Featured on Apartment Therapy

Please check out our concrete wood featured on Apartment Therapy!

Wine Enthusiasts and Concrete

Small spaces make excellent areas for unique statements. Wine is an integral part of these client's lifestyle, enjoying eating and entertaining with friends and always enjoying a newly discovered vintage. So when designing this special vanity we decided to incorporate one of their latest finds as the faucet.

What better host to a vanity having an old world style than wood. This fact polarizes the need for our concrete wood to complete a desired look without compromising the function of the space. The custom vessel was designed to present wine bottle. Iron shelf supports were included to enhance the iron details in the wood top. Wire glass shelf was a nice visual touch. Also in the top are the client's initials "carved" in the "wood".

More Concrete Wood

This custom residential kitchen features our unique "concrete wood" the perimeter countertops are made of concrete to look like wood, indistinguishable from the real thing, with much more durability and functionality than real wood. Custom iron dovetails and nail heads are embedded in the concrete to enhance the realistic look of the wood.

The island top is an acid stained two-tiered island with a flamed edge detail complete with custom iron clavos detail.

Concrete Sinks

Concrete Hood

This Custom Concrete Hood is now a part of our standard hood designs. The design is sectional, the columns are separate from the corbels, the breast is separate from the moldings, all these pieces can be exchanged for others or made in different sizes. It is 66" wide and 65" tall. Installation is simple since it is lightweight GFRC (Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete). Each piece is held together with adhesive and masonry screws. The entire assembly is attached to the wall by way of clips into the blocking installed prior to the hood. The upper section can be made removable for easy access and/or service since code requires rigid pipe. This is our limestone texture and color.

Two Sided Concrete Fireplace Hearth and Mantle

This fireplace is a two sided fireplace shared but completely different in the Master Bath and Master Bedroom. The bedroom hearth and mantle are a distressed textured finish that looks like leather. Designed by Peter Salerno, fabricated by JM.

The opposite side of the fireplace is in their master bathroom. This has a repetitive carved wave tile pattern, which is carried through in a custom edge detail. The fireplace mantle has fiber optics embedded to emit light upward that highlights the natural wave movement in the tile.

Lighting aspects are very important to the overall look and feel of a room, embedding them in concrete allows for subtle convenient lighting options without fixtures. Spaces that contain a lot of texture or varying dimensions, allow for lighting to create therapeutic environments through light.

Diversity Only Limited By Imagination

Concrete is a completely design specific medium. It allows you to conceive any color, size, shape, thickness and pattern. Pieces like this one really illustrate the limitlessness of the material. GFRC takes it a little farther allowing smaller thicknesses, splashes of color with color inlays, and irregular, free form shape. This conceptual piece also has an area we ground to expose glass. This table is 40"x 72" and 3/4" thick.

Concrete: The perfect medium in the Bathroom

This bathroom includes a concrete shower pan, tub surround and concrete vanity with integral sinks and concrete drawers.
The 9 1/2' seamless vanity with 3 self closing blum drawers hangs on our standard wall mount brackets. The undermount drawer boxes allow for easy mounting of finished hardware such as towel bars. Perfectly suited project for GFRC (Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete). The advantages include long irregular shapes without seams, maximizing drawer space, vanities light weight enough to be mounted to wall brackets. The drawer face panels are able to be mounted directly to the drawer box without the use of bulky face panels on the drawer box.

The shower pan includes a custom stainless steel square drain. These can be made any shape and material. The tub surround is one piece with an integral seat into the shower, and the face panels finish off not only the tub surround but the interior of the shower under the seat.

Professional Club offers solutions, camaraderie

That's the way it's been for more than a decade as small-business owners from Chester, Long Valley, Mendham and Mount Olive gather with other members of the Chester Area Professional Club. The group meets Wednesdays at 7 a.m. at the Chester Diner on Route 206.

"It's so relaxed," said the club's newest member, Michelle Radley of J&M Lifestyles LLC, a company that uses concrete to create decorative elements such as countertops and furniture. "Everybody seems like they're friends and helping each other."
That's exactly what members Robert L. Davis, of Black River Mortgage Co., and Larry Gersten, local certified public account, had in mind when they started the organization about 10 years ago...
Other members also talked about the number of business leads they've received from the group. Radley said she received leads from members after her first meeting. Attorney Eric Kaiser says it works that way because people get to know each other....
"It's not just about the money," says McAleney. 'It's about helping each other."
For more information, stop by the Chester Diner any Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. or call President Larry Gersten at (908) 879-3993.

For full article visit the Daily Record

Glowing Concrete Fossils!

This is a residential bar fabricated by JM Lifestyles and designed by Living Spaces. The bar sink is a unique half crescent shape with embedded ammonites throughout. The upper bar is supported integrally with no brackets. The backsplash is textured rock face with our glowing concrete. We plasma cut steel in the shape of a fossil which glows!

Concrete in the Bathroom

Concrete is becoming a more popular material not only for kitchens but also in bathrooms. There are so many places that concrete can be used. It is great because it is completely design specific and can take on any color or shape. People are no longer limited to the standards out there because of its completely custom nature.

This bathroom has a custom floating concrete vanity, custom drains, concrete tub surround, shower pan, and one piece shower niches with no seams. Concrete in the bathroom is completely practical and shower pans are one piece with finished curbs, any color, pitched attached to like materials so you don't need to worry about leaking.

You can use concrete elements like door saddles and surrounds also. This bathroom has a poured concrete leg at the end of the vanity for support that also serves as a partial wall for the shower and an integral seat is in the leg.

Behind The Curtains

Check out the blog post on Pure Contemporary's Behind the Curtains by Allie! It features an abstract concrete countertop we did with color patterns!

Thank you!!

Muse Hotel New York City Themed Bathrooms

A while back we had a post, "Small Spaces, no room for a vanity". The post featured a sink, now dubbed, "The Manhattan Sink" that was made for a small unique space. As we all know, Manhattan is filled with huge, unique finds when it comes to hotels, eateries, and bars and sometimes located in relatively smaller spaces. Anyone who has been in a bathroom in New York City knows about space limitations!
The designer, Puccini Group and architects Faithful+Gould wanted to make a statement with these 6 bathrooms located in the lobby/restaurant of the Muse Hotel in New York City's Theater District. They are themed bathrooms and definitely make a statement and the most of their spaces!

These concrete sinks and concrete plumbing covers add to the overall appeal of each individual bathroom. These sinks are not only visually appealing, some have texture too. Three of them have tile embeds to match the walls, one has a metallic sheen in the finish, one is ground terrazzo, and one even has a snakeskin texture so when you feel the sink you can feel the texture of the snakeskin! Concrete is a very diverse material when it comes to design specificity. We take it a step further using GFRC (Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete) gaining greater detail and curves without the limitations of poured concrete. For more pictures email or visit www.jmlifestyles.com

Commercial Concrete Desks and Signs

This front desk is at Chakra Salon and Spa in Asbury Park, NJ. The number 1 priority was to capture the attention of the public during and after hours. This desk faces the store front on a busy main street so this front panel/sign in the desk easily captures the attention of any passerby with the fiber optic details in the front facade. With the long low voltage life of the LEDs the desk can stay lit with low power consumption and provide a constant advertising platform.
The desk is bar height for comfort, the legs are cast concrete with architectural tie holes and accent depressions. They also contain attachment embeds for steel supports that allow attachment of the front facade panel as well as stabilize the base as this desk is bar height.

The 4 in thickness of the top gives the illusion of mass while it is GFRC and lightweight. The organic staining patterns blended seamlessly with the wood copper and used brick motiff of the spa. It also matches the spas marketing material and card colors and logos.

Floating Concrete Vanity

Floating concrete vanity with concrete drawer faces. Tile embeds to conceal the drawers in the drop front. Tile/concrete detail around the perimeter of the bathroom to tie in the elements. Concrete tub surround and shower elements as well.

Concrete in the Kitchen

These concrete countertops are in Watchung, NJ. They are 2" thick countertops throughout very sleek and we have added metallic sheen in the coloration to match the tiles. The island top is one piece 7'x 8'.

Cosmopolitan Bar

These are preliminary photos of a bar we just finished in Lakewood, NJ. Just a quick glimpse, more pictures to come. This bar has an integral concrete drink tray, and fiber optics. This bar is a dark plumb in color with clear recycled glass aggregates. This bar is 61' around. Every time we do one of these commercial fiber optic bars we get great feedback from the owners about the draw it creates!

