Caesarstone Raw Concrete: The Soft Grey Benchtop

Raw Concrete: A Soft Form of Balanced Urbanism

In today’s interior design world, spaces that generate a sense of serenity and freedom are increasing in popularity. As a result, many designers have adopted a minimalist mindset, offering their clients options that replace clutter and excess with space and reduction. Benchtops play a key role in creating contemporary minimalist spaces.

Naturally dominant, benchtops can either overshadow other elements and generate drama, or balance between different elements in a low-key manner. Finding an understated frequency to rejuvenate a kitchen space starts with choosing a benchtop colour that facilitates visual harmony, and few surfaces manage that as naturally as Caesarstone^® Raw Concrete.

A soft expression of weathered concrete

Caesarstone^® Raw Concrete is a true classic, used by homeowners worldwide to create urban spaces that support a myriad of individual preferences. Resembling the ruggedness of real concrete, this colour blends a soft grey base with textured flecks of black and white, the kind of grey benchtop that reads as considered rather than cold. Used as a benchtop or splashback, Raw Concrete’s popularity stems from its effortless ability to cater to modern kitchens of different shapes, sizes and aesthetic visions.

“Raw Concrete was launched together with Rugged Concrete and Fresh Concrete, as part of our Metropolitan Collection™,” recalls Mor Krisher, Caesarstone’s Head of Design. “Tapping into the industrial home design trend, we realised that after reinterpreting natural stone such as a marble or granite, we could also create a concrete look that people would love. Raw Concrete not only has a concrete colour: its black and white flecks provide an unrefined texture that recreates the effect of time and nature on exposed cemented surfaces.”

Some grey concrete stone benchtops go for an ultra-industrial look, but Raw Concrete is cut from a different cloth. This surface radiates a softness that is perfect for chic urban spaces. With Raw Concrete, the key term is balance: subtle urban warmth that doesn’t lose its cool.

One of its major strengths is its ability to tie everything together, including polar opposites. It’s a great surface for mixed-material design, pairing well with wood, metal, painted cabinetry, and modern appliances. It’s no wonder designers love it; it gives them ample flexibility.

Raw Concrete is a concrete lover’s dream come true, thanks to a first-rate blend of aesthetics and practicality. This surface provides homeowners with a rugged concrete stone look without the porosity or maintenance issues that come with real concrete, offering stain and scratch resistance that does not diminish over time. As part of the Caesarstone^® ICON™ Advanced Mineral Surfaces range, it’s made from a blend of approximately 85% recycled materials.

Raw Concrete in real life

Bringing a gentle urban touch, Raw Concrete is adored by homeowners worldwide and acknowledged by architects and designers as a versatile surface that works in many contexts.

A family living in the Hampshire countryside used Raw Concrete as an anchor for its functional kitchen, which features a contemporary design. With its wooden flooring and muted cabinetry, the kitchen exudes a harmonious vibe, which is further enhanced by Raw Concrete benchtops and a hint of exterior brick facades. This kitchen is a prime example of how well Raw Concrete works in a warm, wood-dominated setting that’s not necessarily urban-oriented.

On Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Raw Concrete takes on a different register. In Sorrento House 1, designed by Vibe Design Group, the colour runs across the kitchen island, splashback and kitchen wall as one continuous surface, paired with silken timber and custom steel. The result reads as sculptural rather than domestic, a coastal build where restraint does the work that ornament usually would. The project won New Houses over $1m and Most Innovative Kitchen Design at the BDAV Design Awards, recognition for a kitchen built on the same quiet confidence that runs through Raw Concrete more broadly.

A brief style guide

Raw Concrete is a great choice for a wide range of spaces: traditional, urban, countryside and more, all looking to align with today’s major trends.

Spaces seeking an industrial look will benefit from Raw Concrete’s soft interpretation of concrete, which helps create an urban, loft-style vibe. Raw Concrete works extremely well with black metal elements, matte cabinetry and greyscale palettes. Sporting a soft mid-grey tone, Raw Concrete also fits minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired designs like a glove.

An opposite of monochrome industrial home design, material layering is a growing trend that brings a colourful vibrance into the kitchen. Many kitchens are interested in combining different textures, colours and materials (wood, metal, stone, textiles) for added depth and interest. Raw Concrete fits beautifully into the layering scheme, adding a layer of soft grey that acts as a backdrop to warm wood, matte metals, colourful cabinetry and woven fabrics. This is a surface that always balances and never overpowers.

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