Interiors

The Saratoga Creek House is a David Stark Wilson and Associates design for a very unique site. They did a masterful job with project coordination. TRC finds the best projects revolve around the best team, from Architects, Engineers, GC's & Subs. The interior floors were a perfect backdrop for the amazing features that Wilson and his client brought to the fore.  Bronze, Dark Hardwoods, elegant curvatures and interesting, eye catching dropped ceilings. TRC was one of the chosen high quality craftsman to help develop the vision into a beautiful reality.

This Santa Cruz Harbor Home has some very colorful and unique floors that were achieved through a very unique and complicated process. There were multiple dust on colors broadcast on the concrete followed by a very light acid stain application. The 3-story home has a winding stair case that is supported by a 30" round concrete column fashioned by TRC. The stair case supports a stylish stainless steel railing which was called out by Marilyn Crenshaw, also known as the Green Architect.

The Henriksen Residence was an amazing project. The owner Jorgen Henriksen, who is a retired Art Professor from the Boston University and a painter, had very clear ideas about which colors to use. The problem for TRC was the amount…there were 5-different color hardeners broadcast onto the slabs and a week later we were acid staining those floors with 3-different acid stains.  At one point we pulled out our power trowels to assist with the color lay down because there was just far too much color to handle by hand.  Later Jorgen added colorful concrete countertops and a shower with an exposed Mexican pebble floor.

TRC received a phone call from a woman who just had to have floors that were in the Rockview House. These floors took a lot of artistic effort and planning so recreating them in Panama was not going to be an easy feat.  TRC had to ship all of the various ingredients including beach glass, sea shells, acid stains, sealer, special sand, etc.. Eight months of planning was not enough to prepare our crews for the conditions on the small island of Boca Del Toro on the Carribean side of Panama, but with a little tenacity, luck and will to make it happen, we did it. Some of the floors resembled inspiring pictures of the atolls that we took from our plane ride over. Even with the heat, howler monkeys, squaking parrots and hand mixed concrete we had a great time working on this wonderful project. See other National and International projects.

The Ashton Project was well received and found its way onto the pages of Interior Design Magazine. This project posed unique challenges because the upper concrete floors were above the garage and shop areas and designed to have a Japanese Soaking Tub in the bathroom as well as a Koi Pond in the Living room. Can you just imagine that? The TRC crews provided a solution that guaranteed that both the Soaking Tub and Koi Pond were water tight which will keep both the garage and shop completely dry. All of the concrete was hard troweled and burnished by Tom Ralston Concrete specialty crews.

The Pasatiempo floors were cast with a beautiful French Grey color hardener chosen by the homeowner. They specifically requested a floor with minimal jointing knowing that random cracks would be more likely. The results were outstanding. TRC used a technique that promotes an organic movement of color. The residence also brought the inside to the outside; i.e. the French Grey Color Hardener was cast on the pool deck which had a low gloss sealer and a broadcast of glass. The 3000 SF home and the 900 SF pool deck work very well together.

The Zeidler Home was featured in the January issue of Architectural Digest and is designed by Steven Ehrlich who said that, “Architecture is about being open to the discovery of the inevitable.” From our perspective it was inevitable that with the talented teams of Ehrlich, Tom Ralston Concrete, and Bud Fitch Builders stellar results were going to happen. From the radiant heated pool deck with strips of green to the radiant heated interior floors, modern magic was created. “The complex has an air of mystery that begins even before you walk in the door." Tom Ralston and the Ehrlich team spent many hours blending colors for the perfect grey that was eventually selected with color drifts and a light sandy finish. Read more about the Zeidler Project in Santa Cruz Magazine - "Where Simplicity is King."

The Richard Zlatunich Residence included lots of concrete including a stout foundation, driveways, porches, stairs and landings; but one of the main features of his house was his interior floors. The floors were cast with a Tom Ralston Concrete proprietary mix design and then acid stained with 3-coats of dark brown acid stain. Richard says, “the floors have held up well to my grandchildren and still maintain a dark and luxurious look; actually they look a lot like aged leather.” Zlatunich who is an architect by trade also said, “we have lived in many different homes with tile, wood and stone floors but we have become fans of concrete.”

The West Residence had many items that involved decorative concrete. An exotic front patio laden with Mexican Pebble and acid stain, a rear patio designed with colorful bands and a water feature in the center, and perfect seat walls around the patio perimeter. The West Floors were a special blend of acid stains and tile and the design was a collaboration with Lincoln West, Tom Ralston and Bill Goff. TRC used 3-different acid stains and incorporated a diagonal saw cut pattern while carefully inserting various pieces of Mexican Tile. The results were stunning and everyone who has visited the West Home have had high praises for the acid stained floors.

The Rockview Interior floor project was where Tom Ralston Concrete developed a special technique to fashion concrete to look like ocean shelves and craggy ocean cliffs. Because of its fanfare the Rockview House has been used again and again for Architectural Tours as well as being used to host special events. The Rockview concrete won a National Award for best specialty finish in Las Vegas at the World of Concrete in 2011. The floors are a unique blend of aquarium sand, beach glass, sea shells, and multiple acid stains. The National recognition from the Rockview project served to bring international work to Tom Ralston Concrete. Similar floors were constructed in Boca Del Toro, a small island off the coast of Panama on the Caribbean Sea.