LeBeau Cabinets | Midland Kitchen | Michigan

With most home remodeling projects, the homeowner visits a showroom to review options for countertops, cabinets and other components. Michael Gavin brought the options to the fabricator for the renovation of his mid-century home in Midland, Michigan.

While completing plans to remodel a different home he owns in Midland, Gavin began researching countertops and discovered REHAU's matte surface, an opaque material with a matte finish that is soft to the touch. That existing residence remodeling project proved to be too complex and expensive overall, so Gavin and his wife decided against it, purchased the two-story, five-bedroom home next door and brought along to the new endeavor their plan to use matte for countertops.

“I came across an article about the best countertops and read about how it resists most chemicals and was self-healing. I thought it was a neat product – a lot different than the granite that is used for so many countertops,” Gavin says. He loves the product’s low maintenance and unique, high-class look. “We get a lot of comments on our countertops,” he says.

With the countertop decision settled, Gavin turned his attention to cabinets and was introduced to RAUVISIO crystal, a high-gloss glass laminate that can be used for cabinet doors. The product was being used in a remodeling project a couple hours away, so Gavin made the trip to see it and knew immediately it was right for his home as well.

Gavin’s fabricator, LeBeau Cabinets, had never used RAUVISIO crystal. LeBeau offered competitive products, but Gavin preferred the glass-like finish and clean edges of RAUVISIO crystal. “Frankly, the other product was more expensive and not as nice. We got what we wanted at a cheaper price,” Gavin says.

The remodeling project began in January 2017 and was completed in about eight months. The Gavins used matte black for countertops throughout the kitchen, including on a bar, a buffet, a peninsula and an island. They used off-white matte in two upstairs bathrooms.

RAUVISIO crystal was used for all kitchen cabinets and a beverage center underneath the buffet. Gavin says he loves how the mirror-like surface makes his first-floor rooms feel larger. “I can look out at the golf course and then turn around and see the same image as it is mirrored in the cabinet surface.”

Another high-gloss surface. RAUVISIO brilliant, was used for a sliding pocket door separating the kitchen and the dining room.

LeBeau Cabinets owner E.J. LeBeau is grateful that Gavin introduced him to RAUVISIO crystal. “I now have a full display of it in our showroom and we are getting a lot of response and activity,” he says. “We’re doing a large kitchen project with it right now.”