Highlights Fiber optic "How To" video By JM Lifestyles

Check out the trailer for our new instructional DVD on Embedding Fiber Optics in Concrete!

Sneak Preview!! Muse Hotel New York City

Soon we will have finished pictures of the lobby at the Muse Hotel 130 W 46th Street
New York, NY 10036 (212) 485-2400. JM Lifestyles fabricated custom sinks for their themed lobby bar bathrooms! These bathrooms will be by far some of the most unique talked about bathrooms in New York City, designed by Faithful+Gould and Puccini Group.

Concrete, Steel, and Wood; Composite Design Furniture

Custom Furniture and composite design! This entertainment unit fabricated by JM Lifestyles composite design, wood concrete and steel. Hardware fabricated by JM. Overhead concrete panel not only a decorative component but a movable door on linear bearings. Concrete drawer faces.

Custom furniture in any capacity is an option. These pieces are no more expensive than already made pieces that you may find, but now there is no settling get the dimensions you want, the heights you want, colors and finishes. Let us create what you can't find. "We bring your lifestyle to life"

HGTV!!! Dear Genevieve Concrete Countertops

Did you catch our countertops on HGTV? IF not the show re airs tonight at 12:30am, March 12th at 8:30 pm and 12:30am also March 22nd at 4:30!!

Floating Inverted Bowl Sink

This white sink is concrete and it is floating. The drain is in the back so the water flows like a moat around to the back. Extensive mock ups were made to ensure no splashing. The drain is custom punched steel plate and could be any shape. We fabricated all the supports to float the sink.

Free Form Concrete

Free form concrete furniture base was created for a Wine Room in a residential home. This hand carved concrete base is to resemble a tree stump. The base is made to hold a 80" 3/4" thick piece of glass. In the limbs is a nook for a bottle of wine to be held. All the limbs are the exact height without having to grind them flat. This piece required a lot of handwork and precise carving was required to achieve the perfect outcome. No one believes it is concrete!

The Year's Best Projects 2008 in Review

The beginning of a New Year and we are busier than ever starting on a lot of new great projects and are looking forward to see them completed! For now though I want to reflect on the year past.

We came up with an exciting new system for concrete to look and feel just like wood with more detail than any other system we've seen so far. We are going to be supplying materials and providing classes in the spring for this system.

We have made great advancements in fiber optic design and glowing concrete. We are now offering our design and consulting services as well as distributing fiber optics. You won't just be receiving the optics but support from our in house experts tailored to your job. We will also be offering classes for fiber optics come spring time.

To top it off we are also offering our design services. We have a knack for designing and knowing the limitations of concrete and mixing mediums, we want to share our knowledge and experience and help maximize your projects! In a time where originality counts our design services can offer your concrete fabrication company an edge. We are versed in many mediums and problem solving, like this restaurant bathroom, another year's best, the restaurant owner wanted to use fountain heads he bought in Thailand and use them as faucets. We re machined parts so it can be used as a faucet and hid the electronic eye in the concrete wall panels. We designed and fabricated the wall panels, frame, and inverted bowl sink.

Mixing mediums is one of our specialties and a natural is mixing concrete and metal. We will be providing metal details and brackets and for concrete fabricators so that fabricators can maintain their profit margins for specialty jobs rather than spend a lot of time and effort making something you just may not be set up for. We have spent years putting together a comprehensive tools for concrete fabricators and what is unique about our supplies is that they come from experience and proven application.

What is GFRC: GFRC vs Poured or wetcast Concrete

FYI This is a very basic summary....Any concrete mix has a "matrix", in poured concrete there are four components, water, portland, sand and aggregate (some sort of stone typically maybe glass). Depending on the engineering of the piece they may use extra reinforcement which can be steel, fiberglass, carbon fiber,etc..These reinforcements can be in the shape of rods or mat and is suspended in the mix in one or more levels where it will transfer concretes compressive strength into flexural strength when it is stressed. It is poured into a form, vibrated to release cavities of air and to create a tight finish on the surface (of the mold), it is then demolded and the process goes on from there. Although poured mixes can have fiber reinforcement for certain purposes it is restricted to thin polypropylene or similar fibers that do not show up in the finished surface. GFRC is typically sprayed in layers and instead of the stone aggregate there is sand and alkali resistant (because concrete is basic) recycled fibers in the mix. Sometimes extra reinforcement is necessary as well...GFRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete) is used in many "pre cast applications" and has been used on the facade of high rise buildings, it is a "100 year product". When you look and touch it as far as anyone is concerned it is just like any "poured" concrete, for example if your neighbor had conventionally poured concrete countertops and saw your GFRC countertops they wouldn't think they were any different than theirs. We sometimes do poured concrete in the right application, but very rarely does it come up. We have been working in concrete in all its capacities for over 20 years and have found through our experience that GFRC has more flexural strength and more design capabilities than poured concrete. Our main focus is design and we are followed in our industry and are always written up for our unique designs, other fabricators are always watching us to see what we do next as we have a reputation for pushing the limits and coming up with new applications all the time. We can accomplish this mainly because of the flexibility of our mix. We have a proprietary mix design that is green and high percentage recycled content, higher than typical GFRC. Our mix is much lighter than poured concrete and allows for larger spans without seams and ease of installation. A concrete bathtub is typically over 1000lbs and if wanted on a second story bathroom requires extra reinforcement in the floor. Ours are 450lbs typically and do not need the extra reinforcement. Most poured fabricators do not know how to work in GFRC as it is a much more complex "mix design" as far as I know we are the only decorative GFRC fabricator on the east coast, certainly in the Tri state area, most GFRC fabricators for countertops are on the west coast (where concrete kind of began as a surfacing material).

Now GFRC is the "newest" thing (not actually but they make it sound that way) in the decorative concrete industry, I have heard trade names for it like "earthcrete" it is nothing new, just a better proven system for making concrete and in the slower times, businesses look to expand their reach/markets and try new things. JM Lifestyles wants their clients to know we have been working with GFRC in all forms for 20 years, we have been doing it longer than anyone on this coast (that we know of). You can trust we won’t be going through any trial and error period, we already have it down!

We are also launching GFRC training on the East coast this Spring. If you are interested in learning, email or contact us for further information.

Thanks,
JM Lifestyles' Team

Concrete Illusions

JM Lifestyles has come up with a new system that makes concrete indistinguishable from wood. Making wood a viable option in places it wouldn't always be considered.

We are holding concrete wood classes and fiber optics in concrete classes come the Spring. Please email me about further information, will post a site with more information as we get closer.

Concrete In All Its Forms; Concrete Bar Top, Concrete Wood, Glowing Concrete

JM Lifestyles designed and fabricated this residential bar top. Using a new technique which you will hear much more about at a later time, we have perfected concrete wood. The system allows for the look of wood in places it would not usually be a viable option. The illusion is so real it is indistinguishable from the real thing. Many different fabricators, not only in concrete, but other materials have tried to imitate wood and maybe replicate the look, never the feel and usually very little detail.


In this project the wood is the perimeter that goes into an acid stain top with glowing concrete accents. A very unique cool piece!


To enquire about classes on how to make concrete wood please email michelle@jmlifestyles.com

Modern Fireplace

Modern Fireplace Surround in Chappaqua, NY residence. The wall panels are textured and undulating. The hearth and mantle are off center to create a modern sleek look.

Every Golf Enthusiast's Ideal Bar

Custom Bar top out of GFRC concrete, made to look like a golf fairway. The sink is to look like a sand trap and the beer tap is the shape of a hole on the green. All the client’s bag tags ball markers and divot forks from all over the world are embedded in the top. A truly unique and personal piece. Two antique golf clubs were made removable through cutouts in the top. These areas can be used for paper towels in his case, golf towels. On the underside of the top by the columns, we embedded electrical boxes for easy exterior access of electric for blenders, etc. A depressed dish drain aids in the removal of water from glasses and dishes into the sink drain.

Pool House Kitchen Countertops

Pool house kitchen we just finished up. The center island is one piece 12'X4' 3" thick terrazzo finish. This is one of the many benefits of using GFRC vs poured concrete larger spans without seams and more flex strength and it is much lighter than poured concrete. With GFRC we can make lengths as long as 20!

Wellmont Theater

JM Lifestyles fabricated the bars at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. We embedded fiber optics in the bar tops for the Mezzanine and Orchestra bars. The pictures are from opening night at the Wellmont Theater, where the Counting Crows opened. This bar top is a steel blue green in color with clear recycled glass exposed by grinding, and 4 1/2 miles of fiber optics run through the tops. The bar top is in 3 sections and nearly 100 feet in length.

