If manufactured or stone countertops make you think of Yogi Berra’s famous “It’s deja vu all over again,”  fire up your imagination with concrete countertops.  Other than fitting through the kitchen door there’s little limit to their sizes, shapes, colors and surface designs. They’re an ideal medium for artistic expression and yes, functionality.  Here’s why.

Concrete countertop shapes

Even if you prefer a rectangular shape you can have an original. Create intrigue with a dramatic surface design and colors.  Or take it up a notch. Concrete countertop shapes and sizes  are wonderfully adaptable.

1. Shapes: Oblique, obtuse and right angles, plus ovals, circles, waves and completely free-forms can be used alone or in combination.  Wrap under-counter breakfast bar or island cabinets with scuptural concrete  which tapers or curves from top to bottom.
2. Colors: Embed metal shapes or create grooves to separate areas of color ranging from geometrical to free-flowing. Use polished natural (gray) or colored concrete or surface dyes. Create a checkerboard of mustard and navy, a play of colored rectangles and circles, a diagonal wave with two shades of the same color, or constellation-like swirls created by hand-sprinkling dyes on the surface.  Bring out your inner Mondrian, Chagall, or cubist. 
3. Embedding:  Embed glass chips or tiles, stones, coins, shells,  ornamental metalwork, and other objects at surface level.  Embed wiring for keeping your coffee carafe or buffet dishes hot, decorative fiber optic lights, and other conveniences.
4. Edge treatments:  Edges can be rounded, stair-stepped, inlaid with natural stones, shells, or other objects. Forms can create many  edging motifs like arches,  Xs, rope, alternating squares and circles or countless other patterns. Rounded corners help with concrete-to-flesh encounters.
5. Sculpting:  Create a freestanding circular, semi-circular, rectangular or trapazoidal  concrete  breakfast-bar countertop unit tall enough to install the kitchen range and cabinets at a lower level. Create tapered troughs, with or without a raised bars or recessed grooves to let juices drip from foods into a cast-in sink.  Embed raised metal or concrete bars beside range top and sink for built-in trivets or a drying rack.  Add decorative undercounter columns, supports, or dividers.

Finishes and upkeep

Concrete countertops are usually sealed to prevent food stains.  Some sealers penetrate the concrete and also leave a protective top coating.  Some penetrate to resist stains, but leave the surface unsealed to allow a patina to form.  Some protect the surface only. As your contractor for a recommendation. Avoid putting red-hot pots on concrete. Wash with a sponge and soapy water.  Wax some finishes.

The bottom line

Standard one-color rectangular 1-1/2 inch thick concrete countertop prices range from roughly $65 to $135 per square foot.  Your creativity will up the ante, as with all masterpieces.