refurbishing Existing Concrete Using a microtopping with a stencil can be an economical way to enliven a worn concrete area. Microtoppings, or thin-section overlays, run the spectrum from spray deck products for driveways and pool decks to high-end trowel-grade materials for interior residential and commercial spaces. The overlay is about ⅛-inch thick and can stand up to freeze-thaw conditions if applied and maintained properly.
Folding Glass Doors The folding glass door is another nice way of creating a large opening that allows the distinction between inside and outside to disappear. The advantage that the folding glass door has over, say, the telescoping door is that it allows for a big opening from corner to corner when there isn't an opportunity to create pockets in the wall for the panels to slide into. Folding glass doors can be set up so that one of the panels is hinged, acting like a standard door. This way, when you want to go in or out, you don't have to open the entire door. Cost: Folding glass doors can be pricey, especially the better ones that are easily operated. You should budget about $1,000 to $1,500 per lineal foot. So a 20-foot-wide opening would cost about $20,000 to $30,000.
Unlike the two-panel configuration of the typical sliding glass door, the French slider has four panels. The two outer panels are fixed in place; the two inner panels operate. When closed, the two operable panels butt into each other, resting in the same plane, creating the look of a hinged door. Another advantage to these doors is the opening can be even wider than a regular sliding glass door. At widths of 10, 12 and 16 feet, these doors can create a wall of glass while also allowing for a lot of natural ventilation. Whether it's the standard sliding glass door or the French slider, an important design consideration is the track system. As in the hinged doors, these tracks can project up an inch or more and are typically 5 to 6 inches wide. The large track is something you'll want to deal with by setting it down lower or specifying a lower profile system as some manufacturers can provide.
This smart set-up uses vertical space in a different but no less innovative way, eliminating the need for a separate desk and chest of drawers entirely.
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