We also fabricated the upstairs Mezzanine bar which also features optics but glowing voids as the bar wraps around trusses that provide second story support.

Concrete Saves the Day!

Attached are photos from a project we just finished. We did a complete concrete shower pan and surround complete with ceiling for steam shower. The shower pan is charcoal and has river rocks embedded in the pan to tie in the bathroom floor. We also did the concrete rock door surrounds the tight spaces made it difficult to do any sort of tile borders to finish the edges of the shower surround and the tile border on the wall. We used a gray base concrete with acid staining techniques to tie the vanity into the shower surround. The vanity is concrete with a Celtic knot design on the drop front and we incorporated the family crest. The crest was designed according to historical research done Patrick Gallagher, our resident genealogy expert! Concrete saved the day while trying to buy some time by building the vanity top before the cabinets were in, the cabinet maker made standard kitchen depth cabinets instead of bathroom vanity cabinet. To promptly resolve this issue without making a new cabinet or a new vanity top, we made a backsplash with a rolled face to make up for the difference of space and it ended up being a much nicer design adding to the overall look of the bathroom.

Also attached in the same house is the boy's bathroom vanity. Great use of fiber optics for nighttime lighting. Since there was not a lot of surface space (although from the picture they used the most of it!) we made a stainless steel bridge that slides across the opening of the sink for added space.

Something Old...Something New

Turn something old into something new. This month JM Lifestyles collaborated with C. R. Interior Designs to make this piece as a donation to the Connie Dwyer Breast Cancer Center Fund raising event/auction.

The piece was transformed to a basin removing the top and replacing it with a faux limestone concrete sink and replaced the legs with a matching faux limestone concrete base.

Twin Maples Carriage House Summit NJ

Starting tomorrow, October 1 through November 2, Twin Maples Centennial Show House will be open. The location is 214 Springfield Ave at Edgewood Road in Summit NJ. Above is a preview of the Carriage House which is a totally green renovation. Architecture done by Hiland Hall Turner Architects building renovations by, Polo Master Builders Kitchen design and cabinets by Peter Salerno Inc JM Lifestyles did the concrete countertops, concrete farm sink, concrete drawer faces, and featured in the show house for the first time animation with fiber optics in the concrete center island. It is something you won't want to miss. Link to the 360 degree view of the space in the carriage house

Floating Sink

Custom floating vanity with suspended shelf. JM designed and fabricated this floating sink. Custom tile inlay in the sink to match the bathroom details. Also, we fabricated the concrete and tile shelf that is suspended by the floating vanity. The shelf supports are JM Lifestyle designed stock hardware we use to support concrete wood or glass shelves.

Fireplaces

This fireplace has a faux limestone coloring and texture. The detail matches the moldings as you enter the room. Concrete being a mold able material allows for limitless shapes and forms limited only by the mold made for it.

Concrete Applications for Sustainable Designs

Jeff has been teaching sustainable design classes for Architect (AIA) and Landscape Architect (HSW) credits. DPC Associates puts together workshops for the day to earn up to 7 credits. The next workshop is on September 10 2008 in Tenafly, NJ at the Clinton Inn Hotel. The workshop is from 8:30 to 5pm. The classes are as follows: Water Resource Control, Construction Waste Management-the Final Frontier, Practical Approaches to Site Erosion and Sediment Control, Green Roof Infrastructure, Concrete Applications for Sustainable Design, and New Directions in Sustainable Community Design. If you are interested in attending this workshop or have any questions feel free to email or call michelle@jmlifestyles.com

Architectural Details

JM Lifestyles fabricated these large GFRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete) columns that are decorative not structural for the entrance of a private residence in Chappaqua NY. The bases are approximately 33" in diameter. Each column is two pieces with vertical seams. The tallest column is 14' tall. The lighter weight of the GFRC allows for easy rigging and installation with a lull and two men. The first half of the column was set in place and its rebar embeds on the interior were welded to the center support column. The second half of the column was set in place and the 2" flanges facing the interiors of the columns were glued together with a urethane adhesive. Small load binders held the halves together until the glue cured.

A Concrete First...

This custom concrete center island was fabricated by JM Lifestyles. There is a slight texture in the top with an acid stain finish. The countertop is 2 1/2" thick with a custom dupont waterfall edge detail. The island is one piece 5'X10' . For ease of installation in such a large span surface JM came up with the first of its kind (that we know of) undermount concrete sink. Also, custom iron inlays were embedded in the top. They were purposely made to look like they were carved out of the top not flush to give the piece additional character.

One of the 10 Finalists for the NATION's BEST RESTROOM

Even though the writer of this article was misinformed, you could never do this with granite, JM Lifestyles fabricated the concrete sinks in one of the Nation's 10 finalists for Best Restroom. The double ramp sink has an embedded wine bottle embedded in the surface with mirror chips. The bathroom is at the Montville Inn

Below is the article:

Montville Inn one of 10 finalists for the nation's best restroom

By Tehani Schneider • Gannett New Jersey • July 13, 2008 MONTVILLE —

Randy Frankel is used to hearing the gasps of surprise from patrons the first time they visit the women's restroom at his Montville Inn.

He's used to watching them hurry back to their tables and excitedly relay the decor tot heir lunch or dinner dates. and then, said Frankel, its not uncommon to watch their male companions-- their curiosity piqued-- head over to the ladies room to sneak a peek.

"I think having a very nice and different bathroom speaks volumes to the rest of the thought that went into the whole restaurant," said Frankel, of Montville. "I just don't think when people go into a restaurant that they just care about the menu."

That's the same train of thought behind an annual online contest sponsored by Cintas, in a quest to find the best public restroom in America. In addition to its well-known uniform business, Cintas also sells entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, promotional products, first aid and safety products, fire protection services and document management services.

Out of thousands of nominations that the Cincinnati-based company received for its seventh annual contest, the ladies room at the Montville Inn made it into the Top 10. The comely commode will compete with nine other public restrooms across the country through July 31 for the top prize of "America's Best Public Restroom VII."

The other finalists include the world's largest -- and apparently cleanest -- truck stop in Iowa; Grand Central Terminal in New York and an Illinois restaurant with restrooms themed "Heaven" and "Hell" for women and men, respectively.

Voters can cast their ballots at the contest Web site -- www.bestrestroom.com -- and a winner will be announced in August, said Kevin Brandt, survey editor of Cintas.

"The bare minimum is, it has to be a very clean restroom and it has to be public," Brandt said of the rules per finalist. "The only requirement after that is it has to be memorable."

And how does the Montville Inn's restroom stack up with the rest of the competition?

"It's just gorgeous," enthused Brandt. "It's just very creative and cleverly designed."

Brandt, who whittled down the list of nominations by viewing photos of the restrooms with his team, said the Montville Inn's stood out with its river rock stone walls, mirrored waterfall with the flat screen TV and custom CONCRETE sinks infused with a wine bottle.

"I love river stone. I thought it was quite beautiful," Brandt said. "When I saw it, I said, 'This should be a finalist. You have beauty and creativity all entwined in the same restroom.'"

Neither Frankel nor restaurant manager Lori Iannone know which patron nominated the restroom for the honor, but Iannone said she was tickled by the idea of the contest.

"I was like, 'Are you kidding?'" she joked. "But free publicity is always good. If someone comes here just to see the bathroom, they've walked in the door."

The winner of the contest receives a plaque of recognition, a coveted spot on the America's Best Restroom Hall of Fame section of the Web site, and cleaning supplies from Cintas, Brandt said. The perk of free publicity, however, is the main award, he said.

"This one guy who won one year said he still gets people coming in saying, 'I want to see the restroom,'" Brandt said. "You can't put a price on that."

Cintas' main goal behind the contest, Brandt said, is to inspire proprietors to be innovative with their restrooms, as well as to maintain good hygiene.

"If you have a nice establishment, it's disconcerting when you walk into a crummy bathroom," he said. "It's kind of clever to have a restroom that complements the decor."

Frankel, who worked with Philadelphia-based DAS Architects to design the Montville Inn, said both restrooms were planned carefully, as an extension of the restaurant's interior.

Small and intimate, the restrooms reflect the restaurant's cozy yet sophisticated ambience and American eclectic cuisine.

The restaurant, which opened in November, was built in the same spot where a historic landmark -- the old Montville Inn -- once stood.

