People tend to look down on concrete: the pavement, the driveway, the jungle. Few are drawn to it—except, perhaps to make a mark by footprint or index finger on a freshly poured sidewalk. It's not usually the list topper when mulling options for countertop or floor treatment.

But the gray substance leads a chic and glamorous double life as such and could be the way to go for do-it-yourselfers.

It just depends on the intricacy of the countertop design, said Morgan Conger, a general contractor with Oahu's Sutton Construction. “;There are a lot of inquiries because people think it's cheaper than granite or marble. But then they find it can be comparable or even more expensive and they'll look the other way.”;

Still, the discriminating homeowner will end up choosing concrete, said Conger, who has taught do-it-yourself classes for Fu-Tung Cheng of Cheng Design in California.

“;People choose concrete over granite because they want something unique,”; Conger said. “;Granite and Corian, they are like cactus ... looks good, easy to install and keep up. But concrete is like bonsai. It takes more work, a little more maintenance, but you get a lot more out of it. It's definitely got more character.”;

The material can take any form, can be dressed up with bling such as stone or shell inlays and even snazzed up with integrated drainboards and other accessories.

“;Let's say you had a really nice piece of jade. That can be set into the mix and flushed with the surface. Concrete is definitely more artistic. It can also be refinished over the years to look brand new. Pretty much your imagination is your only limit. Right now it's kind of a high-end market.”;

For the do-it-yourselfer, Cheng Design offers an instructional video and kit that makes it an approachable project using Quikrete. “;It has all your preformulated color, fibers and additives, all the things you need to put into (Quikrete) to make a strong countertop,”; Conger said, “;and the video walks you through it.”;

Based in Berkeley, Calif., the company was started by Cheng, who according to Conger is the king of concrete among interior designers. He credits Cheng and his contemporaries for giving the material its current upscale image. “;It's only in the last five to eight years that it's taken off.”;

He said Cheng took some flak in the industry for teaching homeowners the techniques. “;His response was, 'If you start teaching people how to make good concrete, you raise the level of the market.' Which is basically what has happened.”;

If you need on-site guidance, reputable concrete sources can often recommend an expert. Pat Erwin, an independent mason, is one such person often recruited by friends and friends of friends looking to upgrade their kitchens.

His clients prefer to be hands-on, which Erwin encourages. “;What usually happens is I tell them that it's going to cost X dollars, and then they're shocked. But they're involved the whole time, and at the end of the project, they can see where their dollars went, where we cut costs, and they feel better about it.”;

In one instance, Erwin fashioned a cantilevered bar on the kitchen counter of a friend, who was remodeling an older home in Kaimuki. “;We knocked heads on how to make it work without cracking, and made sure it could withstand the weight if someone sat on it.”; The rustic qualities of concrete complemented the home's plantation style “;and he got exactly what he was looking for.”;

The process takes four to five days, not including “;cure”; time of up to a week. “;It's messy, and the owners are going to be inconvenienced for awhile, that's why it's always good to do this during a whole remodeling, or at preconstruction of a house,”; Erwin said.

“;For a house on the Big Island, I poured it, and once it dried, they put a plastic sheet on it so they could use it while we were waiting for it to cure. The sink was functional, stove in place, and they just had to be real careful not to stain it (before it was sealed).”;

Instead of premixed packages or Quikrete, Erwin likes to use local material, and creates his own mix from scratch. This gives him more control over the finishes and colors, he said, and lets him adjust the mix to the needs of the client, whether they prefer a more coral look or basalt.

Erwin, a former fabricator for Lokahi Stone, said hand-finished products don't usually have the sheen of “;modular”; components, those poured in a shop. “;The shop countertops are poured upside down, on a perfectly flat surface and you end up with a finish that can be as shiny as glass.”;

Hand-finished, on-site countertops are just as nice, but it's a different look, he said. He recommends visiting the Lokahi Stone showroom to get familiar with the product.

“;The cool thing about concrete, whether it's modular or poured in place, is it's unlimited in what you can do with the colors, artwork and shapes.”;