"We wanted people to feel comfortable in the place," said Frankel. "The whole experience has to be taken in ... that includes going to the bathroom."

The men's room at the restaurant isn't quite as flashy, with only a television propped in the upper left hand corner and a print of the Valhalla Golf Club of New Jersey on the wall.

Although the room bears the same pebbled walls, the waterfall was meant for the women's room, said Frankel.

But that doesn't mean the men can't look. With the restaurant relatively empty on a recent Thursday afternoon, Lou Schiavone, a regular patron, whistled as he quickly viewed the unoccupied ladies room,

"This is a different motif," said Schiavone, of Livingston. "(Our bathroom) is nothing like this. I feel like a king."

The women, of course, can luxuriate all they want in the scented room.

"It's spa-worthy," said patron Marianne Muller of Parsippany. Her friend, Kathleen Nagurka of Montville, agreed.

"This makes it. It's so cool," Nagurka said, as she touched the waterfall. "This is the first thing you see going in. You don't forget it."

As far as Concrete is Concerned, There's Nothing Like It!

These countertops were made specifically for a hunting lodge in New Jersey. Every detail of the kitchen is beautiful. The cabinets were hand made by Peter Salerno and the countertops were fabricated by JM Lifestyles. The main surfaces have a finished rock edge detail 2 1/2" thick and are acid stained. The surface detail is one of JM's many unique surfacing techniques. It has texture which creates depth and the illusion of the rock finish. Also, behind the farm sink JM created a "boulder" to house the faucet components.

The center island is composed of two parts. The lower top is a darker acid stain with a 2 1/2" jagged rock edge detail and the upper island is 7" drop front with a forest scene edge detail taken from the copper farm sink and copper hood detail in the kitchen replicated in the island top surrounded by rock edge detail. The island is 5 1/2' X 11' X 28" one piece.

Art in its most functional and custom forms. As far as concrete is concerned, there is nothing like it!

Concrete Farm Sinks, in the Bathroom

JM Lifestyles has many unique to their concrete studio's finishes that we haven't seen anywhere else. This vanity top is a faux limestone finish with a slight texture, to achieve the look without worrying about tiny crevices for cleaning. What is also unique about this vanity are the custom concrete farm sinks with stone textured faces.

With increased popularity JM now has a standard kitchen farm sink 33" wide. Email or call to inquire about it. Any color or finish can be applied.

Concrete Drawers

Custom Floating Vanity and Trough Sink

Concrete is one of the more cost effective custom molded materials, so when you already have a vision of what you want and are trying to figure how you are going make it or have it made, you may want to consider concrete. One of our clients brought in a picture of a trough sink similar to this that they saw in Mexico, however it was made out of stone. Getting a custom sink fabricated in stone in the states is a costly venture if you can even find someone to do it so they figured they would try concrete.

As the project and the bathroom developed J&M Lifestyles came up with a design for the vanity top that the sink sits on. This top is supported by a poured concrete leg which we embedded a shelving support for a wood shelf and the other side is supported by the wall.

The finish of the top is a micro top troweled finish and acid stained. We also constructed self closing blum metal pan drawers with concrete faces on a steel reinforced 8' long vanity top supported on one end with a poured leg base, wood shelf with embedded attachment to leg and metal rod support. The trough sink is 8" tall and 4' long. A very unique modern piece. Designed, engineered and fabricated by J&M Lifestyles.

Taking Custom to a New Level

Taking custom to the next level J&M Lifestyles is emerging from a concrete artisan to artist. Each piece has a unique element and when at all possible taken to the next level. Cutting edge design and fabrication has set apart this concrete company from the rest.

Designed for a hunting lodge this is a custom hand carved trout scene in a sink. Never before have we seen anything like this. The color and surface are a faux limestone/travertine look and the inside is hand acid stained and carved.

A Little Man Made Nature

Our first completed out door BBQ of the season. This massive BBQ area is 18'X8'X4" thick had to be formed and poured in place. The out door area utilizes all natural rock from the landscape and formed for the wall and the base of the BBQ. I love how they use the natural setting to blend in the man made creations.

The back bar is also 4" thick and irregular shape but is floating. The top is supported by 1 1/2" stainless steel tube.

Both tops use native rocks exposed in parts of the surface. Also an acid staining technique was used to accentuate and blend the mass into the landscape.

All in the Details

Concrete is finally gaining some speed here on the east coast, now the "new thing" is concrete countertops, but really there is so much more that can be done. The list of services is ongoing. We find new applications all the time, but the allure of the material is really all in the details.

What can be done with concrete is endless. So pair the material with a fabricator that not only knows and can push the limits with an artistic eye and you got what you need for this material to really stand out (not that it doesn't already).

Yesterday we just finished the final touches at Kuche Cucina's new Madison Showroom. We made architectural concrete panels for the front display of televisions that showcase all the beautiful kitchens and multiple magazine covers their work is featured in. Their logo was integrally put in the concrete and then metal letters were attached. Then the front desk is 4" thick charcoal top with an integral candy dish and ammonite detail. Behind the font desk is another architectural concrete panel and on the front of the desk are three decorative textured wall panels contoured to follow the shape of the wall. The molded "water" pattern is cast in blue concrete is separated from the charcoal border with silver leaf capturing the feeling of water in the environment.

By presenting concrete in this manner, the doors of people's mind can open to go beyond the functional feature of a surface and allow artistic interpretation and organic tangibility to create a presence and an environment in the home/space.

Small Spaces: No room for a vanity

I always wonder where they get those tiny sinks in Manhattan bathrooms. It is the same one over and over, nothing special just really small to fit in all those tiny closet coves every establishment there uses for bathrooms.

Outside of the city it doesn't happen too often except in older homes perhaps where there was only one bathroom and space is converted so there can be a bathroom by the bedrooms, one of the first houses we lived in was very narrow three stories high one bathroom on the first floor and the bedrooms two floors up on the third, not particularly conducive for middle of the night bathroom trips. Anyway it does happen, and concrete is just one of those things that is perfect in this situation. We can make any shape and size so fitting in a small space where nothing else would fit. Here is a sink we just finished. This homeowner went a very long time without a sink simply because he couldn't find anything that would work in the space. Since a vanity couldn't fit in this space we made the brackets that hold the shelf below with the same profile as the sink and it isn't up yet in this picture but there is a smaller concrete shelf we made to mount against the wall above the sink with the same sink profile.

So older homes, almost anywhere in Manhattan(maybe other cities too) comes up more than you may think, custom work for small spaces pays especially when design and aesthetics are part of the picture.

Artisan In Concrete

In this issue of Concrete Decor Magazine, J&M Lifestyles is featured as one of their esteemed"Artisans In Concrete" . You can either click on the link or read the article below:

It’s been nearly 80 years since Michelle Radley’s great grandfather helped to erect the eagle heads that grace the corners of the Chrysler Building’s 61st floor. When completed in 1930, the art deco structure in Manhattan was the world’s tallest building. This past January, Radley, owner of J&M Lifestyles LLC, recognized her family’s connection to the building in an unprecedented fashion. She and and J&M product manager Jeff Kudrick, who has more than 20 years experience in the industry, unveiled what they claim is the world’s first iconic concrete coffee table at World of Concrete 2008 in Las Vegas. Constructed of the company’s proprietary translucent concrete, plus architectural concrete, fiber optics, wood, glass, and metal, the table features replicas of the Chrysler hood-ornament eagle heads and details of the spire, complete
with glowing triangles. “I don’t think there’s anything out there like it,” says Radley. “We wanted someplace to show it to the public and see what people thought of the design. What better place to do it than at a show for others in the same field?” The reaction was greater than Radley had anticipated. “People loved it. We have had a response from all over the world. We even have someone interested in putting it in their showroom in Manhattan.” J&M plans to produce a 500-piece run of the table. Although the Randolph, N.J.-based company may have
broken the mold with the Chrysler coffee table, modern furniture is just one of its many specialties, albeit an increasingly popular one. Of course, countertops are on the list, but it doesn’t end there. Think one-of-a-kind bath tubs, vanities, water features, fireplace surrounds, architectural details, outdoor kitchens, even aquariums. Using glass-fiber reinforced concrete and embedding materials such as fossils, iron inlays, fruit bowls, drain boards, glass, rocks, shells, coins, wine bottles and personal mementos, J&M has lent character to historic and modern homes, restaurants, bars and other businesses on the East Coast for two years.
“We are constantly evolving and pushing the limits of the material to accommodate new and abstract ambitions of the client that drive our creative talents,” Radley explains. “The ambition behind the company is to create things that have never been done before and make use of other material to highlight concrete.”
Such was the case with a recent kitchen countertop project, which exemplifies J&M’s creative use of color and inlays. The end result didn’t just please the clients — it grabbed the attention of Cheng Design Exchange judges for the 2008 Members’ Circle of Distinction Design Challenge at the World Of Concrete in Vegas, where the company took home the Best Decorative Finish award. Another J&M show-stopper was a wine bar with an embedded fiber-optic bottle chiller. The playful yet functional design garnered an honorable mention.
The awards may serve as an indication of the company’s ability, but the proof is in the diverse body of its work, which can often be classified as functional art. “Concrete is durable and design-specific and has many uses,” Radley says. “We bring it to a functional art form, and the medium not only gives you the ability to make things that are artistic, inanimate objects like a painting or sculpture, but also gives you the ability to make things useful and functional.” Take, for example, a custom concrete tub that features a fluid design reminiscent of water. The concept is extended with the bathroom’s vanity and his-and-hers sinks, which are separated by a concrete “wave.”
J&M’s work is often inspired by the outdoors, particularly running water. In fact, Kudrick originally became involved with concrete by using it to create immersion environments, such as rock waterfalls incorporated with murals. “It’s all about immersing yourself in a natural environment,” he notes. Kudrick took this notion a step further when he began constructing aquariums. Currently J&M is working on an aquarium for a Diner in Manhattan, one of the two aquarium jobs they tend to do each year.
Radley and Kudrick also find time to teach an American Institute of Architects course on all aspects of concrete. As affiliate members of the AIA, they started teaching the course in December to help architects understand how to design with concrete and what it can do. “Everyone benefits, and they then have another tool to design with,” Radley says.
One thing’s for certain — J&M is just getting started. Business is picking up as more and more people become familiar with the company’s design achievements, especially its furniture. Many new projects are in the works, Radley says. And as the trend to create outdoor kitchens and dining areas gains momentum on the East Coast, Radley and her team may see even more of an increase in clientèle.
✆ (973) 668-5057
˛ www.jmlifestyles.com

A Moving Marvel

In the wee hours of this morning the Chelsea Diner received a great new addition to their fantastic neighborhood restaurant. Although it won't be completely ready for a few weeks the 1000 gallon aquarium has left the shop and is settling in its new home. Going through water filtering and fish acclimation.

I anxiously watched Frank, Jeff and Roger (along with the help of two great towing companies) prepare the tank for shipping as Jeff handled the logistics of moving it. Having no real concept of how any of that stuff even stays on the back of a truck I was nervous to say the least. The tank itself plus all the time Frank put into making the concrete rocks inside, almost a year this project has taken to create "living art". I can't wait to see the final result with all the fish (which are all donated by customers of the Diner)

It kind of reminded me of another aquarium project where Jeff had to rip out the outside wall of a home to get the 8'X8' aquariumS into the house!

Natural Design

Can't wait to see finished pictures of this! This is a huge on site out door BBQ/Bar area that we poured last week. This is a very thoughtful beautiful house with great landscaping, hard to see now, but they designed it to incorporate a lot of the natural settings and stones into their rustic/finished look. Cozily nestled in upstate NY they used their natural setting to create their yard. The base of this top used all rocks from on site and the poured top also used the rocks in the top that will be exposed once it is finished.

Featured in the Daily Record

This past Saturday J&M Lifestyles was featured in the business section of the Daily Record.
Here is the article:
Artists taking hard approach to business

J&MLifestyles in Randolph use concrete as a medium

Saturday, March 29, 2008

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Business name : J&M Lifestyles LLC, 215 Route 10 E., Building 3 Unit 3, Randolph

Phone: (973) 668-5057

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday

Web site: www.jmlifestyles.com

Staff: Six

Michelle Radley and Jeff Kudrick are a pair of artists producing "functional art" using concrete as a medium. Their products include bar tops, countertops, vanities, sinks, shower surrounds, wall panels and unique furniture.

Why do clients choose you: "We are a custom, high-end fabricator and we are getting a lot of inquiries for our products because they will last," said Radley, who is president of the firm. "What is different about concrete is that it is totally design specific and customizable."

"We give the client something they can appreciate," said Kudrick who serves as product manager and who won two top prizes at a recent trade show. "Concrete can take any form. It's very high strength and you can mix in various stones. It's very versatile."

"By the time someone comes to us they have already chosen concrete as their medium. They want something they just don't see out there, so why not take it a step further and give them what they really want," Radley added. "We give everyone a chance to let their imaginations run and don't place any limits on them."

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job: "Finding people who appreciate what we do," Kudrick said. "We deal with a lot of artisans. Nothing is mass-produced here. When you find someone who understands what goes into our work, that's what makes it worthwhile."

Cost: "It depends on many factors but generally the price runs between $100 and $120 per square foot," Kudrick said.

What is the most unique piece you've done: "It would have to be an artistic interpretation of the Chrysler building into a coffee table," Radley said. "My great grandfather was in the sheet-metal union and he put the eagle heads up on the building itself.

"Inspired by my family's connection with the building's history, coupled with a love for art deco and its architecture, we created a table that encompasses our ability to use concrete, optics, wood, metal and glass. It took about a year from design to fabrication to get all the pieces of the table perfected."

Advice for entrepreneurs: "Be prepared for a lot of learning curves and be prepared to work a lot of hours. If you don't love it, don't bother," said Kudrick.

"Jeff is half-artist and half-engineer," Radley said. "That's a good combination. If you are going to have a partner, make sure his skills complement your own."

---

Open for Business is a regular feature about small or new businesses in Morris County. it was reported by John kippycash, a freelance reporter.

For the online version click here:
"Artists taking hard approach to business"

Functional Kitchens Part 1

Function is everything in a kitchen. Doesn't matter how big or small it is if it is not functional for you. Beyond trends and resale, thoughtfulness and functionality. Recently, ( a few months ago, but time flies) I was reading about greening your home and working with smaller spaces. Smaller spaces are more energy efficient and usually are closer to cities which are more accessible don't use a car as often etc. Smaller spaces entail smaller kitchens. I saw this one kitchen where the space where the sink was dueled as a kitchen bar area with stools. They had a leaf that went over the whole sink and actually a collapse able faucet. It was so clever!
From that idea we were thinking we could make leafs over our integral concrete sinks, but haven't had a demand for that, but what we adapted the idea to was to create knock outs in the sinks for drain boards and cutting boards that are right on the sink and can slide back and forth for ultimate functionality.
We have some great new functional ideas that are being created as we speak so I will save the blog for the pictures. But I just wanted to show you this great looking kitchen we just finished. We did the tops, sink, breakfast bar, backsplashes, custom drain board, and custom cutting board. I love the color!

Quality versus Quantity

Our company believes in the environment as much as we believe in making the most outrageous, unique functional concrete pieces. We are constantly improving our processes to cut out chemicals whenever possible and make responsible material choices. I can't really talk about it that much yet, but we are in the process of developing a very green product line. Not green like it gets LEED credits, which it does, but beyond that. I have seen buildings get credits for putting a bike rack in the front, to me although it is a nice gesture, does not qualify as green. In these defining times of "what is green?", it is important that consumers are aware of what some of these terms mean because some are very important and others are kind of loaded. Working in concrete there is all kinds of "stuff" you can put in the mix, but it ends there, so sometimes recyclable products may not be best suited to be put into concrete unless they are not able to be recycled back into its original form, this could be considered "down-cycling" if it were glass that may be better used (from an energy perspective) back as glass...

Couple of things going on between a little down swing in the economy dueled with a new awareness by consumers to not have such disposable perspective on their purchasing choices, I personally have come to see some new emerging outlooks. Most importantly is our clients are looking for quality over quantity. We are a custom high end fabricator, no doubt, and we are getting a lot of inquiries for our product because it will last. Now when I say last, I don't mean that it is durable, it is very durable and will last a long time, as would many products, what is different about concrete, is that it is totally design specific and customizable. So when I say last, I mean the person designing it doesn't get bored of it, or worry about it going in and out of style because we have made the piece for them and that outlasts any trend. For example, a client right now is a huge baker, but doesn't want a marble countertop. Our solution was to create a knockout in the top for a piece of marble to be inlayed in the top, this way she has her marble/cold surface for preparation of her pastries and can take it out, clean it, replace it...everything placed where they would place it personally.

I think it is very important aspect. By the time someone has come to us because they have chosen concrete as their medium, it is already certain that they want something that they just don't see out there, so why not take it a step further and give them what they really want, open their eyes to the possibilities. People ask us all the time how we get such outrageous commissions, we let everyone let their imaginations run and don't limit them on how, that is our job. If you have any questions about how to further customize your spaces we have tons of ideas mostly from our wonderful clients.

Designing with concrete

Here is a recent example of a complete design for a local restaurant in Basking Ridge, NJ. The owner of this French Thai fusion restaurant (his 4th in New Jersey) originally from Thailand had these dragon heads that he wanted to use as the bathroom faucets, having this vision, the whole bathroom design was completely encompassed around these dragon heads. Ever see that Kholer commercial where the couple comes into an architect firm and they hand them the faucets and say something like, build the house around this...That is kind of what this project was like. We were really excited to get involved in one of these restaurants, not only because the food is outrageous and so many people will be exposed to our work, but the challenge of not only making these 'heads' into faucets, but complimenting their uniqueness in our concrete design.

They were hollow and not made to be faucets. We machined pipe that was welded into the mount opening and aerators were inserted to soften the water flow and reduce splashing on the inverted bowl sink design which has a moat that is pitched to the drain.
The backsplash is a burst of colors in glass tiles with gold and bronze accent colors that embellish the design and stay congruent with the rest of the restaurant decor. The cleanliness of the sink layout was further improved by adding electronic controls that are hidden in a panel faced with the same glass tiles in the backsplash.

We also produced concrete panels on the lower perimeter of the bathrooms. We made meticulous mock-ups in our shop of the mechanicals and hydraulics of the design, and did it pay off as the outcome is flawless.

Being open to the possibilities of what concrete has to offer as a design solution is really what makes the material so unique. Using it for a wall panel and embedding tile to make a design the concept is different and so is the outcome. Concrete is changeable and can be formed in anyway, it never tires or becomes mundane, there will always be a new vision that will pass through our medium to bring the idea to fruition. Possibilities are limitless!

Sustainable Design Workshop for Design Professionals

Jeff will be teaching another AIA course March 19th. This is an AIA Continuing education workshop with six courses take one or take them all, they are being offered all day long, and focus on the main topics of sustainable design. You can earn up to 7.0LU's/HSW.

Attendees will learn about the following topics:
1. Explore Green Globes, a major building evaluation and rating tool.
2. New developments in Construction Waste Management.
3. How to design and specify green, vegetative roofs.
4. A practical guide to site erosion control.
5. Energy modeling methodologies required for LEED certified buildings.
6. How to specify Green concrete.

The courses will be held throughout the day at the Hilton Rye Town Hotel, 699 Westchester Ave., Rye Brook, NY 10573 hotel phone 914.939.6300

Green Globes- Instructor Viki Worden held from 8:30am-9:30am
Construction Waste Management- Instructor Doug Casper 9:55am-10:55am
Green Roof Infrastructure- Instructor Bill Foley 11:20am-12:10pm
LEED, Energy Modeling & Commissioning- Instructor Bill Amann 1:20pm-2:20pm
Concrete Applications for Sustainable Design- Instructor Jeff Kudrick 2:40pm-3:30pm
Practical Applications to Site Erosion & Sediment Control- Instructor Stephen Zwilling 3:45pm-4:45pm (this also gets landscape architect credit)

This event is put together by Douglas P Casper of DPC Associates. Please email me for more information about how to pre register or the costs associated with this.

Schedule:
Registration/Continental Breakfast 8:00 AM TO 8:30 AM
Morning Sessions: 8:30-12:10
Lunch: 12:10pm-1:10pm
Afternoon Sessions: 1:20pm-4:45 pm
For more information please email info@jmlifestyles.com and I will send you the flyer and registration. Hope you can make it!

2008 Cheng Award Winner

So we have been settling back in since the World of Concrete and we have been so extremely busy. The company is definately growing and we couldn't be happier with the progress! The recognition from the show has been more than we could have ever asked. I wanted to share some pictures from the Cheng Design Exchange award ceremony for the 2008 Members’ Circle of Distinction
Design Challenge at WOC, Jeff took home Best Decorative Finish award for the modern red gray and black kitchen countertop we all love, and an honorable mention/merit award for a wine bar with an embedded fiber-optic bottle chiller.

Please keep posted to Concrete Decor Magazine's next issue. J&M Lifestyles will be featured as artisan of the month. Of course I will post when it comes out! We are really excited for some new inspiring projects for 2008. We know all around it is going to be a great year, what a way to start! Soon to come is a very unique restaurant bathroom project we are finishing up and can't wait to eat at Origins III opening up in Basking Ridge, NJ. Currently there are two others in Morristown and Somerville and they are both outrageous French/Thai Fusion...more to come on that.

World of Concrete 2008 Great Success!

Last week was the World of Concrete tradeshow, which is a million square feet inside and outside show that encompasses all aspects of concrete. Concrete being the most consumed material on the planet after only water, you can imagine how many people were there!

Of course, a lot of that sidewalk concrete doesn't apply to us, but the decorative concrete aspect of the show was a wonderful success! We debuted our limited edition concrete coffee table piece there and we got wonderful response from Cheng and people all over the world. We have a company that wants to distribute our products in Hawaii and we got offers for the table to be displayed in show rooms. We had interest from as far away as Hong Kong.

Jeff, our product manager, also won two Cheng awards a Merit award for Best Functional Feature a wine chiller, we were the first and only company to think to embed a wine chiller in the surface. They also liked the design of the wine chiller and how it made up a wall of the sink and including the fiber optics made it really outrageous! Then Jeff also got THE first place award for Best Decorative Finish. This countertop with all the colors is unlike anything that has been done at all in the entire decorative concrete industry. We are quickly gaining a reputation within the field for having outrageous unique projects, which is exactly what we are going for so needless to say we feel accomplished. After the awards ceremony we went to the VIP Cheng after party where we got to meet other Cheng members and winners of other awards. It was great to meet and talk with other fabricators all over the country who are also very innovative and talented. It was clear with the scope of work submitted to these awards that these companies and people are in the top echelon of the concrete world and we felt very lucky to be a part of it.

Concrete Decor magazine covered the awards and their next issue will show pictures. We are also going to be featured as artisan of the month in that issue so stay tuned.

Jeff also got approached to be one of the people at the World of Concrete next year that create projects on site. So next year we will be a concrete artisan making some outrageous project in the outside section at the World of Concrete.
He was also approached to maybe teach a class at the Concrete Countertop Institute.

Just to announce officially, we had mentioned it to some people at the show, we are distributors of Fiber Optics and LEDs. We have a variety of of illuminators as well. We will build a section of the website for this, but for now please call or email for any questions or inquiries (michelle@jmlifestyles.com or 973 668 5057). We also offer design features and can help incorporate optics and lighting into your projects.

Ultimate Composite Design Furniture Piece

The Chrysler Building is one of the most iconic buildings in New York City. It is a classic example of Art Deco architecture and is considered by many to be one of the world's quintessential skyscrapers. The building is located at 405 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY. It was constructed between 1928 and 1930, it is 1,046 feet tall and has 77 stories. The architect was William Van Allen.

We have created an artistic interpretation of this building into a coffee table. Inspired by my family's connection with the building's history coupled with a love for art deco and its architecture. We have created a table that encompasses not only our ability for composite design incorporating concrete, our proprietary translucent concrete, optics, wood, metal and glass, but captures the semblance of the building itself. We are creating a limited edition run of 500 pieces.

Concrete Ideas is bringing this table to debut at the World of Concrete this week. It is the 'World's First' table modeling a building. There is nothing like it out there. The process was long it took about a year from design to fabrication to get all the pieces of the table perfected. We plan on launching a video about the making of this table. We haven't shown it or talked about it with many as we were waiting for this venue for its first showing. Customers who have toured our shop during the making of this who have seen pieces and have shown the design to were very receptive of the idea of having such an iconic building represented in such a unique way.

The family connection with the building is my great grandfather, Marco Napalitano was in the sheet metal union that did the metal work on the Chrysler Building. Inspired by my grandmother, great uncle and aunt's stories of his life and how he used to always talk about how he put the eagle heads up on the building itself, the eagle heads were replicated from scratch (and slightly smaller) and a around them a table was born. Loving modern design and architectural concrete, and being masters at illusion, we wanted to make a furniture piece that not only that was modern, but reminiscent of Art Deco what better way than to make an artistic interpretation of the Chrysler Building. It is also a perfect piece to show as an example of our composite applications, and mixing mediums.

Modern Design

As more people have become aware of our unique artistic abilities of our studio coupled with our unmatched engineering capabilities, we are really attracting a lot of spectacular projects. I can't wait to share the end results!

Needless to say, we have shown a range of work from rustic to modern and have perfected our processes. This vanity is one of our Modern pieces we designed the bathroom and fabricated the vanity and integral sink.

Vanity, part of a complete bathroom design. Monolithic patterned surface radiating out from integral sink. Client specifications were of color and contrast with reds, blacks, and whites. Unique vanity shape accommodates lower make up area and front radius vanity top. Irregular curved shape maximizes surface area without cramping limited overall bathroom space.

Year's Best Projects

Each year is full of interesting surprises and for the most part this year has been all good. We have had the opportunity to work on some really amazing and definately unique projects. We have created some great new techniques this year in our mold making process as well as our different processes for texture. We have created a higher quality product while saving us and the customer some time and money. We have developed a new proprietary process for translucent concrete which among other things are becoming popular with the bar crowd.

Concrete Highlights of 2007. What is in store for the New Year?

Embeds. One of the perks that is solely unique to concrete is the ability to put whatever you want in the surface. We have seen trivets, fossils, towel bars, iron inlays, fruit bowls, drain boards, glass, rocks, shells, sinks, optics, agate slices, back lit agate slices, steel embeds, coins, and wine bottles. Our personal favorite that we contributed to this year and will most likely be seeing more of next year, embedded wine chillers. Our first one was embedded into a bar sink with fiber optics. The second one we made was integral part of the countertop with its own drain into the sink. One of JM's unique contributions to the compilation of different ways to enhance and set apart concrete from the rest of the materials out there.

Translucent Concrete. Fiber Optics and LEDs are becoming more and more popular and widely used in general. Naturally, they are becoming more widely used accenting concrete. The subject is getting more more press as in this past issue of Concrete Decor Magazine.
More fabricators will be seeking out tips and techniques and will be developing or enhancing new processes. This past year we enhanced our own technique for combining lighting and concrete. We have a new "Translucent Concrete", different than any other technique I have seen thus far, it glows rather than the pin point lighting of the fiber optics.

Patterns in Surfaces. This year there were countless design articles written about bringing color into the kitchen. We saw bright vibrant colors. As people are becoming more familiar with all the uses of concrete they will see how different concrete is than any other material. Of course, you are going to find cheaper options like some granites, however, for the slight cost difference and the options that are available to you, I think it is a slight increase for a world of options. ( I am bias however). We have been fortunate that our clients this passed year have not been calling us comparing us to granite guy that does 100 kitchens a week, they call us because they wanted something different, specialized and personal, so if you don't care about embeds, lighting options, color options, edge detail options, then the cost of concrete won't seem worth it to you, but it may be the most cost effective custom work you may ever have done. This kitchen countertop has gotten a lot of attention this year. It was used for an advertisement in dwell magazine www.fabconcretecountertops.com and has generated a new clientèle that wants their own custom patterns in surfaces.

Unnatural Concrete Furniture. Concrete is a natural choice for outdoor planters, piers, and lighting bollards. We are seeing more and more people expanding the traditional profile of what is expected from this material. We have seen tables, chairs, sills, shelves, benches. Last year at the World Of Concrete we saw the world's first all concrete Poker Table. We are seeing a lot more instances where concrete is loosing its clumsy bulky heavy appearance and it is being used for a variety of tastes and designs. It is no longer limited. As the awareness of what concrete is capable of increases, the demand and the ability of fabricators joins and we will continue to see more innovative functional yet artistic concrete furniture. We made a concrete suspension bridge that is a shelving unit. You can read the article about in the Outrageous Projects section on the Concrete Network's site.

I am sure there will be more new trends this year, things we haven't thought of yet. Looking forward to a new year always learning, always changing for the better, never settling and always doing something outrageous! Oh and we are also getting a new site for the new year, not up yet...you can still visit the old site at:

www.jmlifestyles.com

Wishing you and yours a healthy happy prosperous New Year!

World Of Concrete 2008

JM Lifestyles will be attending the World of Concrete 2008 and so will one of our pieces. Concrete Ideas' will be featuring one of our newest innovations for "Concrete Ideas' World's First 2008". They show this picture as their sneak preview. Stop by their booth you won't want to miss this!

Stay tuned for the story on how and why we made this special limited edition piece.

www.jmlifestyles.com

New Old Concrete Countertops

A few posts back was about a new process for Old World Concrete we developed for a client's kitchen. The process came out better than expected and now we are using it in some of our standard applications.

The project is unique as the house is an old camp log/tudor style home. They chose concrete because they were looking for rock, but with a finish. For the normal countertops we came up with a dupont rockface combination edge detail to give it a rustic yet finished look. There are trivet details and towel rack. The integral sink has a detail that fits the custom made cutting board that slides across and over the sink. The countertops vary in color.

The center island countertop is a lighter rock color with rock veining. Then there is the rock bar top with integral wine chiller insulated and drains into the sink. It fits the kitchen's unique classic decor. If you are interested email me for the original design.

AIA Continuing Education Class

So I just wanted to write and thank everyone who came to Jeff's class; "Everything Concrete Functional to Decorative". We had a great turn out and a lot of positive feedback. I am sure we will hold another one soon and we teach lunch and learns for different design/architect firms. Call or email if interested.

Keep updated, we have two very exciting projects I will be showcasing on the blog. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday spirit and isn't as hectic as we are!

Concrete Decor COVER!

Jeff recently got interviewed for an article about lighting and concrete, featured in this month's Concrete Decor Magazine. They used our picture for the COVER!!
Check out the next issue, it isn't out just yet, but should be soon.

Just a reminder of the Construction Expo at the Meadowlands, where we will be teaching an AIA continuing education course from 9-11.

Hope to see you there!

New Process!

In the shop photos and updates:

We started working on this custom kitchen for a client in his really unique home, a log home/tudor style house on an island in a lake. The end pictures are going to be amazing! On this blog are pictures of the tops in the shop. They wanted texture, the acid stain to bring out certain colors, and part of it to match their granite stone fireplace. The process came out better than anticipated and now we are going to incorporate the process for some of our standard applications.

This is part of what we do, customizing and accommodating to meet our clients' needs. We don't have pictures yet, but the center island is going to be a huge rock. If you are interested, email me and we can send you the drawings of the final design of the kitchen. There is a texture in the surface that makes it look like stone: it is really great looking, Old World style.

Fireplace Surrounds

We have been seeing more and more instances of multiple fireplaces in homes, and so the need for versatility in opening and surround measurements are more important. We provide the use of our standard designs exclusively or adapt them to fit your needs. Concrete allows for custom designs and new designs, not limited to pre-cast colors and shapes. Also, the wait for the longer lead times and shipping costs of pre-cast are eliminated. Most of the time, after shipping a pre-cast surround and installation, concrete fireplaces are less expensive.

Concrete is a great medium for peninsula fireplaces, or fireplace with platforms and panels, or a stone insert with a built in bookcase. Concrete can accommodate even the most unique shapes and situations.

Our finishes are as versatile as our designs. All of our finishes are integral, from our proprietary limestone technique to antique finishes and natural cast colors. No company offers more variety or better service to bring your visions to life.

www.jmlifestyles.com

Construction Expo

Just wanted to remind everyone that we will be teaching an AIA accredited class at the Construction Expo at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

The course is called "Everything Concrete: Functional to Decorative" It is 2 credits and you can register free. The course will be taught December 5th and 6th from 9am to 11am. This seminar is a comprehensive look at using concrete in interior design for commercial and residential environments. You will learn about composite materials as well as traditional concrete mix designs and their characteristics used as surfacing material. Also scheduled are the following:

• Types of concrete mixes and their attributes.
• Reinforcement and objective engineering.
• Composite design and applications.
• Discuss surface types such as: ground, trowel, textured, and acid stains
• Costs and additional pricing analysis.
• Sealers

With the inclusion of composite design in the curriculum, discover new applications for concrete such as furniture, decorative wall systems, tubs, sinks, cabinets and faces. We will also touch on lighting and water features being incorporated into these projects.

Presented by: Jeff Kudrick, Product Manager, pushing the limits of concrete and metal for nearly twenty years, J&M Lifestyles, LLC.

Class will be available other dates by appointment only.
Dec 5th and 6th at

Meadowlands Convention Center
355 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, New Jersey

You can visit our website at www.jmlifestyles.com

Concrete in the Bathroom

Concrete bathrooms are ideal for both commercial or residential settings. Our diversity and fluency in material design and fabrication enables you to create your perfect bathroom in unmatched uniqueness and detail. Whether you choose custom vanities, shower surrounds, tubs, architectural details, or any surface; concrete is a durable, versatile material that can achieve any look you envision. We are also fluent in metal work, so we almost always create steel brackets for seamless installation.

Concrete can be used for the vanity, the sink itself, shower surround, shower pan, floor tiles, backsplashes, tubs, knee wall caps, shelving and pencil details, and of course, the possibilities expand every day. For those looking for new and unique sink shapes, with concrete you can create anything you want. We come across a lot of difficult spaces, but it's no problem: concrete can take any form. Large spans are also not a problem.

For commercial uses, restaurants, lounges or hotels who are also looking for the newest trends, concrete is a functional here to stay type trend that can have embeds, steel logos, optics, translucent lighting patters, and much more. Take a look at one of our commercial designs: we embedded a wine bottle in a bathroom vanity for a local restaurant, The Montville Inn.

Kitchens and Bathrooms are the two most common places in the house for redesign. A new trend in Bathrooms is color: they aren't afraid of it. More fixtures are available in color so it is more readily accessible. There is also a lot of texture and mixing mediums, such as glass, water, wood, lighting, and, for us, concrete. Concrete is the perfect medium 'hub' to conjoin these different elements.

Keep posted as we are working on the bathrooms for a new restaurant in Basking Ridge. This new restaurant will be one of four, and when you see the bathrooms you will have never seen anything like this before.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Concrete in the Kitchen

Concrete can take any form. You can have illusions of mass, a modern or rustic look, as well as anything in between. There are unlimited textures and colors from which to choose. Don't let creating your kitchen turn into picking one out of a book: your space does not have to be mundane, pre-made commodity. Let your spaces match your imagination.

According to the latest Census Bureau, home improvements account for almost 75 percent of the $198.6 billion American homeowners spend. More than ever, the kitchen is a social gathering place. It needs to be functional yet comfortable, as a lot of time is focused and spent in the kitchen. It is no surprise that the kitchen is an area that is highly updated and remodeled. J&M Lifestyles brings you to the forefront of your own remodeling process, to make your home truly yours.

But why use concrete in your home?

Granite used to be the high end, prestigious material to use, and featured in every new home. The popularity of granite has made it a commodity, and widely manufactured. Recently, granite costs as little as $35 dollars a square foot. The cost, however, may not be coming directly from your pocket.

Granite is mined all over the world; there are mines in the US, India, South America, Africa and Europe, to name a few. Most of the manufacturing of granite (after it is mined), dressing, cutting/sawing, surface grinding, polishing and edge cutting is done overseas using cheaper labor. Concrete is higher in price because all of the finish work (as well as the beginning, forming and the base material of the concrete) comes from local resources. Both are labor intensive processes, but the carbon footprint is significantly less. Some granite is even mined here in the US, shipped overseas and then shipped back as final product because it is cheaper to outsource the labor overseas than it is to do it here and keep the granite local.

We believe that in the green movement, people are becoming more aware and concerned with where their products are originating/traveling to and make a point to fuel their local economies not just because it is beneficial to the locals, but to be environmentally, ecologically and socially responsible. Concrete is local, custom and handmade by local artisans, which makes it a sustainable product in itself, not to mention that our concrete mix uses post consumer waste and recycled aggregates.

Inevitably, the shipping of products back and forth for the purposes of cheap labor will no longer be cost effective in a fuel driven economy. The, "expect more pay less" messages of mass imported items will no longer make sense, and quality and having custom items will supersede the need for disposable type furniture and belongings.

Concrete gives you complete design freedom as well as the knowledge that you are using a green product. Your everyday living can be extraordinary with beautifully designed custom surfaces in your kitchen. Our pioneering use of this material creates thoughtful, useful spaces to fit your lifestyle.

Concrete Furniture

Typically, concrete furniture has consisted of planters, table tops with steel legs, some simple shaped tables containing glass or wood, front desk surfaces, conference tables, and shelving. Commonly, they take on either ultra modern or very rustic looks.

We at J&M Lifestyles do things just a little bit differently. Since concrete is so versatile and design specific, each piece can encompass different elements and shapes. Our engineering capabilities allow us to explore beyond the original scope of what has been done, and we have been recognized for our work: We have one of our furniture pieces featuring at the World Of Concrete 08 . Also, our concrete desk was just written up on the Concrete Network.

We incorporate original designs and mixed mediums. Many of our pieces incorporate metal and optics, but we also work with wood, glass and water. We recently fabricated a kitchen countertop that incorporated concrete metal and wood. I will post the pictures when the kitchen is finished.

Concrete is the only medium that allows for true individuality and expression, whether it be in a counter top or a custom furniture piece. We can take concepts, ideas, patterns, shapes and colors and transform them into personalized functional art that will last a lifetime.

J&M Lifestyles is a combination of wisdom, experience and talent, expanding upon the material and techniques of previous artisans to create the Ultimate Concrete Applications.

UPDATES AND NEWS!

We've been busy!
Recently the Concrete Network (www.concretenetwork.com) had one of our countertops featured as Picture of the Week.

The same picture that they featured is going to be in one of their ads in Dwell in the upcoming months. This top shows just how unique our capabilities are. The design is ultra modern, one of a kind and shows that we can have multiple patterns and colors in any surface. This advertiser of ours (CN) sees fabricators from across the country and chose us! Concrete as an artistic/functional medium is in its early stages of becoming popular on the East Coast, but we are really standing out from the rest with our over the top and outrageous projects. We have to really thank our clients for not only being able to see the end result, but for trusting our artistic capabilities and not just looking for the common or ordinary.

FIBER OPTICS
Anyone who has visited our showroom or looked at our website has witnessed first hand what we can do with lighting. We incorporate lighting into many of our projects. We also have a proprietary translucent concrete that can make any surface glow. We have received a lot of interest world wide for using translucent concrete and optics in different surfaces. This attention has gained us an interview for an article coming out in Concrete Decor Magazine about lights in surfaces in concrete.

AIA
We recently finished putting together an accredited class for AIA (American Institute of Architecture) titled, "Everything Concrete, Functional to Decorative." It highlights all the possibilities of using concrete in design. The limitations of concrete are only in its fabricator; if the fabricator doesn't have an engineering capability, how could they possibly know how it can be pushed and what can be achieved? This course is debuting at the Construction Expo at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, December 5th and 6th. You can register now, the class is open to GENERAL CONTRACTORS - ARCHITECTS - ENGINEERS- DESIGNERS

SUBCONTRACTORS - COMMERCIAL BUILDERS - DEVELOPERS

Tons more to come! WOC 08 and more featured articles and news.

Thanks for reading,

J&M Lifestyles

First Day

I am new to this world of blogging. It was inspired by an event we attended last night hosted by Dwell called "Modern on the Inside," where we heard about different trends in design and fabrication. We realized we are abreast of most of these trends without even knowing it. We listened to Chelsea Baker, one of Dwell's online editors talk about the information out there in the blogging world and how it is a good way to get exposure. I am always trying to figure out the best ways to get exposure, so why not?

As we are in our second year of business here, growing at a rate much faster than anticipated, we find ourselves wondering about how to best gain exposure and recognition. We are a unique company. Concrete, especially on the east coast, is a newer medium that people are discovering. It has endless possibilities, so I believe it is more than a trend (proven so on the west coast and in other countries). There are a good amount of fabricators out there, but we have no competition. What we do is truly unique because we don't try to adapt your vision to our process. I am not saying this is a totally alien concept, many high end designers and architect firms believe you can create anything you want, but there is always a hefty price tag when it comes to custom work. We, however, offer the ability to achieve tese visions without hurdles. We have never said no to a project because we couldn't fabricate it; we love getting involved and seeing the vision become tangible. We are artists with an engineering perspective, so although 3D rendering has opened up a fantastic venue for virtual design, we make what we design, or figure out a way to make what you design, and through our experience (almost 20 years) we have built a rapport with some truly gifted and amazing artisans that are available to help further any project if we need their expertise.
That is a little about us: we are open to new artisans/artists that would like to be a part of something that could assist in getting from design and conceptual renderings to a tangible reality.
Thanks for reading, and stay in touch for some exciting events coming up!